Life and Death Struggle on Hwy 20

Friday night, Greg Walker and his family were driving up Ashton Hill toward Island Park. As they reached the midpoint of the mountain climb, through a light fog, Greg saw a large elk standing in the roadway 200 yards ahead. He slowed as he approached the elk, which remained on the deserted highway.

The bull was hopping into the air like a bronc attempting to throw a cowboy after it leaves the chute. His first thought was that it may have been hit by a vehicle. He continued to assess the situation as he drove within 50 yards of the erratic elk. There appeared to be an enormous flap of skin dangling from the animal’s chest. Greg’s concern for the injured elk changed to astonishment as the animal hopped closer to his vehicle. The large chest injury turned out to be an enormous mountain lion clinging under the bull’s neck with all four paws.

As the panic-stricken animal neared the Walker’s car, Greg put the vehicle in reverse fearing that he would end up with an elk/lion hood ornament. Just as it appeared that a collision was inevitable, the mountain lion released his grip. The lion ran west across the road, up the hillside and vanished. The relieved bull elk fled in the opposite direction, up the east side of the pass and into the night.

Greg said that after the encounter, he and Lesli wished that they had captured it on video but had been spellbound in the moment.

Mother Nature occasionally withdraws her veil and reveals amazing things to those who spend time in Island Park.

Yellowstone Country Safety * One Last Walk *

The weather is going to break soon. Take one last walk along the river or drive up in the mountains before the snows hit. Island Park is a beautiful place.

Medical Conditions and the Vacation

Vacations provide an opportunity to create a temporary distance from life’s stresses and recharge the batteries. Island Park provides a great atmosphere to decompress. Vacationing does not include neglecting your health issues. Many visitors this summer have experienced health problems requiring emergency medical attention.

Medical conditions stay with you and must be managed. It is easy to postpone personal care when you are engaged in enjoyable activities. While on a four-wheeler ride through the pine forest, checking your blood sugar may be forgotten. Gathering the family together for a float down the Henry’s Fork seems much more important than giving attention to a few slight chest pains.

Inattention to your health details can turn your vacation into a personal and family crisis. So while you are enjoying Island Park and leaving your world behind, be proactive with your medical conditions.

1.           Take your medication on time. Carry it with you along with a bottle of water, a syringe or whatever device necessary to administer your meds.
2.      Notify others in your party of any personal medical conditions, including food allergies.
3.            Instruct others in your party how to recognize the symptoms and respond if your medical condition should arise.
4.      For serious existing conditions, wear a medical alert pendant or bracelet.
5.      Do not dismiss early warning symptoms because it is inconvenient. A visit to the Island Park’s Clinic (next to Pond’s Lodge) is much more convenient than a helicopter flight to the hospital in Idaho Falls.

Be safe and have a great vacation in Yellowstone Country!

That was a Busy Weekend!

If you have ever organized a family reunion, you know that there is uncertainty about how many family members and guests are going to show up. You make preparations based on your best guess and cross your fingers. The Fourth of July in Island Park is similar for the residents. Businesses order inventories according to their best estimates, county and city services staff to meet expected demand and everyone hopes that their preparations are sufficient.

This Fourth of July weekend seemed to tax those preparations as the gathering in Island Park was well attended by visitors wanting to celebrate our country’s birthday in one of its most beautiful locations. Employees worked hard to attend to lines of customers that descended on the various establishments.

The emergency medical services were busy attending to both medical conditions and accidents. Fremont County Deputies worked tirelessly reminding visitors to avoid activities that would injure themselves or others.

I do not want to be accused of exaggerating the size of the crowds but I could have walked the Henry’s Fork from Big Springs to Mack’s Inn without getting wet using boats as stepping stones!

With the end of any holiday comes the recovery. It is a little like coming down from a sugar high. For the businesses and services of Island Park, there is no time to rest. The crowds diminish somewhat, there are many visitors yet to come this summer who have been looking forward to their vacation all year and it is the residents’ responsibility to make sure they are not disappointed.

Yellowstone Country Safety * Summer Friends *

It is great to see the summer residents that I missed over the winter. It is my favorite change that comes with Memorial Day weekend.

Yellowstone Country Safety * Spring Clean-up *

I am always amazed just how much I have to clean up after our dog when the snow melts.

Winter hides so many sins.

Yellowstone Country Safety * Bad Footing *

Watch your footing in the mornings. Temperatures at night are below freezing and the melting snow freezes. Taking a header on your stairs may be entertaining but painful!

The End

The End

If Jim Morrison of the Doors had lived and experienced living in Island Park, his song “The End” might have sounded something like this:

This is the end, beautiful friend

This is the end, of winter’s grip, the end.

Of nature’s cloak of white, the end

Of snow machines’ loud whine, the end

No safety or surprise, the end

I wait for warmer skies again

Can you picture what will be, so green and snow free?

