New Year's Day Hike in the Park

The lake is frozen except for a few tiny spots. I find it interesting that when I see an open spot it is filled with migrating ducks. 

Ducks and Geese still find a bit of open water

The cold also seems to group the resident herd of mule deer, where I used to see one I now find several. 

Dinner time

Hiking is at a standstill for us with snow and ice covering most of the trails. We are hoping to make the New Years Day hike in the park. This program is sponsored by the Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources and looks like a fun activity. We missed last year, as the weather was too cold for us, looks like it will be a bit better this year and we hope to give it a go.

End of the day sun backlights a doe in the park

Wildlife in the Park

Beautiful overcast day, perfect for wildlife viewing in the park.

With the weather people telling us we may get snow on Christmas - A White Christmas seems to be a lot of animal movement in the park. 

I also enjoy the winter contrast of the near gold dried vegetation and the white and blue of the Ice.

Merry Christmas

Winter Visits the Park

Golden Eagle

Watching and taking photos of wildlife in Wyoming is one of my favorite pastimes. This week I was more than excited to find a pair of Golden Eagles. I have a few photos of Bald Eagles from the park but these are the first goldens I have seen.

 They are spectacular.

 These photos are from about 300 yards, closest I could get in the rugged area.  I was able to snap about two dozen photos, but heavy breathing from this older and somewhat out of shape man left several pretty fuzzy and unusable. I should mention it was a great hike.

Color enhanced

Frost in the Park

Nothing like a wonderful frosty morning in the park. I love summer when I can go out in shorts and a teeshirt, but winter does afford some views of nature that cannot be reproduced in areas without the four seasons we have here in Wyoming.

Below the dam the red cliffs are spectacular in the morning light

This morning's trip was along Lakeshore Drive on the east side of the lake. 

The view from Sitting Bull Shelter built by the CCC in the 1930s and still stunning

If the weatherman is correct I may have some deep snow photos coming this week.

Turkeys in the frosted grass

From the boat dock - Look close and you can see Laramie Peak

Frosted Sagebrush

Art on the ice

The Stone Fountain

Across Lakeshore Drive from the boat launching area is the one and only  original Civilian Conservation Corps Camp BR-9 built drinking fountain. Built by drilling through a huge bolder the fountain is a one of a kind in the park.

 The drinking fountain itself, with the pipe coming through a large rock, hand drilled by the CCC, is still in good working order and used daily during the warmer months. 

Many more photos and stories from my book on the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Building of Guernsey State Park - take a look here.

This old log sign, east of the stone fountain  marks a trail to the Museum. The trail, for the most part, is gone but if you
 are careful some signs of it, including some nice CCC rock steps, can still be found. This may be the oldest remaining
 log sign in the park, but may not be old enough to be CCC era. Wish I could find out.

Guernsey State Park and Wyoming History

If you haven't tried it yet, take a look at my Wyoming Fact and Fiction site. I post Wyoming history there about every five days. I try to make it fun with some lesser know history.  There is so much history in and around the park, some of it like the lost Oregon Trail grave site, I wrote about in my book on the park. 

 

Meanwhile, my two westerns continue to sell well and if you are interested they can be found here. 

We didn't get out in the park for a hike until Wednesday this week, it was still snowy but the day was pleasant and we got in about a mile of walking.

We hiked Red Cliff Trail as it is one of our favorites and also for ease of access with snow still on part of Lakeshore Drive.