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**moosetags** · 05-25-2010, 11:00 PM

Well, the weather finally broke in Northern Wyoming and the sun actually came out. Before we headed into the Forest, we had to snap a picture of Main Street Buffalo in the sunshine.

We then set out in pursuit of Mooses late in the day, and a good day it was. We spotted a total of eight Mooses. Four of them were spotted together which is a rare occurrence.

We stayed out in the forest until after dark, so some of the pictures of the sightings were marginal, but we did the best we could..

The first two photos demonstrate what a difference a day make. These road sign pictures were taken less than 24 hours apart.

Brian

Lily&Me · 05-26-2010, 04:16 AM

Great pictures! Looks cold there!

Maggie

genearnold · 05-26-2010, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Gene, having grown up here, maybe you can answer a question for me. Why are the 'Big Horn' Mountains and the 'Big Horn' Region two words, and the 'Bighorn' National Forest and 'Bighorn' Sheep are one word?

I don't really know the answer, but when did not knowing ever stop a preacher from giving an answer?

I can think of two possibles. 1) I seem to remember that we called the south end of the mountains (west of KayCee) "The Horn," so maybe that accounts for the term. 2) I suspect it is more likely that in the early days of exploration somebody gave the alternate spelling to Bighorn.

For example, when I studied Idaho history after coming here in 1990 I learned the origin of the name for the range of mountains that is in southwest Idaho and southeast Oregon. They are the Owyhees. Before my study I assumed the name to be an Indian word. However, presumably they were named by early trappers in honor of two trappers from Hawaii who disappeared there and were never found. I learned that "Owyhee" was the way many people spelled Hawaii.

Gene

**moosetags** · 05-26-2010, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jglabrown

Brian - Have you driven north yet to Sibley Lake? In theory it opens on May 25th but if it's snowed in now, I expect it to remain so for awhile (here in Washington we're experiencing temperatures that are averaging 5-10 degrees below normal, and that possibly extends into Wyoming). By the way, I've been told that there is excellent moose (plural) viewing just south of West Yellowstone at Harriman SP in case you're interested in returning home that way. - Larry

Larry,

We took a ride up to Ranchester and into the north end of the Bighorn National Forest this morning. It's a lot more snowed in up there than down by Buffalo.

Below are pictures of the entrance to Sibley Lake Campground and of Sibley lake itself.

One of the Rangers at Burgess Junction told us that they are estimating the opening of the campgrounds to be in ten days to two weeks.

Brian

Gene · 05-26-2010, 07:38 PM

I don't know about Big Horn or Bighorn since I didn't grow up in the west, but since I grew up in New York, I know that it was once spelled New-York and the New-York Historical Society, quite appropriately, is still spelled that way. We ran into a few showers and lots of clouds today, so I expect it's heading your way.

Gene

jglabrown · 05-26-2010, 08:43 PM

Thank you for the Sibley Lake pictures. Because of your reports, we've changed our reservations to a little later date for the Bighorns and Yellowstone; Yellowstone in "white" is pretty, but we've done that before. You've saved us some aggravation. Thanks, also, for the continuing updates on Lucy's latest adventure: sounds wonderful, albeit chilly.
Larry

**moosetags** · 05-26-2010, 10:38 PM

After looking around up at the north end of the Bighorn National Forest, we came back to Buffalo to continue our pursuit of Mooses.

We have decided to hang in here in Buffalo through the Holiday Weekend. We made a stop for provisions at the Wal-Mart in Sheridan on that way back to Buffalo.

Once back at Lucy, we made a late Moose run into the Forest. We saw five and got a few pictures. We didn't get back to Lucy until after dark.

Brian

Lily&Me · 05-27-2010, 06:17 AM

Great pics!

Maggie

ibgl6 · 05-27-2010, 03:57 PM

What is that yellow 4 wheeler a alien space craft?? HaHa that would be cool to ride on the beach.. Nuthin to report from ya'lls neck of the woods just sunny and hot hot hot....SAM

310astream · 05-27-2010, 04:56 PM

My bride and I camped at Sibley Lake on our honeymoon, coming up 33 years ago. It is truly a beautiful campground. Some years later with small children in tow we camped with friends at Sibley Lake. On the way down the mountain we ran into friends who had camped at the lake just the day before we did and a bear came through the campground and tore open a few coolers. We were glad we missed that excitement. We will be camping north of Ten Sleep June 4th for four days and are been looking forward to relaxing and enjoying family.

