WONDER

Some Winter News

Greetings all,

Again, sorry for the delay. New Year’s Resolution was to mind the blog better in 2018 — off to a slow start. Unlike friends on the East Coast, up until a few days ago we’ve experienced a mild winter in Laramie: some annoying snow shoveling but not nearly as bad as most years. Our mountains though are getting some good snow and with that some interesting news, of sorts, our local ski area put together a ski package designed for senior skiers (Extended Flier Senior Ski Package Announcement (March9’18)); it’s great fun teaching this group and working part-time for the ski area again. And, just returned from a few days in Yellowstone … enjoyed last year’s winter visit so much needed to return. This time we added a bit more cross-country skiing to our daily park visiting agenda. Highly recommend! Below are a few photos. Otherwise all doing well. Hope same true for you. Keep in touch!

Bison in snow, Soda Butte Creek – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Cross-country skiing Upper Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Upper Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Upper Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Orange Spring Mound, Upper Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Canary Spring, Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Upper Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Soda Butte – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone River with snow – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Lamar River covered by snow – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Northern River Otter, Lamar River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Northern River Otter, Lamar River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Northern River Otter, Lamar River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Coyote near Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bighorn sheep near confluence of Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Elk near Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Pronghorn near Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Mule deer near Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison near Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Cross-country skiing near Obsidian Creek – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Cross-country skiing near Calcite Springs overlook – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Cross-country skiing near Tower Fall – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison in snow, Lamar Valley – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison in snow, Lamar Valley – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison near Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

 

Holiday Greetings 2017

Holiday Greetings all,

Apologize for the lengthy delay; it’s been a challenging year … ups and downs. We’ve all had to live with an immature president who tends to behave as a middle school bully (for the first time when traveling abroad I was embarrassed to identify myself as someone from the U.S.) Then there was the passing of my mom and Trapper; another year growing older and adjusting to retirement; and another year missing one of my front teeth. (Actually, during each of the past two Christmases I managed to lose a front tooth — but happy to report no tooth loss yet this holiday season.) And there were good times: Susan and Rusty provided plenty of hugs (in her own way Sorrel was loving); we were able to spend time with family and friends (Yellowstone, Ann Arbor, Ravena, Tanzania, Los Gatos, Walnut Creek and Laramie); we took up tennis; I taught skiing part-time at Winter Park; trekked to the summit of Kilimanjaro; returned to Kenya with a fun group of travelers; and even sold a few photos (always enjoy hearing from folks interested in one of my photos). Hope you all had some fun adventures as well and best wishes for 2018! Below are a few holiday photos.Season Greetings 2017Spent most of 2017 missing one of my front teeth … again!

Finally have all my front teeth, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Susan opening gifts, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Rusty and Sorrel gave Susan a special mug “English Springer Spaniel Mom”, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

The greatest gift (Odell Brewing Company Inflatable Tube) to hold my IPA while floating in water, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Sorrel & Rusty wanting to open presents, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Sorrel & Rusty watching me open my Odell Brewing Company Inflatable Tube, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Rusty opening presents, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Rusty with his lamb, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Rusty playing with boxes, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Sorrel smiling, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Sorrel patiently waiting for Christmas to be over, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

A new ornament for the tree, Christmas 2017 – Laramie, Wyoming

Sad News

Greetings all,

Unfortunately this blog shares sad news: my mom, who was 95-years-of-age, passed quietly Saturday, November 18th. Fortunately my sister Donna and I spent some family time with her just two weeks ago. A few of you knew my mom and might recall her ever present smile and positive disposition. Last year Donna and I assembled and shared with mom a photo collage featuring family, friends and moments from her rich long life; she seemed to enjoy it. Both the collage and a brief obit are included below. She’ll be missed! Mom Obituary (Nov 21 2017)

Marvelous Mara

Greetings all,

It’s mid-August and I’m still cataloging photos from a seventeen-day visit to Kenya two months ago. The main reason I’m not finished is making an iMovie of the trek up Kilimanjaro lasted longer than expected. But now it’s completed and I get to work with (and experience once again) a wonderful trip highlighted by my fifth visit to the marvelous Maasai Mara Game Reserve located in south western Kenya. The Mara (roughly the size of the Northern Range in Yellowstone National Park) is the northern extension of the Serengeti ecosystem and generally hosts the “Great Migration” July through October each year — approximately 1.5 million wildebeests, 500,00 gazelles and 250,000 zebras participate. This year the migration arrived earlier than expected and it was grand but then again, the Mara is always a special place. Below are a few photos.

