OT:Humor

[Mike]

National Park Service Yellowstone National Park West Yellowstone, Montana

Notice to all Rangers and Enforcement Officers RE: Grizzly Bear Population

Be aware that Grizzly (Brown) Bear populations in the park are up significantly this year. It is important to inform all visitors to take bear precautions.

It is recommended that all hikers and back-packers going into the back-country carry small bells on their clothing or packs. Carrying a can of pepper spray is also recommended.

Hikers and back-packers should also be informed about the differences between black bear droppings (skat) and grizzly bear droppings.

Black bear droppings will contain berries, and sometimes squirrel fur.

Grizzly bear droppings will contain small bells and smell like pepper spray.

[Odinn]

On 6/28/2005 11:44 PM Mike mumbled something about the following:

Funny you should post this, I'm fixing to head through Yellowstone on my way to Sturgis (spending a whole day in Yellowstone).

[Mike]

That will be quite a view from the back of a motorcycle! My grandparents used to live in Idaho and we would visit the park every few years. My wife and I went a few years ago and stayed at the Lake Hotel for a few days but I haven't been since.

If you haven't checked yet some of the roads in the park are either closed or have restricted hours this year. It might not mess with you depending on which way you are coming from. You can check them at this site:

O.

[Knothead]

Having spent a few summers working at Mamoth Hot Springs I can attest that this is one of those stories that lies more in fact than funny. For the person biking through I am curious as to what you will do if you are in a forty car traffic hold up when said bear is being observed on the park highway and it is your turn to fall under scrutiny? Granted the better bear encounters do happen at Glacier but one never knows. I saw the results of a Dodge Omni that was peeled open like a can of Tuna at Roosevelt lodge when I was there...

[Vito Kuhn]

You left out the punch line.

VK

[Doug Miller]

No, Frito, you just didn't get it. It's right there.

[fredfighter]

Uh huh. I've read that bears have learned to recognize canned food and have no trouble opening the cans. To a bear, an automobile is just a big can.

[Upscale]

I'm guessing that he recognized the last line as the punch line, but just didn't find it funny.

[Doug Miller]

Either interpretation is possible; Frito hasn't shown much evidence of a sense of humor.

[Odinn]

On 6/29/2005 6:55 PM Mike mumbled something about the following:

Yes, heard about Beartooth pass, and we were planning on doing that, now we have to reroute thru Sylvan pass and deal with the construction delays or go out the south entrance. Other places we plan on hitting on this trip are: Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and Yosemite. Our planned route is 4800 miles in 9 days, starting from Atlanta GA, out to Yosemite, up to Walla Walla WA, and back across to Sturgis.

[Odinn]

On 6/30/2005 8:32 AM Knothead mumbled something about the following:

Bear aren't the only concerns when out when on a bike some of the places we ride.

was taken after we had to stop for a herd of buffalo, they walked by as close as 3 or 4 ft from the bikes.

[Richard Clements]

Last year when I was at the park my wife got a book, about Deaths in Yellowstone, it was rather interesting, worry more about the Buffalo then the bears, they kill a lot more people then bears do

Mike wrote:

[Mike]

Sounds like great fun! Man, you're gonna have a sore butt!

Mike O.

[Vito Kuhn]

"Frito"? The alt.usenet.kooks miscreants got to you too, I see.

VK

[Vito Kuhn]

You guessed correctly.

VK

[Larry Jaques]

On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 22:46:08 -0400, the opaque Odinn spake:

Take the hikes, steam locomotive trip, inner dam tour, and the hikes, respectively. Odinn. Mesa Verde is probably similar to Bandelier and I had a blast there.

I'm still mad that my buddy (driver) wouldn't let me go inside the Hoover Dam for the tour that time, 25 years ago.

I've wanted to ride that steam loco at the Grand Canyon for years now but have never been there. I plan on the mule train down to the river overnight, too, once I do finally get to take that trip.

If you swing by the Sedona, AZ area, stop and take the train ride in Verde Canyon. When I went, it was about 80° and sunny on the way out. There was a severe thunderstorm which passed directly over us on the way back, so that was a -really- interesting trip. When you said "Mesa Verde", I thought "Verde Canyon."

is breathtaking, so make sure you walk around in the valley.

Man, where do 500,000 bikers SHIT at a shindig like that, let alone eat, drink, and sleep? Ay chihuahua! ;) That's a -longass- ride.

Fare thee well.

--- Annoy a politician: Be trustworthy, faithful, and honest! ---

Comprehensive Website Development

[jo4hn]

[snippage] I remember from my kidhood (hold the ice age jokes please) reading about the American Bison and what grumpy critters they are, and how one should not trust any animal that large and that stupid. I was raised in eastern South Dakota (Yankton) and my folks and us kids would travel by car to see other relative every summer. One spot that was almost always on the route was the Black Hills and Custer state park. I remember driving along and coming across a large herd of bison and a large herd of people walking up to them, cameras in hand, looking to snap a photo of junior and a genuine buffalo. I think that was my first indication that supposed h*mo sapiens can be astonishingly stupid.

Then down the road came a small park service fire truck to try to separate one animal from the other. Happily, they did not need to pump water at either group, but the potential was there. mahalo, jo4hn

[John T]

Pfft. Back when my wife (then girlfriend) and I took a trip, a herd of buffalo brushed right up against the car...that was sooo cool.

Windows were open, and we were sitting in windows until they got close.

John

[Odinn]

On 7/1/2005 11:56 PM Mike mumbled something about the following:

Not at all, 500 miles a day is a breeze.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes, but you don't see anything.

Last year we spent 4 days to do 300 miles. This is in territory I've been through many times at your pace. Saw thing I never knew existed even though I passed them many times before. In that 300 miles, we used the Interstate for maybe 10 miles.