Star Valley Wyoming

Star Valley Wyoming
AlpineThayneAfton  • Freedom

Cutter Races, Afton Wyoming

Afton Cutter Races
Click on photo for purchase info

 

 

Cattle drive in Alpine Wyomin is usually a family affair
Cattle drive in Alpine Wyoming is usually a family affair, the Nelson girls do their part to get their families herd to summer range.

Wyoming's Star Valley is known as the "Little Switzerland of America," because of its beautiful farms surrounded by steep, rugged mountains. The area's many dairy herds and dairy products enhance its claim to the European moniker. The moniker certainly fits. With a beautiful high-alpine setting and the rural backdrop of a mountain valley, northwestern Wyoming’s Star Valley really does feel like a picture postcard from some long-past excursion to Switzerland except that we wear regular clothes here.

Star Valley is located 30 miles south of Jackson Hole and is tucked between the Salt River Range in western Wyoming and the Webster Range of eastern Idaho. Scattered through Star Valley are a number of small towns with unusual names like Smoot, Grover, Etna. Alpine, Thayne, Osmond, Freedom and the areas newest town Star Valley Ranch. Three national forests surround Star Valley, Bridger-Teton National Forest, Caribou National Forest, and the Targhee National. Star Valley Wyoming. The Snake and Greys River inter the valley on the north side and dump into 20-mile long Palisades Lake and the Salt River winds through its center. Star Valley provides great access for the outdoorsman and is home to world class hunting and fishing. Star Valley Is a rich place to visit or live.

antique derilect tractors, Star Valley, Wyoming
Tractors, Star Valley, Wyoming

Star Valley still lives its western heritage, ranching is still a way of life for many. In the Spring you can still find cowboys driving cows to summer pasture in the surrounding mountains and in Fall you can find them at roundup time for the cattle drive back to the ranch.

The valley hosts quite a variety of fishing opportunities. The Salt River that flows through the valley offers great fishing for brown, rainbow and cutthroat trout, the Grey's River and little Greys River are home to many fine cutthroat trout and Alpine Canyon's Snake River provides great whitewater adventure fishing for cutthroats. Star Valley is only a 20 mile drive to the world class fly-fishery the South Fork of the Snake. If you prefer lake fishing to rivers 20 mile long Palisades Reservoir provides fishing opportunities for all of the above as well as Kokanee Salmon. All of these rivers are fed by small stream many of which fish well as well but some things are best left unpublished assmall streams can't take the pressure of fame................................. for more fishing Info

A fly-fisherman trying to persuade cutthrout trout to come up for a visit on the Greys River below the Salt River Mountain Range

The magnificent mountains of Star Valley Wyoming are known worldwide for their excellent big game animals. elk, deer, bear, antelope, moose, mountain lion, mountain goat, and bighorn sheep can all be hunted here in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Many Boon and Crocket records have been established here. This region has a large selection of outfitters and guides to fulfill the dreams of any sportsman............................. for mor hunting Info.

The region provides access to hundreds of miles of groomed snowmobile trails that in turn open up access to countless high country open bowls and mountain vistas in both Wyoming and Idaho. The Greys River drains the Wyoming Range and is the area between Alpine and Kemmerer. This area has approximately 335 miles of trails......................... for Snowmobiling Information

For the whitewater enthuisist Alpine Canyon section of the Snake River just north of alpine regardless of the water level provides plenty of whitewater action. At prime flows (6-12,000 cfs) world class 2 & 3 waves are found throughout this stretch of the Snake River. ...................For whitewater rafting check out the whitewater rafting page, for kayaking check out the kayaking page.

There are many more recreation opportunites, too many to mention but look around the site and you will find info about skiing, mountain biking, bicycle touring etc.

Annual Festivals: Cutter/Chariot Racing December through February, Afton Snowmobile Hill Climb Challenge in late February, Professional Rodeos July 4th weekend and at the Lincoln County Fair in late July and the first week of August.

Home Grown Wyoming Meats

Welcome to the Block Shop! One of our primary goals of being in business is to help our local community any way we can. Our goal is to continue processing wild game and custom processing livestock sold locally by local growers and ranchers while growing our USDA sales and online presence.

We are constantly adding new products to the website. If there’s a meat product you do not see in our online store, please reach out to us. We love to hear Support local ranching at our Store Website

I love photographing the old barns of Star Valley, this one because of the lovely falling snow and snow blanketed fence. Freedom Wyoming.
winter, snow covered barn, farm, freedom, wyoming, star valley
Red barn, Freedom Wyoming
All barns should be red, but since they aren't I like to double them up with a reflection when I can. Freedom Wyoming.
Autumn in Star Valley is a wonderful time, the yellow of the aspens line the foothills ant the mountain maples decorate the Greys River Valley.
autumn, red mountain maple, golden aspen, autumn, star valley, wyoming
Red mountain maple, greys river, star valley, wyoming, wyming range
The Greys River is one of Star Valley's many attributes.   It is the weekend playground for many, and a place to work for Star Valley Cowboys.

Old faithful and friendsMountain Spring, Afton Wyoming Click on image for purchase

Greater Yellowstone News

Will This Law Eliminate NPS Film Permits?

Attention videographers;

Those who would like to send a message to their elected representatives in the House and the Senate can now visit the Democracy IO link below, which provides a quick, painless method by which you can find and message your reps in a matter of seconds. Just go to the link below, as well as the Google Doc linked below that, copy the FLREA Letter to Reps in Google Docs, then paste that into the comment section in the Democracy IO link. This takes less than two minutes, and you'll rest well, knowing that you took action to affect change for the benefit of future generations of our people. Democracy.io: https://democracy.io/#!/

Googel Doc - FLREA - Letter to Reps: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z...

 

Camping in YellowstoneLightning Flashes over Yellowstone Lake Campsite


Backpacking The Thorofare in Yellowstone – The Most Remote Place in the US Lower 48 ~

The logistics of planning a backpacking trip in Yellowstone are a bit tricky but manageable. The biggest challenge is the lack of commercial airline service in Wyoming. Cody, West Yellowstone, and Jackson Hole airports are all extremely expensive, offer few options, and almost always require a connection. Rental car availability and price can also be a challenge in those markets. I have opted for Salt Lake City for all my Yellowstone trips as the logistics, aside from a long drive, are easier to manage at a fraction of the price. ........ Rest of the story

Fire is good;

Yellowstone has long been shaped by fire and not just the cool, creeping ground fires often described as "good" for grass production. The natural history of fire in the park includes large-scale conflagrations sweeping across the park's vast volcanic plateaus.  Most Americans steeped in Smokey the Bear's "Only you can prevent forest fires!" mantra, the very thought that forest fires might have a positive side seemed preposterous. We all learned this as children and it is damned hard to change, as our indoctrination to this policy was total. ...... Learn More

Wildflowers growing after forest fireA forest reborn

Old faithful and friends

 

The Greater Yellowstone Bald Eagle:

Bald Eagles are again a common site along the rivers and lakes of the Greater Yellowstone Region, and they always bring a thrill to Yellowstone visitors when they set their eyes on one of these magnificent birds. The thrill of seeing our national bird soar above never fails to awe a spectator........ read more

Is social media ruining our nature excursions?

Social media, the curse and blessing of the twenty-first century. A focus on the evolution of the problem inflicted on nature, ways of to mitigate how it affects our beautiful places, our wildlife, our experience. Dichotomies and conundrums to ponder.  Since the advent of the digital photography and its ease of use and economy after initial investment, America and the world have hit the road and the road comes back to us on our social media. .................... rest of article Addendum, this is getting worse than ever.

Charging Mountain Lion
Click on photo to purchace
Study: More elk killed by cougars than by wolves in Idaho: More elk are being killed by cougars than by wolves in Idaho, a study by the state Department of Fish and Game has found.The study found that wolves accounted for 32% of adult female elk deaths and 28% of elk calf deaths, while cougars accounted for 35% of adult female elk deaths and 45% of elk calf deaths. The study also found ............ rest of story

Return of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout by Kelsey Dayton

The water in Atlantic Creek in the remote Thorofare region of Yellowstone National Park was clear. So clear that Dave Sweet could see the fish before he even cast. They were everywhere: dozens of beautiful trout with distinctive red slashes under their jaws. Sweet had journeyed for two days on horseback to the major spawning tributaries of Yellowstone Lake for those fish. Over the next few days he and his daughter would see thousands of Yellowstone cutthroat trout and catch some as long as 25 inches. But just as exciting were the younger, smaller fish. They, Sweet realized, mark a turning point in a battle to save a species..................... Rest Of Story