Grasslands of the Mara spotted with trees and clouds  (Mara means spotted) – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Tanzania and Kenya border marker – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Male Agama lizard – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Little bee-eater – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Lilac-breasted roller – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Male Southern Ground hornbills – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Female Masai ostriches – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

African elephant with calf – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

African elephants – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Masai giraffes- Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Common hippopotamus – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Plains zebras – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Plains zebras – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Common wildebeests with Plains zebras – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Common wildebeests crossing the Mara River – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Spotted hyena – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Black-backed jackals – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Lions – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Female with male lion – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Male lion – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Sunrise on the Mara – Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

Amber’s Article

Recently my friend Amber Travsky (Contributing Outdoors Columnist for the Laramie Boomerang) wrote a nice piece on my summit of Mount Kilimanjaro; it appeared in our local newspaper July 15, 2017. I tried forwarding the Boomerang article to a few of you but was unsuccessful. So, Amber provided me an unedited copy and gave me permission to share. Have also included two photos appearing in the paper with newspaper captions, as well as a photo that’s a favorite of mine. Now that all the Kilimanjaro photos are catalogued I’ll begin cataloging photos from my June trip to Kenya; will share some shortly.

Cheers,

Michael

climing kili

Mount Kilimanjaro rises above the savannah of Tanzania. At 19,344 feet, it is the highest point in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain on earth. Laramie resident Michael Day recently made it to the summit during a seven-day trek that began at 6,000 feet. (Laramie Boomerang July 15, 2017)

Laramie resident Michael Day poses at Uhuru Peak, marking the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Day, an avid trekker who hiked to the base camp of Mount Everest five years ago, said coming down from the summit and completing an 18-hour hike in one day was one of his toughest days ever in all his adventures. He’s ready to do it again though, and is already contemplating a return to include more time to explore the volcano summit of Kilimanjaro. (Laramie Boomerang July 15, 2017)

The two summits of Mount Kilimanjaro (Kibo on the left and Mawenzi on the right) as viewed from the Mweka to Moshi road – Tanzania

Remembering Trapper

Susan and I are extremely grateful for the outpouring of affection shown for Trapper. He would be pleased to know he touched so many lives in such a positive way. As you might imagine the house seems rather empty without him though Sorrel & Rusty are doing their best to help fill the void; we sense they miss Trapper too. Our first night without Trapper was tough; I woke around 2:30 in the morning and couldn’t return to sleep so put together a little collage that seemed, for me anyway, to capture some of the things Trapper enjoyed. As the collage illustrates, Trapper thrived on activity (of all sorts); what seems hard to believe is he was only part of our family for less than five years (his “Gotta Ya Day” was 3 November 2012). This past year must have been very difficult for Trapper because the only real activity he generally got was short walks to the park.  Again, for those who knew Trapper, I hope you enjoy this little tribute to a wonderful companion. (As some of you know the best way to contact me is still through my Univ of Wyo Email Account: mikeday@uwyo.edu.)

Cheers and thanks again,

Michael 

Trapper Passes

I have some sad news to share. Trapper, our rescue dog, passed early this morning in his sleep at home; we believe he was fourteen. Many of you knew Trapper and knew what a special boy he was; he shared nearly five years of his life with us. We thought Trapper might die this past January when he developed a large open cyst on his hip and that I’d carry and leave his ashes on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. But Trapper recovered well from surgery and gave us another precious seven months. He’ll be greatly missed. Below are a few photos used in blogs previously.

Trapper a few days after we welcomed him into our family (November 2012)- Laramie, WY
Trapper and Susan (November 2012) – Laramie, WY

Rusty, Sorrel and Trapper with new Christmas collars (December 2012) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper with Christmas collar (December 2012) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper enjoying snow (March 2013) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper in Washington Park (August 2013) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper enjoying snow (January 2014) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper and Rusty enjoying snow (January 2014) – Laramie, Wyoming

Trapper enjoying snow (April 2016) – Hutton Lake NWR Road, Wyoming

Trapper, frequent c0-pilot and wonderful friend and companion (January 2017) – Laramie, Wyoming

 

 

 

 

Remaining Snows of Kilimanjaro

Greetings all,

Just returned from trekking to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Thought for sure I’d take along the ashes of our rescue dog Trapper (likely 14 years old by now and who has slowed down quite a bit since January) but he’s still hanging on and we love him for it. [Some of you might recall when I trekked to Base Camp Mount Everest in October 2012 (see November 5, 2012 blog) I carried Andy’s ashes who had passed a few months earlier; had a nice ceremony for him when we arrived at Base Camp.] So this time no dog ashes (Trapper was at home with Susan and the twins) but still did the trek in his honor. And it was beautiful! It was also the most challenging trek of my life – especially the long descent to High Camp. After five days hiking (beginning at 6,000 feet) we began our final push for the summit at midnight and steadily climbed over 4,000 feet in a calm but cold (5-10 degrees) starry night, reaching Uhuru Peak at 8:45am June 13^th.  Sunrise (around 6:45am) was breathtaking but no photos since my camera (insulated and snug) was in my backpack. There is a Swahili phrase “pole pole” which translates “slowly slowly” and that is the secret to a successful summit. So nearly nine hours after beginning our climb we stood on the roof of Africa (highest peak on the continent at 19,341 feet) but it would take until 6pm (another nine hours) until we arrived at our final camp – and THAT WAS A LONG, SLOW, ROCKY, SCREE COVERED, DUSTY, HIKE DOWN! Complete physical and mental exhaustion! But I did summit successfully and with no high altitude symptoms (no headache, no nausea, no trouble breathing the thin air). I felt GREAT at the summit!! And managed to spend an hour taking photos. Attached are a few images from the summit and the remaining snows of Kilimanjaro. Small tinga tinga painting purchased in Tanzania in 20o9. Two of Kilimanjaro’s peaks are depicted: Kibo on the left (elevation 19, 341 feet) and Mawenzi on the right (elevation 16, 893 feet)

