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We spent a day with Joyce and Lee last week, and what a FUN day it was.  First we drove up to Warm River and walked along the rail trail to the old tunnel.  About 80 or so years ago, the railroad ran trains to Yellowstone through Warm River.  What a scenic ride that must have been–it sure beats the Meadowlands.  Now the old rail line is a rail trail for bikes and the like.  Joyce once rode the trail on a bicycle from West Yellowstone to Ashton, and when she rode it, the tunnel was open. She said it was pretty exciting, riding through the tunnel, because it was dark, and undulating, and maybe a bear would be waiting in it.  A few years ago, the tunnel collapsed in the middle, so they built a new bypass around it.  There are pine trees growing out of the top of it.  The tunnel is just a short hike off the road, about a half a mile, and well worth the walk if you are in the area.  It’s only a few miles from Mesa Falls: 

    We watched an osprey catch a fish in the river, (the North Fork of the Snake) and he had to do some fancy flying to keep it.  Another osprey tried his best to steal the fish out of his talons as he flew toward his nest above the falls.  There are osprey everywhere along this waterway.  Such a FUN day! 

   How funny is this?  After our flock of moose (see post below) we thought we were done with artsy statues of range animals.  About two weeks after our trek through Vermont, we saw this herd in West Yellowstone, Montana.  We drove up to West last Thursday evening, in anticipation of an early morning visit to Yellowstone.  There were 36 of these critters standing all over town, and we drove around in a grid taking their photos.  My favorite is the wolves.  It stands just outside the Yellowstone Discovery Museum.  I wonder what critter statues will crop up next time.  A few years ago, it was cows.  In Manhattan.  Very, very weird.

     While driving through Bennington, Vermont on Monday, we drove through a herd of moose.  We took these drive-bys and captured about a third of the herd.  These will have to do until I see another live Bulwinkle.  With all of this NY-Maine travel, I may not have to wait long. 

  We took a little drive north on Saturday to Rockland, Maine to add another lighthouse to our growing list, and on the road to Owl’s Head Light we passed Lobster Lane. 

  Traps near the shed.  We were fortunate to miss the rain on the lighthouse run.