Desperately in need of some stranger’s hand, in a muddy land

Stuck up to the axels in mud

This sight-seeing trip turned into a dud

I should have waited until the end of the flood

Now I have to call and wait for my bud

There is danger through the center of town

People drive too fast on highway 20, baby

Drivers swerve to avoid a moose

Slow down on highway 20, baby

Fish the Snake; fish the Snake,

Or the lake, Henry’s Lake, baby

The snake is long, many miles

Fish the snake, it’s clear and you may see some deer

The west is the best, the west is the best

Get here and you’ll get some rest

Spring bear season is calling us

Spring bear season is calling us

The first big game hunt is worth the fuss

The hunter awoke before dawn, he put his boots on

He took a bow from its rack and he walked on down the hall

He went into the room where his wife slept, kissed her

And then he gathered up his day pack

And then he walked on down the hall

He came to the door and he walked outside

Father, please bless me with a successful hunt

And protect my family while I am gone

Next time, come on a hunt with us,

Next time, come on a hunt with us

I’ll meet you back at the cabin tonight, baby

This is the end, beautiful friend

The end

Got Snow!

While Atlanta shut down over two inches of snow, I was a little nervous about the low snow level in Island Park. Three feet of accumulated snow may be daunting in many areas of the country but it is not adequate to accommodate the needs of the forest through the summer. It also leaves those who enjoy winter recreation with less than optimum conditions. February brought with it a new, thick blanket of white moisture. The additional snow was a welcome sight and hopefully foreshadows what late winter has in store for Yellowstone country.

Listening to the talking heads (not the band) expound upon the weather patterns seems like white noise. They try to explain why the weather is unpredictable and disruptive. One day the earth is suffering from global warming, the weather cools and we are in the midst of climate change. I have no doubt that the climate changes but it always has. The earth has gone through several ice ages and each time, warmed on its own. None of these cycles were man induced.

The same advocates that want to limit the use of wood burning stoves consider a forest fire nature’s way of renewing the earth. It is not burning of wood that creates climate change but who burns the wood. The argument has evolved to classifying carbon dioxide as a pollutant. The advocates would classify animal life as polluters because of what they exhale. If the earth’s climate was deemed in danger, it would necessitate a limit the number of people/animals creating the imbalance. Fortunately, the earth’s environment is resilient. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen as a byproduct. A rich carbon dioxide environment spurs the plant growth, maintaining the earth’s balance.

We all should be good stewards of the environment. Teaching good stewardship doesn’t require massive government programs or oversight. The Boy Scouts have been doing it for years. The cry of climate change inevitably leads to a demand for more tax money and limits on activities regardless of the harm that is done. The fix often causes more damage than the perceived problem. Just ask the residents of West Yellowstone or Island Park after snow machines were limited from Yellowstone Park. Then there are the windmills that have been installed throughout the country. I give them less than twenty years before many will be shut down. Conservationists will discover that too many birds are being killed by the rotating blades and demand action.

I am just grateful for the snow that we have been receiving and hope that this winter provides enough moisture for the country to have a safe summer and successful harvest. I find it best to tune out the white noise and enjoy the white solitude of the mountains.

Protecting the Protectors

I was in Robin’s Roost this week. A clerk told me about a couple of fights that had occurred in a local bar the past few nights. Apparently a couple of visitors from the flat decided to raise a little hell, requiring responses from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and ISP.  

The incidents brought back memories of my time as a Pocatello Police officer. My first fight occurred when I was a rookie. I confronted a man who had been prying open coin mechanisms at a car wash. As I approached, he started to walk off.  I grabbed his arm and the fight was on! He grabbed for my holstered pistol and I found myself fighting for my life. After some wrestling, I threw him to the ground and cuffed him. Looking up after the arrest, I saw a man standing at a pay phone not 30 feet from me! I remember thinking that as my life flashed before my eyes; he had been standing there, watching the show. I tossed him a quarter and asked him to call the department for backup.

I decided then that I would cultivate relationships with the citizens to help me survive in the field. I responded to numerous of bar fights. While it was a rush to mix it up, patrons and bouncers kept others from jumping in while I subdued a suspect. I appreciated those who helped me make it home at the end of my shift.

Island Park can be a dark and isolated place for a patrolling officer. 

A routine traffic stop or disturbance can suddenly deteriorate into a struggle for survival. Backup can be miles away. It is not uncommon to see someone pulled over on a dark stretch of Highway 20. Do you slow to see if the officer is safe?

While it is the officer’s job to enforce the law, it is the community’s job to help ensure their safety. Be attentive to dangerous situations and offer assistance when necessary. Island Park is blessed with a great group of law enforcement professionals. We should do what we can to make sure that they make it home at the end of each shift.

