Leprechaun II

The Leprechaun Man (see previous post) was part of a large contingent of Canadians in the campground, all waiting for the weather gods to bestow them safe passage to their home lands. His campsite soon became the gathering place for them all.

One afternoon, I stepped outside and heard a rousing French rendition of Alouette. It took me back to my childhood as I remembered my Mom singing this little song and teaching it to my sisters and me. I was so very impressed that my Mom could speak French that I never thought to ask just what it was we were singing. As soon as I mentioned this to Sandy, she reached for her computer and made a quick google search.

Never would I have suspected that the whole song with its many verses, was all about plucking a bird, a Lark to be exact. It's comparable to the 12 Days of Christmas as it builds from verse to verse until the whole bird is plucked. Seems a gruesome way to teach kids the parts of the body. It doesn't take away from my memory though.

In memory of my Mom on this Mother's Day weekend.

The Busy Leprechaun

There's a couple camping across from us in a large, beautiful motor home. I have dubbed the gentleman the Leprechaun. He's very tall to be a leprechaun but he is thin and wiry and a veritable bundle of energy.

From day one, he made numerous trips onto the forest bringing back load after load of firewood. He has a two wheeled dolly that attaches to his bicycle and he filled it several times a day to keep a fire going, even on rainy days. I have no idea how far afield he traveled in his efforts, but I'm sure he racked up many miles. He chopped and sawed and expended a lot of energy to ensure he had a fire for reasons known only to him.  I did notice a tri-pod over the fire at one point and I assume he was cooking at least some of their meals over the fire.

He also used his bicycle to haul his honey wagon to the dump station. Most coaches like his have holding tanks for 60 to 80 gallons of gray water and waste. His honey wagon is about 12 gallons so that meant 6 or 7 trips to empty them out about once a week. And, to keep himself busy, he also helped his friends empty their tanks.

The cutest thing was watching him and his wife take a stroll. She uses a motorized chair to get around and he would pedal beside her on her laps around the campground.

Even though our conversations and interactions have been brief, I will miss the hub of activity when they leave tomorrow.

The Stories Begin

In February, Sandy and I arrived at Osceola National Forest in Northern Florida. There are several campgrounds on the forest but, only one of them has facilities for campers. The rest are more like hunt camps. We are staying in the beautiful Ocean Pond Campground.

We came here because I applied for and received a volunteer position as an office assistant in the district office for the Osceola NF. After our whirlwind trips across the US last year, I wanted to see what it would be like to stay in one place for an extended period of time. The job comes with a full hook up site, mileage and propane reimbursement, free laundry and free bottled water and ice. The office job didn't last for very long though because there was a critical shortage of hosts for the campground and I agreed to give it a try.

Hosting gives opportunity for meeting a lot of people from all over the United States and Canada (so far) and with people come stories. A very nice couple from Michigan made a batch of cookies on one of their first days here and shared them with me and one of the other volunteers. They were always smiling and stopping to chat and made sure we felt appreciated for our hard work. Today they were leaving to continue their journeys but made sure to find us to say goodbye. It was then we found out the husband has cancer. He is nine months past his treatments and doing well for now. They were construction workers who followed the jobs from place to place in their RV but never had the opportunity to be tourists and sightseers. Now they are RVing for pleasure with a plan to see as much as possible while his health holds out. They insisted we pose for a picture with them for their memory book and it was an honor to do so. Here's hoping they get to cross off everything on their bucket list and more.

Hitch Hikers

One of our most memorable experiences in Yellowstone was the people. We were surrounded by tourists from all over the world and immersed into many different languages, customs and fashions. Everyone showed a common joy and excitement at seeing all the wonders of the park.

As we drove around, we began to notice groups of young people with cardboard signs indicating they were in need of a ride to various sites within the park. Curiosity got the best of us and we pulled over to ask if they were indeed hitch hiking. Within minutes we were taxiing two young ladies to Old Faithful and by some quirk of fate, met up with them again in the evening. We stopped at a couple of places along the way to our respective lodgings and enjoyed sightseeing and conversing with them about their home in Belarus. A group of two boys and three girls from Taiwan rode with us another day. It was from them that we learned about Stinky Tofu and a fascination with our fast foods.

