Montana's Madison Valley to Dubois, Wyoming
I watched a film the other day, Wolves in Paradise, which is a fairly unbiased account of wolf impacts: ecological, financial, and social; it was a pretty interesting watch. Little did I know that south of Bozeman is one of the film's featured locations. I drove along the Gallatin and Madison rivers, winding my way through hilly cattle country, which clearly looked like wolf country as well. The Gallatin National Forest rose in peaks to the east of the highway, which dropped into sloping draws among many cattle ranches. I also passed the Sun Ranch, which was featured in the film...I just kept thinking to myself "Yup, this is cattle and wolf country." I understand the difficulty that ranchers are facing, as well as the proximal location of the Gallatin to Yellowstone National Park, the reintroduction site of the Canadian Grey Wolf. Tough spot to be in for sure.
I continued down to Idaho Falls, the location of my new home for BLM seasonal work; I quickly unloaded my belonging- less than a hour in town. I then hit the road for Wyoming. It was surprising how close it really is to Idaho Falls, and it would have been a faster trip were it not for the unfortunate land slide that has devastated Alpine Junction, my shortcut to Pinedale, Wyoming.
The drive up Moran Junction to Togwotee pass was beautiful; easy weather and sunshine. But at the top, and on the downhill drive toward Dubois, I encountered quite a bit of weather. The snow pack was at least 5 feet deep, and contributed to my increasing anxiety.
The remainder of the drive was intimidating. At Crowheart, Wyoming, I went through a mental dilemma: do I drive south west to Lander to see my old cow boss, Pee Wee, or do I continue driving to Tensleep, as planned, to see Sarah, my good friend. I actually had to pull over in the beating rain and lock the free wheeling hubs of my wheels to gain traction on the rain drenched road...It was pretty terrifying out there.
Comments
2. You're in IF for work this summer? Let's plan for some coffee. :)
3. GREY WOLVES!!! Gosh. I'm obsessed with them right now. You'll be happy to know that a pair was recently spotted just 13 miles out of Idaho Falls -- out on the Snake River Plain! We have a couple up on the West Bench here in town as well. I'm not all for the "smoke a pack a day" thing we have going on in this state BUT I think there's an up and coming human interface issue that might need some wrangling...
Great post.
Coffee would be great...actually planning a trip to SLC soon, so Pocatello or IF works for me.
The wolf issue is really interesting here in Idaho, which I never realized until I moved here; it's not such a prominent issue in central Wyoming, though it does come through at times.
-Grey Wolves have always had a place in my heart, I just can't get over their beauty!-
But still, like everything in the West, management and monitoring is key.
Thanks for reading :)
Thanks very much for reading and commenting! Thanks so much for thinking of me (and the offer for a warm place to hideout), that weather was tough. How did you all fare in Crowheart? Any snow like Lander? or just a ton of rain?
Thanks again for reading!
Best,
Michelle
I didn't make it to Tensleep. With a small window of opportunity (Friday) I decided to head down 28 to Pinedale to get to a branding. I heard nothing good about the roads, as there was high water the whole way, and on the Nowood, too, as well as falling rock.
I hear ya on the big city thing..they even have a museum! Also, I got to go to the western shop today and get a new work coat...such a neat thing to have the convenience!
I am thinking of heading out to Tensleep in mid or late June...Lander brewfest is on the way, and I have a wedding to attend in June as well. So I'm sure I will spend plenty of time out that way.
What do you do out in Crowheart?
Michelle