My First Grizzly Bear of 2014

Last night, our field teaching team took our students from Missoula International to the Oxbow Bend Turnout in the Grand Teton National Park in hopes to observe wildlife at this rich watering hole!  It takes about 45-minutes to drive up to the Oxbow from the Kelly Campus as you have to drive into the the north-eastern portion of the park. 

Many of our teaching team were extremely tired from the craziness of our teaching week, and it was optional for me to attend this evening program.  However, there were rumors that grizzlies were reported to have been seen at the Oxbow at dawn and dusk.  And well, if there were grizzlies, I was more than willing to suck it up and drive up with the students in hopes of seeing these awesome animals than taking a night off.

And so we went...nothing at the Oxbow (but we got there around 6:45PM MST, and we thought maybe they will come out a little later.  So as we were setting up spotting scopes, Joe went off up the road to check out other road-side locations.  And sure enough, he came back explaining there was a grizzly sighting right up the road at the Jackson Lake Junction.

Quickly piling into our vans, we drove up the road, and sure enough, we were able to see a grizzled-beauty scavenging on something!

My First Grizzly Bear of 2014!

Scavenging on Something

Many other observers were stating that it was not our infamous, 399, but another tagged female that is not a popular number.  She was big and beautiful and the students loved watching her through our scopes and binoculars!

Grizzly Through My Binoculars

Every day, I am so thankful for my binoculars that I got for Christmas from Mom and Dad.  Being able to see wildlife clearer and closer up is beyond a priceless opportunity, but to also capture some photos too is awesome!

Also...it turned its rump to us and proceeded to do jiggle its booty, looking like it was trying to dance.  Really confused we tried to hone in on it through the binoculars, to our surprise, it was 'chasing a bear' (which in Teton Science Schools Field Education lingo, means, 'Going #2!!').  It was really cool, not going to lie (and do not judge that we found an animal doing its business interesting!)  It was just really interesting that it shakes it booty when it is pooping! haha! Potty dance!

Grizzly Bear Tracks!

After returning to the Oxbow, we walked on the muddy banks of the Snake River and discovered something awesome!  The Grizzly Tracks!  So clearly defined, you can definitely tell they are grizzly.  You can draw a lines between the toes and claw marks, and the line in between the toes and the pad does not intersect into the pad.

Full Grizzly Bear Track Gait

Of Course, I Had to Cast the Tracks!

Yesterday night was definitely worth the giving up of some free time to come with the Evening Program with my students.  Seeing the grizzly bear was so cool!  Besides seeing 399 and her three cubs last fall through a scope, seeing this grizzly more than 100-yards away and just needing binoculars was my first time viewing this species.  Not to mention, discovering grizzly tracks was beyond cool as well.

This morning after we said goodbye to our students from Missoula International and our team debrief meeting, I went back up to the Oxbow with 5-Nalgenes filled with plaster and a gallon of water.  Carefully making sure there were no bears on the bank and not in any danger, I went down to the muddy banks to cast the tracks!  Found hind and front tracks and made some perfect castings!

Best Night & Day Ever!
TheChristyBel

Hiking to Taggart Lake

Thursday afternoon, after a wonderful morning of making Abielskivers with Mary Beth and Eddie, Luke and I decided to go to hike to one of my favorite places, Taggart Lake.  The hike usually lasts a good 45-minutes as you slowly stroll along the trail through some scenic and concealed areas of conifer, snags, and open hill tops, until finally landing at the Taggart Lake which gives you a perfect view of the Grand (on a beautiful clear day, of course).

Look at that U-Shaped Valley!

Scenic View Overlooking Taggart Lake

On the Medial Moraine Between the Taggart and Bradley Lakes

To our surprise, well to my surprise, we hiked all the way to the lake in about 30-minutes.  Boy, is that a record for me!  Usually I take my time and absorb the beauty that the hike gives, but we got to the lake pretty quickly.  And since we were on good timing, we decided to try to make a hike to Bradley Lake, just a shy north of Taggart.

Look What I Found

On the way there, I found one of the most exciting discoveries I have had all winter: BIG MAMMAL TRACKS.  Looking at the tracks, I noticed that the paw prints were more circular than oval (which oval-shaped prints are more dog like...) and there were no noticeable claw marks, and a very faint distinction of a double mound in the paw pad.

Then after sending the photos to one of my Ecology professors, he wrote back confirming what he believes is the same notion as me: Mountain Lion!!

