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Is everyone in Yellowstone National Park?

 

Sulphur Caldron (one of the most active areas of Yellowstone’s buried volcano)

The geological phenomena that is Yellowstone National Park (NP) attracts a global array of tourists. It’s July and it seems like everyone is at the same overlook we’re at.

We’d picked July because the Flyfishing Federation International meeting was in Bozeman. 

No surprise …

it’s not a good idea to go at the peak of the season.  That said, Yellowstone is the kind of park you can see from your car.

Pretty much most national parks are not dog friendly. Tip was banned from nearly every trail, boardwalk, and even short-paved paths to scenic overlooks. That, and the jam of people kept our visit to a day and a half, but in that time we managed to see a lot of cool sites.

Artist Point (Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River)

It should be noted that we avoided the geyser basins. My childhood memories of Yellowstone are of unpleasant odors (gagging and retching), rather than magnificant views.  We managed to find some un-occupied pull-outs along the Madison and Firehole rivers that made perfect picnic stops.

It’s a beautiful park, just a bit crowded which is to be expected.  We did manage to catch bison stopping traffic, as well as a couple of bull elk in velvet. Yeah, the classic Yellowstone picture ops.

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A basic scone recipe

Simple is good when it comes to getting scones on the table. This recipe can be brought together quickly in the food processor and it is pretty easy to add dried fruit and/or nuts at the end.

Print Recipe

Folkestone Inn Scones

Nice basic scone recipe
Course: Breakfast

Ingredients

  • 2 cups All purpose (AP) flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 5½ Tablespoons butter chilled and cut into cubes
  • 1 egg
  • 1 yolk
  • ⅓ cup milk more if needed

glaze

  • 1 egg white
  • ¼ cup sugar use as needed for frosting

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to food processor and combine. Add cubes of butter to mixture and mix until the flour resembles a coarse crumb.
  • In separate bowl combine egg, yolk and 1/3 cup milk.
  • Add egg mixture to the food processor bowl and run until a ball forms. You can add more milk to soften the dough.
  • Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead gently. Form into a ball.
  • Roll out to 1/2 inch thick circle and cut into wedges about 2 inches wide. Place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet.
  • In a small bowl beat egg white until frothy and then brush over the top of dough wedges and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
  • Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Cool on wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
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A Pilgrimage of sorts

Montana’s version of coal mining occurred in the late 1800s in the Ruby Valley. Placer mining, basically dredging up the earth to find gold, made a few people very rich and left a swath of what was once a beautiful valley a patchwork of rock hillocks.

At one end of the Ruby Valley and north of the notorious Nevada and Virginia cities, is the town of Twin Bridges. Sitting along the Jefferson River this small town is home to a premier rod building company. Winston Rod Company makes some of the finest fly fishing sticks in the world and they do it all from a factory in this small Montana town.

Been there and got the hat.

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One of Three Forks

In the mid-seventies I spent a few years in Bozeman, MT attending college and attempting to be a filmmaker. Eventually, I turned to television, moved north and really never went back. Until this summer.

Some of my more memorable fishing experiences involved the Gallatin River, but that was nearly 50 years ago. When you put it like that, I feel quite old. 

A lot has changed in the Gallatin Valley, but the river is a constant. Headwaters in Yellowstone Park, the Gallatin flows north first meandering through alpine meadows and then rushing through a rocky canyon. It spills out onto the farmlands west of Bozeman, eventually joining the Jefferson and Madison to become the Missouri river. 

This road trip was a shakedown of camper van and kit. We didn’t even have fly rods.  Two days were spent camped mere feet from the river’s edge. A vantage point that offered many restful hours watching the stream flow by.