Roosevelt Lodge Old West Dinner Cookout

This is something Bob has been excited to do and I've held out for 2 years but finally gave in. For some reason, an old fashion steak cookout doesn't thrill me as a vegetarian, but I'll go along with it once!

Bob's main desire was to ride a horse out to the cookout rather than the wagon but the date we could book the trip, the horses were all taken or the kid who booked it didn't have a clue. Either way, it worked out for the better.

Here we are loading on the wagons.






These are the wagons after we have unloaded at the Yancey Hole Cookout Area. It has a history dating back to the 1800's and has been used  for the cookout since about 1929.









The afternoon/evening started out well enough and while we piled our plates full of food (I had a prearranged veggie burger) these 2 'cowboy's' were singing under this little platform.










And then it started to rain...and rain...and rain. Rather than run for the large pavilion, we took refuge under the huge fir trees and they provided enough break for us to finish our dinners.





Now the funny part (in our minds at least) happened. There was a group on horseback that took a 2 hour ride earlier and wound up at the cookout first to eat dinner and then a 1 hour group of riders came after that to eat.

Our wagons held the last of the guests to get in to eat.





So about this time, the wranglers called for the 2 hour riders to go to their horse and get up to ride back. And after they left the 1 hour riders were called. It's along this time Bob decided he was happy enough riding the wagons. And yes, it was still raining.









Doesn't this look like fun now? Do you see the empty tables?



 




Before we left, there were some fun songs under the large pavilion and story telling.









A tradition as the wagons leave is each wagon circles around by the cooks to tell them thank you. We sang "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" to them and they tipped their hats to us.

And as we pulled back up to the corral, the rain went away. It was fun, it's been done, and Yancey's Cookout Area will show up in a future post.

Sheepeater's Cliff

This is a favorite for us, it's easy and provides wonderful views. We were able to introduce the whole area to Phyllis this year. She told us about several new hikes so it was good to be able to take her to one she hasn't seen.


Unlike the implication of the name, the Shoshone Indians didn't kill the sheep to eat, but to harvest their horns for weapons.

If the horns and bones were soaked in hot water, provided by the surrounding hot springs, they became very pliable and could be stretched and molded to make a bow (as in bow and arrow).

The Shoshone were the last of the local tribes to adapt to using horses so they would herd the sheep into this natural cove in order to make the kills.


The above picture is a half round basalt ring taken from the entry point. This next picture shows the same area from above. We climbed up the left side and followed a semi path all the way around the top.







We wondered why so many of the rocks are hexagon shaped. Phyllis took a course on the geology of the park and was told this is the least stressful shape on the lava when it is cooling. The cooling starts from the top and works down, and the column below chooses the path of least resistance. If the top starts as this shape, it will follow below as the cooling continues.







Then we climbed back down to the parking lot and walked along the Gardiner River away from the immediate cliffs.

There is a good bit of forested area to walk under but when there is a view, it is the river on one side and more basalt cliffs on the other.










And here is our reward...the Cascades Waterfall.

























At the base of the falls Bob and Phylllis found these bones through their cameras. We suspect a cougar pulled this section away from a carcass and brought it there to eat in peace.

This is a great shot from the vantage point we had.

Then as you rotate to look down river, there is this beautiful valley of Willows all over it. We were sure there was a moose down there watching us look for it and laughing!








The hike is about 1/2 mile out through fairly dense underbrush and back the same way. We walked on about another 1/2 mile following an animal trail but it disappeared so we turned back.