That was such exciting news to hear...yet alone, a smidge scary...glad we did not run into this animal while on the trail!

Mountain Lion Statistics:

• Stride: 20-30 inches
• Straddle: 7-9 inches
• Actual Print: 4.5-5 inches

Mountain lions are the largest cat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  They will mostly prey upon mule deer and will RARELY attack humans.  However, they are incredibly secretive and will usually leave a scene before they are even spotted.

Mountain Lion Tracks!

Don't Worry, I'm safe from the Big Cat!

TheChristyBel

Works Cited:

Johnson, K. (2013). Field guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Helena: Farcountry Press.

Visiting Mormon Row

During our last week of Place-Based Education, the graduates were able to gain a more in-depth understanding of the place we live in.  On Wednesday, we visited Mormon Row, right up the street from the Kelly Campus.  Even though it was very chilly, rainy weather to walk in, it was a great opportunity to learn more about the culture and history that roamed the sageflats years ago.

For those of you who do not know where Mormon Row is, if you drive north from Jackson on highway 191 past Moose Junction and turn right onto Antelope Flats Road, you can follow the road about 1 ½ miles until you see a north-south running dirt road marked by a distinctive pink stucco house on the left with a small dirt parking area.

Mormon Row may be one the most picturesque areas of Grand Teton National Park.  The groups of old farm buildings have rustic, wooden buildings surrounded by open fields, grass and sage standing out against the stunning backdrop of the Tetons.  This historic place is a great way for seeing into the lives of the West’s early settlers and can be commonly seen with grazing wildlife right up to the walls of the original structures.  A great place to find bison, antelope, moose, coyotes, ground squirrels, northern harriers, kestrels and sage grouse.

Here is the back story: The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, sent parties from the Salt Lake Valley to establish new communities and support their expanding population. Arriving in the 1890s from Idaho, these old farm buildings have withstood the elements for more than a century, since the farmland here was first homesteaded by the predominantly Mormon settlers in the early 1900s. The Mormon homesteaders, settled east of Blacktail Butte and clustered their farms to share labor and community, a stark contrast with the isolation typical of many western homesteads.

These settlers established 27 homesteads in the Grovont area because of relatively fertile soil, shelter from winds by Blacktail Butte and access to the Gros Ventre River. Despite the harsh conditions of Jackson Hole, Mormon settlers grew crops by using irrigation. These hardy settlers dug ditches by hand and with teams of horses, building an intricate network of levees and dikes to funnel water from central ditches to their fields between 1896 and 1937. Water still flows in some of these ditches.

After the Rockefellers Snake River Land Company bought the majority of the land and transferred it to the Park Service, the buildings were allowed to decay until the 1990s, when their cultural value was recognized and steps were taken to preserve them. Today, six homesteads and a single ruin provide visitors a glimpse into the past of Jackson Hole Valley.

Aerial photo of Blacktail Butte and Mormon Row
Courtesy of Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, 1991.3991.001
http://www.nps.gov/grte/historyculture/mormon.htm

John Moulton Barn
Courtesy of Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, 1991.3991.001
http://www.nps.gov/grte/historyculture/mormon.htm

Today, two picturesque barns highlight Mormon Row. Settlers John and Thomas Alma (T.A.) Moulton built these barns on adjacent homesteads. After nearly 30 years of working the land, John replaced his log home and barn with a new carpenter-constructed, pink stucco frame house and impressive, two-story gambrel barn north of Antelope Flats Road. South of John’s homestead, T. A. took over 30 years to build his gable-with-shed style barn. Photographers from around the world stop by T. A. Moulton’s barn to capture this iconic historic structure with the Teton Range in the background.

Andy Chamber's Residence

The most extensive historic complex remaining on Mormon Row is the Andy Chambers homestead. Andy Chambers claimed land in 1912 and secured the title under the Homestead Act by building a log cabin and stable and clearing ground to grow grain, a backbreaking chore in the rocky soil. The family lacked running water until 1927 and harnessed electricity with a windmill in 1946. The Rural Electric Administration did not provide power to Mormon Row until the 1950s. By this time, many families had sold their homesteads to become part of the park. The windmill still stands on the homestead.

Of course, it would not be complete without seeing some wildlife tracks!  I suspect we have coyote wandering the area!  However, we did not see any, the tracks looked pretty fresh and were probably there earlier that morning before we arrived to Mormon Row.

 

Coyote Tracks

Almost the Size of My Palm

Historically Fulfilling!
TheChristyBel