Rick/Linda in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota

**moosetags** · 05-27-2010, 11:01 PM

We had a good day in the Big Horn National Forest. We had 14 Moose sightings late this afternoon and early this evening. Some additional Forest Roads were opened today, so we did a lot of exploring.

We were able get back to Tie Hack Lake for the first time. The lake is still frozen solid as shown with SuEllyn posing at the lake.

We got some really good Moose photos and had a lot of good sightings today. We didn't get back to Lucy until well after dark.

Brian

**moosetags** · 05-27-2010, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ibgl6

What is that yellow 4 wheeler a alien space craft?? HaHa that would be cool to ride on the beach.. Nuthin to report from ya'lls neck of the woods just sunny and hot hot hot....SAM

Sam, we saw this thing along the street in Sheridan. I did not know that such a thing existed. I'm pretty sure that it's designed for snow, but I also think that it would work great at the beach.

Here are some more shots of this super ATV.

Brian

gail · 05-27-2010, 11:44 PM

thanks i appreciate all your site visits, we are hoping to head that way in july.

dogpound · 05-28-2010, 07:08 AM

Brian:

That yellow monstor is a snow cat. It is a smaller version that what they use to groom the ski slopes. More of an atv that is designed for snow.

Was raised in that country near Buffalo. Left there in 63 to go to Navy. Has been several years since I have been back. Don't know when the Dept. of Wildlife introduced the moose to the area. Some of my college friends living in Wyo. have drawn permits for hunting them.

We always hunted deer and elk West of Buffalo and fished Meadowlark Lake.

Have enjoyed all of your pictures.

Have a safe trip

Bob
FCU/CAC
TAC CO-7

Lily&Me · 05-28-2010, 08:45 AM

Wow!! Great pictures!! We are going to have to visit this area, and soon!

Maggie

**moosetags** · 05-28-2010, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

Wow!! Great pictures!! We are going to have to visit this area, and soon!

Maggie

Maggie,

This is our fourth year in a row bringing Lucy to the Bighorn national Forest. We really like this area. I guess because it's so different from Florida. We don't have a lot of mountains, or snow for that matter, around.home.

This is what we love about Airstreaming. We can take Lucy to a different part of the country, hook her up, and feel like we live there.

Brian

**moosetags** · 05-28-2010, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogpound

Brian:

That yellow monstor is a snow cat. It is a smaller version that what they use to groom the ski slopes. More of an atv that is designed for snow.

Was raised in that country near Buffalo. Left there in 63 to go to Navy. Has been several years since I have been back. Don't know when the Dept. of Wildlife introduced the moose to the area. Some of my college friends living in Wyo. have drawn permits for hunting them.

We always hunted deer and elk West of Buffalo and fished Meadowlark Lake.

Have enjoyed all of your pictures.

Have a safe trip

Bob
FCU/CAC
TAC CO-7

Bob,

On this snow cat, I noticed that it steers with handle bars. Do the tracks actually turn, or do the different sides slow and speed up to maneuver?

There are still plenty of deer and elk west of Buffalo. We have seen good size herds of each.

Brian

FlashSilver · 05-28-2010, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Thanks for the great photos of the scenery and the mooses too! I don't know why my spell checker says "mooses" is incorrect??

Gene

I think it was Mark Twain who said, " I have no respect for a man who knows only one way to spell a word."

**moosetags** · 05-28-2010, 11:09 PM

Well, not wanting bore you, it was another good Moosing day here in the Bighorn National Forest. We had about a dozen sightings today. Some were at a distance, but others were close up. The temperature today was in the 70's.

Here are some of the better photos of the day, including a closeup that SuEllyn got of a Marmot. These little guys are hard to catch on film. There is also photo of a solitary Olivia against a snowy mountain backdrop.

Brian

ROBERTSUNRUS · 05-28-2010, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosetags

Here are some of the better photos of the day, including a closeup that SuEllyn got of a Marmot. These little guys are hard to catch on film. There is also photo of a solitary Olivia against a snowy mountain backdrop.

Brian

Hi, great pictures; What film are you using?