These young people were participating in an international travel program that connects participants with summer job opportunities. We didn't get a lot of details on how the program works, but all of them were very excited about what they were seeing and learning. All were university students, each in different programs but all with high goals for success. They represented themselves and their countries well and it was a good feeling to be able to help in this small way.
We've been in several National Parks but this is the only one where we've seen this program. If you travel to Yellowstone and you have room in your vehicle, stop and offer a ride. You will be richly rewarded and maybe even asked to be in a photo with your passengers.

Animals in Yellowstone

It became very apparent very quickly that people want to see animals in Yellowstone. If you want to draw a crowd, stop at one of the pull outs; get out of your car; stand and stare across the landscape. Within seconds other cars will pull in and you'll be asked what you're looking at. Mention a wildflower or a bird and you get strange looks as folks hurry back to their cars. Mention something as mundane as a squirrel and children and grandparents are hurriedly ushered out of the car to get a look and have their picture taken with the animal. (If you see cars pulled over, please slow down because there will be animals and/or pedestrians).

Bison seem to be the most sought after. Even if it's just one standing a half mile away in the meadow, people are stopping in the middle of the road or parking helter-skelter to get a picture. There was not a single day or a single road where we did not see bison, so if you can't safely pull off, just keep going and get your photo at the next opportunity.  I even saw evidence of bison on the sidewalk in front of the general store near the campground. Spotting elk and prong horn is not hard either.

Bison can cause major traffic jams when they decide to feed close to the road. Always figure in extra time when you're driving, especially in the evenings. We witnessed two vehicles that came within tire squealing inches of hitting bison in the dusky dark. It's exciting to see them up close and personal as they parade down the middle of the road or on the shoulder, but don't be like the woman who reached out the window to pet one. She got a car full of bison head and a citation from the Park Ranger. Luckily, there were no injuries.We tried very hard not to be "those people" who stop in the middle of the road, park in unauthorized places, get too close, walk off trail to get closer or in any way be an obnoxious tourist. (Insert smilie)

We did manage to see a lot of animals throughout the park.
Bison-everywhere
Elk-Mammoth Springs on the lawns of the lodge and visitor center, meadows in Hayden Valley, Pelican Creek (mostly females with calves but toward the end of our stay the males were moving back down from the high country for mating season.)
Wolves-meadow between Madison and Midway Geyser Basin. White alpha male and female in this pack.
Prong Horn-many open meadows
Otter-Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley
Mountain Goats-barely visible with binoculars on rocky face in Lamar Valley
Moose- Standing in Floating Island Lake in Lamar Valley
American Dipper-Feeding in the stream at the top of Virginia Cascades
Sandhill Crane-Madison River
Golden Eagles-Steamboat Point on NE shore of Yellowstone Lake
Great Blue Heron, Sora, Virginia Rail, Sharp-shinned Hawk Pelican Creek
Osprey and Bald Eagle-Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley

Cody to Yellowstone

The drive from Cody, WY to Yellowstone NP is about 53 miles but it is a beautiful, scenic drive. Not far from Cody you enter the Shoshone National Forest and follow the Shoshone River almost into the park. Towering rock cliffs surround you at points then everything opens up to meadows with fly fishers lining the banks of the river before you climb back into the rock lined passage.

Several campgrounds are available within the Forest offering a variety of amenities. Drinking water and pit toilets are usually available but no showers or dump stations.  I'm sure they are used a lot by those who fish and hunt the area but they're a bit far away from Yellowstone.

I didn't make opportunity to take a lot of pictures along the drive but this guy did catch my eye

 

and here's a view of the Shoshone River and the canyon it has carved.

 

YELLOWSTONE

It’s almost a given that anyone with an American vacation bucket list has Yellowstone National Park in the top ten. I can enthusiastically say that it will not be a disappointment. We just finished a 14 night stay and it took all that time just to see the highlights. We didn’t even attempt any of the backcountry hikes. (There’s bears out there-big ones!)

For anyone planning a visit, I would encourage making reservations early for any of the campgrounds or lodges and boat tours of Yellowstone Lake. There are many options both inside and outside the park for lodging, many tour buses if you don’t want to drive and lots of other activities like rafting if you get tired of geysers. I would also encourage a lot of pre-planning and research. I had no idea how much driving would be required  to get from one feature to the next.

We stayed at Fishing Bridge Campground, the only full service campground in the park. It’s a good base for making the rounds of Yellowstone but there are no fire rings or picnic tables. The sites are only big enough for your camper and a vehicle and all are back-ins. It’s supposedly (we saw nary a one) in a high traffic area for bears, so only hard sided vehicles are allowed.