Kibo (Mount Kilimanjaro) viewed from High Camp – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Kibo (Mount Kilimanjaro) viewed from High Camp – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Crater of Mount Kilimanjaro looking northwest with summit (Uhuru Peak) barely visible upper left – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Trail to summit (Uhuru Peak), crater visible on right – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Trail from summit (Uhuru Peak), southern ice field visible on right – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Final push to Uhuru Peak – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Celebrating with companions, Uhuru Peak – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak (top of Africa) looking northwest toward northern ice field (near top of image) and Furtwangler Glacier in the foreground – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak looking northwest toward northern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak  looking north into crater – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak  looking toward northern ice field above the crater – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak  looking east toward Mawenzi Peak (16, 893 feet) – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak looking southeast toward Mawenzi Peak and southern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak  looking southeast toward southern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak, closeup southern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak  looking southwest toward southern ice field and Mount Meru (elevation 14, 968 feet, 43 miles away) – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak  looking southwest toward southern ice field and Mount Meru – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak  looking south toward southern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

View from Uhuru Peak  looking south toward southern ice field – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Summit Mount Kilimanjaro (Uhuru Peak) – Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

Snow (2017)

Greetings all,

I’ve been thinking a great deal about snow recently. Funny after 35 years living with lots of snow each winter (actually sometimes from September to May) I’ve begun to appreciate snow differently. Perhaps that’s due to spending more time actually “in” snow this winter – teaching skiing part-time at Winter Park Resort in Colorado and exploring Yellowstone National Park in February for a week. In the past during a snowy blizzard I generally stayed comfortably indoors but this winter I spent many days outside during stormy conditions: traveling from place to place, teaching skiing, or attempting to take photos. I’m no longer surprised the Inuit (Eskimo) have a hundred words for snow http://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/varia/snow.html; ski instructors have lots of words for various snow conditions too. (A list provided by Mike Dole includes corduroy, crud, crust, powder, packed powder, slush, snow grains, snow pellets, etc. https://www.thoughtco.com/types-of-snow-3010035.) More than ever, I’m attracted to the calm beauty of snow after a storm (when it blankets a landscape) and the animals who endure it — together providing breathtaking drama and charm. Below are a few photos.

Pine Creek School – Livingston, Montana

Palette Spring, Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison in snow, near Madison River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Trumpeter swan in snow, Madison River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Will Creek – Willow Creek Pass, Colorado

Parkview Mountain (12, 301 feet) – Willow Creek Pass, Colorado

Parkview Mountain (12, 301 feet) – Willow Creek Pass, Colorado

Skier, Mary Jane Mountain with Parry Peak (13,397 feet) in background – Winter park Resort, Colorado

Electric Peak (10, 968 feet) – Gallatin Range, Montana

West Fork trail, Old Faithful Area – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

West Fork trail, Old Faithful Area – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Firehole River, Old Faithful Area – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison in snow, near Madison River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone in Winter (2017)

Greetings all,

Just returned from a week in the Park. Though I’ve spent over 100 days enjoying and exploring Yellowstone National Park, until now I’ve never experienced it in the heart of winter. (The prime catalyst for the trip was a 70^th Birthday present and a reunion of pals who last traveled together in 1969.) Now, I highly recommend visiting Yellowstone in winter! For numerous reasons Yellowstone is a very special place when hugged by snow: less people and iconic winter subjects. Beautiful! Below are a few photos.

West Fork trail, Old Faithful Area – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison, Firehole River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Trumpeter swans, Firehole River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Gibbon Falls – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Yellowstone River near the brink of the Upper Falls, entering Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison near Castle Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Old Faithful Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison crossing near Castle Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison near Crested Pool, Upper Geyser Basin – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison, Lamar Valley – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Firehole Falls, Firehole Canyon – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Lower Falls, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Trumpeter swans, Madison River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Coyote, near Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Coyote, near Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Common raven and juvenile Bald eagle, near Madison River – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bobby socks trees, thermal area near Lower Geyser Basin – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Palette Spring, Mammoth Hot Springs – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Snowcoaches – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Michael, Frank & Paul, Roosevelt Arch – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming