Day 8 - Travel Day from Goosewing to Wapiti

Saturday, 27 July 2013, was day 8 for our adventure in Wyoming. Unfortunately we had to bid a fond farewell to the Goosewing Ranch. It was a lot of fun with great horseback riding in the Gros Ventre National Forest mountains that surround the ranch, crystal clear waters teaming with cutthroat trout, relaxing atmosphere promoted by the weather, outstanding hospitality of the ranch hands, general manager, and with out a doubt the owner of this magnificent piece of property. We could not have asked for anything better.

We gathered our belongings, stowed them into our rented 2013 Subaru (very nice car) Outback, and headed back down the 17 mile dusty rock road towards the Grand Tetons National Park (GTNP). 

Here is one of many National Forest employees (others were Pronghorns, Trumpeter Swans, and Whitetail Deer) who said goodbye to us.

Bald Eagle about 2 miles from the gate to Goosewing Ranch

The grandeur of the Tetons greeted us as we drove out of the Gros Ventre National Forest. Here is a picture of the Snake River with the backdrop of the Tetons. It's hard to explain but these jagged peaks above 13,000 feet just seem to rise out of know where.

As luck would have it while I was snapping the above photo of Cindy at Oxbow Bend in GTNP a female Elk or possibly Mule Deer decided to swim across the Snake River over my left shoulder. I'm glad I got (1) the picture of Cindy (2) the picture of the Elk/Mule Deer, and (3) the picture of Cindy before the waves from swimming activity disturbed the reflection of the Tetons in this photo.

Possible Elk or Mule Deer swimming across the very deep Snake River in the Grand Tetons National Park

For the time being we left GTNP to our south and made our way into Yellowstone National Park (YNP). We finally made it back to Yellowstone after vowing to do so after traveling through this park 25 years ago with Michelle during our assignment change from Kelly AFB, Texas to Wheeler AFB, Hawaii. Look at the beginning of this blog to see Chris' picture near a similar YNP sign.

Here is one of many waterfalls we saw throughout the park. This is Lewis Falls.

We drove around the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake, with stops at Grant Village, Bridge Bay, Lake Village, and Fishing Bridge. The Yellowstone River headwaters (flowing due north) are here at Fishing Bridge with the Yellowstone Lake as its source.

Yellowstone Lake with Grand Tetons to the south

What you see here is the caldera leftover from a volcano - now the Yellowstone Lake. It's a very impressive body of water, bigger than you can imagine and freezes over solid every winter.

We continued our journey through the Absaroka mountain range to our south and the Absaroka Wilderness to our north and finally out through the east entrance of YNP. 

One of many alpine lakes along the way and before we left YNP were Sylvan and Eleanor.

Sylvan Lake west of Sylvan Pass at 8,530 feet

Here are a few pictures (more to come) of the very distinctive geography of the high desert of east central Wyoming. This is in the Shoshone National Forest and very near Wapiti where our Trail Shop Motel was located. Wapiti, Wyoming (population of 177) was our base camp for the next three days.

   

  

Day 7 - Cowboy Butte and Fly Fishing

It is now day 7 and our last full day at the Goosewing Ranch. I must say this has been a very relaxing and fun experience. We met a lot of nice people, all with very interesting backgrounds. The staff here has truly made our time enjoyable and a place that I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to just get away from whatever rat race you have to deal with on a daily basis. Word to the wise - make reservations in advance.

For today's adventures Cindy and I went our separate ways. She decided to sign up for another 2-hour trail ride up and over Cowboy Butte. Her Wrangler on this trip was a Frenchman named Ramon. The group she was paired up with all had a wonderful time. Here are some of the pictures from that ride. 

Take a ride with Dixie up Cowboy Butte in the Gros Ventre National Forest

A view from Cowboy Butte looking due west towards Grand Tetons National Park

These are Willows trees down through this valley and prime location for Moose

I took the low road (if you consider 7,400 feet the low road) for my adventure and took some Fly Fishing lessons from the owner of the Goosewing Ranch. His name is Francois. By trade he was a pharmacist back in France. He purchased the Ranch 17 years ago after a vacation to the Jackson Hole area. He fell in love with the scenery, weather, and Cowboy way of life. He did not have a clue about the hospitality industry, but decided that the Pharmaceutical life was not his cup of tea so he jumped head first into purchasing a Hunting Lodge that was failing measurably at the time. Although I did not see what the Lodge and surrounding area looked like 17 years ago, I did have some discussions with him and what I gathered it must have been a dump. Francois certainly has remodeled it into a beautiful place.

Here are some pictures from inside the main lodge. The theme was obviously all about hunting and Francois liked that aspect of it, but he has certainly changed the outside image and activities to horseback riding and fly fishing.

Now back to the fly fishing. Francois was very knowledgeable regarding the native cutthroat trout that live and breed in the tributaries, like the Gros Ventre River, that feed into the Snake River. Fly fishing was a learned activity for him and one that he got really good at. Being a proprietor of a Ranch in Jackson Hole afforded him some unique opportunities to join many guided trips on the world renowned trophy trout waters of the Snake River. Anglers come from around the world specifically to the Jackson Hole area to fish for the elusive and fighting behaviors of the native cutthroats. Several tournaments are held every year for these fisherman in their attempt to catch 20-30 inch monsters. 

Francois took a group of us out to the lawn beside the main lodge and showed us some proper fly casting techniques, which I learned a lot from. He also showed us some typical fly's that hatch throughout the season and how to identify them. The only thing that he could not do was actually take us down to the river to show us the best holes and techniques that he uses. Why? That would be called "guiding" and that was illegal on Gros Ventre River that flows through the National Forest. I did pick up on a few hints and took it upon myself to jump in the UTV and make my way down to the general area that seemed ripe for some good fishing. Here are a few pictures.

On my way to the River

Better than any day at the office!

Fish on!!!

We finished off the evening with a brisket BBQ down by the river. The Goosewing staff already had a pit campfire going and the guests sat around on logs. Dinner was great with some Cowboy songs being sung and the sun setting over the Tetons. Life is good! While we were sitting around the campfire Cindy and I were presented a very nice bottle of wine in celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary. This was a classy gesture and appreciated by both of us. Here is a picture of the guitar/mandolin player and typical sunset.

Day 6 - Soda Lake Trail Ride

Up through the Goosewing Creek Valley in the Gros Ventre National Forest on our ride up to Soda Lake

Day 6 opened up with a 4 hour trail ride to Soda Lake. Our Wrangler on this ride was James. He was a very interesting young man from New Hampshire who pretty much grew up on the back of a horse. Besides narrating the sights and sounds along our ride he also filled us in on much of his life's ups and downs. A very colorful life I might add. Here are some of the pictures on our way up to and around Soda Lake in the Gros Ventre National Forest.

Cindy getting Dixie ready for our ride up to Soda Lake

Soda Lake

James and Cindy during our lunch at Soda Lake

The remainder of the day was filled with some more pool time, hot tub, and yet another beautiful sunset over the Tetons as seen from the Goosewing Ranch.

Day 5 - UTV and Fly Fishing

Day 5 was an off day from horseback riding. We decided to take advantage of the Utility Vehicle (aka All Terrain Vehicles [ATV]) provided to each cabin. We took an off-road ride from the Ranch at 7,400 feet up to Gunsight Pass, which is at elevation 9,437 feet. The views were outstanding.

Here is Cindy on our way out from the Ranch.

Here are a few pictures and some video from about half way up the mountain.

At the top of the mountain we were busy using the binoculars to view the adjacent mountain peaks and spot animals down below, but as it turned out about 75 yards away in a grove of young evergreens their was a bull moose preparing a place to lie down for a while. We did not get to see a full view of the animal, but it was exciting non-the-less. Here is some photos from the Pass.

Moving back down the mountain we recognized one of the available trail ride destinations called Cowboy Cabin. We did not pick this one, but we were able to drive to it using the UTV. A group of guests from the Ranch were there.

The remainder of the day was driving the UTV around the Ranch and the Gros Ventre River. Chris got in some Fly fishing, with one Cutthroat Trout caught! 

All around great day!

Day 4 - Six Hour Breakfast Ride

If yesterday's ride wasn't enough fun we decided to be adventurous (imagine that) and signed up for a six-hour breakfast ride up Goosewing Creek (see above) into the mountains southwest of the Ranch with views of the Tetons and back down Tepee Creek. We were down at the Horse Barn by 6:00 am with breakfast burritos already on the BBQ warming up and cowboy coffee being poured. It was really good! Our horses (Dixie for Cindy and Gillette for Chris) were already saddled and ready to go. Our Wrangler today was Katy. Cindy and I were the only guests on this ride. The rest of the riders wimped out! Katy really took good care of us. Here is Chris crossing the Gros Ventre River just outside of the Ranch. That's correct he has a fleece on and its 23 July!

Below is a view looking almost due east back towards the Ranch on our way out.

Hunter's cabin on the way up Goosewing Creek

Here we are at the top of the mountain with a view of the Tetons over our shoulders. Approximate altitude at this point is 9,500 feet. 

The next two pictures is us at our highest altitude at 9,562 feet. The cliffs here were amazing and yes a little scary on top of a horse.

Heading down the mountain and towards Tepee Creek and back to the Ranch.

View of Ranch from about 8,000 feet above in the Gros Ventre National Forest.

The mountain along the side of the trail was really steep here. Not a great trail ride for anyone afraid of heights!

Chris crossing back across the Gros Ventre River on the way back to the barn. The horses and riders were really tired!

After a long 18 mile ride, a good soak in the hot tub, and great dinner out on the porch, this is what closed out our magnificent day!

Day 3 - First full day at Goosewing Ranch

We are back in Maryland now and have full access to the internet so I will be posting updates when time permits.

When we got to the Goosewing Ranch. Cindy and I did not waste anytime learning about the horses that we would be riding and passed our basic riding 101. On our first full day we signed up for a four hour 
ride that would take us up to Prospect Mountain. Our Wrangler's name was Jillian. We rode along with Katy (Lead Wrangler at the Ranch). She was just along for the ride, but I suspect she was doing a check ride for Jillian since she had only been at the Ranch for a couple of weeks. We also rode with Logan (Ranch Hand) and Amet (Ranch Cook from Russia). Both were on their day off and just wanted to get a ride in. Here are a few pictures from that ride.

Jillian (left) was our lead Wrangler on this ride and Katy rode along with us. Katy is the Lead Wrangle for the Ranch.

Cindy & Chris posing on Prospect Mountain, Gros Ventre National Forest, Wyoming.

Here is one more picture looking down from Prospect Mountain towards the Ranch.