Huge Yellowstone Cutthroat trout
Huge Yellowstone Cutthroat trout

 

Livingston Montana

The Resort Town Curse
by Daryl L. Hunter

In 1962 as a child my family went through Carmel California, and after my exclaimation how beautiful the place was, my mother explained to me that it was against the law to cut down a tree in the town and it was so beautiful. I wondered why every town didn't do that. A few years later my hometown, San Luis Obispo, did enact all kinds of restricted zoning like Carmel's as a part of an urban renewal plan, and now I couldn't afford to move back there if I wanted to. This town is now populated with what they call "Grey Gold", rich retired people that ran up the property values so high that native born could no longer afford to live there. I have lived in many resort towns since, and I have noticed a trend. I am attracted to them when they are still little, quaint and undiscovered, but it usually isn't long before word spreads about the next great place. ..............   Rest of story

A Protective Firewall For Grizzlies
By Daryl L. Hunter

The delisting of the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear is imminent and this we should celebrate (''''dancing''''). Now that our happy dance is complete, we must ensure the grizzlies' recovery is permanent. To ensure "continuity of achievement," the grizzlies need a firewall to protect the success of this achievement from human foible.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee was formed in 1983 to help ensure recovery of viable grizzly bear populations and their habitat in the lower 48 states through interagency coordination of policy, planning, management, and research. Many people have been working on this recovery for decades, for some; it has been most of their career. I can understand why the delisting of the grizzly before their retirement is their goal. A metaphorical gold watch if you will.

Many will argue differently,................. Rest of Article

Grizzly 399 and her quadruplets

Grizzly 399 and her quadruplets doing their part in Grizzly Recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Click on photo to see larger or to purchase.

Helpful ebook for photographers

The Grand Teton Photo and Field Guide is an encapsulation of the flora, fauna, and photography of Jackson Hole Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park. Also included are thumbnails of the history and geology of the valley. This book is for all visitors with a desire to seek out wildlife, photograph the landscape, or merely learn about the history, geology, and lay of the land of Grand Teton National Park. The author provides general overviews including hot links with more in-depth descriptions of subjects of individual interest.

In the “Lay of the Land” section, includes the obvious highlights along the loop through Grand Teton Park. Hot links to side roads will give you more in-depth description of side roads and feeder roads and their highlights. Also included are descriptions of all two-rut roads that are legal to travel on in Grand Teton Park. GPS links to Google Maps are provided throughout.

As a field guide, profiles of most of animals and birds in the area are described. Jackson Hole is full of wildlife but there are places where animals are, and there are places where they are not. It is a waste of time to scrutinize a landscape devoid of what you are looking for, so this guide narrows options down to the hot spots. I provide maps of the likeliest places to find the popular critters of Grand Teton National Park. I also touch on trees, shrubs, and wildflowers with minimal explanations.  

Huge Bull Moose unter the towering peaks of the Grand Tetons

Huge Bull Moose, dwarfed by the giant peaks of hte Grand Tetons.

Click on photo to see larger or purchase

The grandeur of Grand Teton Park has made it one of the most photographed places in the world. The opportunity to harness multiple juxtapositional elements has drawn photographers for over a century since William Henry Jackson took the first photos here in 1878. Grand Teton Park’s plethora of famous vistas are profiled as well as many which are less clichéd that can bring new perspectives of a well-documented landscape. Grand Tetons’ iconic landscape photo opportunities are described in detail; however, they barely scratch the surface of opportunities as it takes a photographer with an artist’s eye to unveil as they follow their own intuition and vision.  The author who shies away from clichéd landscapes provides a chapter of his favorite places that aren’t landscape clichés.

In the photography section the author includes chapters on composition, exposure basics, when to shoot and why. Daryl has summarized what he teaches in his, half day, Grand Teton workshops in a simple concise way.

If you are only in Grand Teton Park for a day there is a chapter called the “Portfolio Packer Morning Trip,” that does just that, all the icons and several favorite places in a five our blitz.  But it is better to spend more time and dig deep into the embarrassment of riches of Grand Teton National Park................. More Info

Wyoming Landscape Collection by Daryl L. Hunter
Wyoming Landscape Collection

The Hole Picture Portfolio

 

 

Custom Search
jumping trout

Rocky Mountain Rotors - Yellowstone Helicopter Charter

Rocky Mountain Rotors

johnb53318961 liked your post in Adobe Support Community