Yellowstone Country Safety * Defensive Driving in Snow

Drive defensively. Some drivers are not yet accustomed to the snow-covered roads.

The Storm

Greg and I had just finished hauling a load of road base for his driveway when we heard that a tornado had been spotted near Dubois and the storm that spawned it was headed our way.

Storm clouds were moving in from the southwest and progressively becoming more ominous. The front moved across the caldera towards Yellowstone and its dark lead edge of clouds was churning upward from the ground. We were viewing this example of nature’s power from my front yard, when we heard a single noise, wap!

We recognized that sound. Hail was on its way. A few hail stones hit the ground, a few more and then the floodgates opened as we ran for cover. This was my first encounter with horizontal hail. Nickel-sized ice balls were incoming from the west and shattering with a loud crack on everything they hit. My attention turned to the windows on the west side of the cabin. I was afraid that they would sustain a direct hit and shatter. After ten minutes of intense fury, the hail stopped as quickly as it began. With no visible damage, I was able to savor the power and beauty of the storm. I had dodged a bullet; actually thousands of frozen ones! 

The next day I dropped into the bank and discovered that the Elk Creek area had not been so lucky. The break room freezer had been converted into an evidence locker. Alicia and Kari produced a handful of golf ball-sized hail and recounted how, despite their attempt to move their cars to shelter, the vehicles were left with a dimpled texture reminiscent of golf balls. They took the damage in stride, as seasoned residents of Island Park.

Weather is like food and variety is good. The warm and dry summer of Island Park is like a great burger. No matter how much you love it, a steady diet of the same thing gets old. The other nine months of the year provides a variety that is hard to beat!

Things Are About to Change

The final holiday weekend of the summer has arrived. Vacations are concluding, kids are going back to school and many are storing their camping equipment until next year.

The activities of those who live in the mountains are changing as well. Businesses will begin winding down next week. Summer cabins will be shuttered for the winter. Residents will prepare for the snow to come; urgently completing repairs to their cabins that were postponed during the busy summer season. Firewood will be cut and stored and hunting season will begin this week with the bow hunt.

It is time to break out the camouflage, check gear and search for that once-a-year successful encounter with an elk. Anticipating the hunt with the hopes and dreams of a child’s Christmas, the mind sorts through the scenarios and reactions that may be experienced in the forest.

The cow calls and bugles are rehearsed. The bow string is waxed and the arrows are fitted with broadheads. The camo is laundered in scent-free soap and hung on a line to air dry. The bathroom is stocked with scent-free shower soap and deodorant.

The day pack is stocked with the essential items that have not congregated together for the past year. A compass, water bottles, GPS, knives, rope, bear spray, pistol, ammo, light, matches, Allen wrenches, Leatherman, folding saw, binoculars and a camera are all packed in anticipation the adventure to come.

Optimism is high for a successful hunt but fall in Yellowstone country brings its own anticipation. September is the most beautiful month in mountain country. The leaves change to their brilliant colors; the aspen are shrouded in bright yellow and the scrub maple in orange and red. As the temperature cools, the animals prepare for the coming winter with their own sense of urgency. The stillness of the forest will be interrupted by the constant thud of pine cones on the forest floor as the squirrels release them from pine boughs, soon to be stockpiled.  The bull elk will bugle, their primeval cry for a mate echoing through the pines.

It is an exciting time to be in the forest as a participant and an observer. Things are about to change. 

Bows and Knives

I enjoy sharing the experiences of the outdoors with my grandkids. I took my grandson Luke down to Coffee Pot Trail. While hiking along the river, I pointed out a few fresh moose tracks and some moose sign (poop). We discussed the difference between moose and elk sign. A few days later, Luke accompanied his mother and a friend on an afternoon fishing excursion. Upon their return, Heather said that her son correctly identified moose tracks and sign without being prompted.

Since Luke was showing an interest in the outdoors, I provided him a small bow and set up a target in the backyard. It didn’t take long for him to successfully impale the target from 20 feet. He was genuinely excited with his success.

It was time to teach this almost-five-year-old how to use a knife. I raided my stash of new knives that I keep for such occasions. Luke was surprised when I produced a 3 inch pocket knife. We began with a conversation about knife safety and practiced opening and closing the knife. We progressed to the proper technique of skinning bark from a stick, always cutting away from your body.  When we were through, he returned his knife to me for safe keeping.

The following day Luke and I went to the bank.  As we arrived he insisted on returning home to retrieve his knife. He wanted to show it to his friends at the bank, who always welcome him with smiles, kind words and a sucker.  After a quick trip to the cabin, he performed his knife handling skills and received praise and a sucker from the attentive audience. He was beaming with pride as we left.

Teaching outdoor skills provides youth with an alternative to being continually plugged into electronics. You can teach the next generation that knives, bows or guns are useful tools to be used safely and with respect.