Legoland

A homeless owl makes his home out of discarded Legos and finds food in the trash from the factory among the noises of the city his neighbor snores loudly from his van down by the river.

Beware! Beware!

Found this image and felt it crucial to share its wisdom. Colonel

YNP

So one of my goals with this blog is to report on some of the cool places that I have been. Althought it has been a few months since my trips there, one of my favorite places to be is Yellowstone National Park. I love everything about that place; viewing wildlife, the landscape, I even love the sulfur egg fart smell. Mmmm… egg salad sandwiches! Fortunately this past year I able to go there and have a blast, and I even saw a grizzly in the wild for the first time. During some of my previous visits I had camped at Madison Junction Campgrounds, however this past Labor Day I was very lucky to have stayed at the Madison Hotel. The Madison, in West Yellowstone, is a block and a half from the west entrance of the park. Their card reads “Restful Accommodations Rustic Atmosphere” and when they say rustic they mean rustic. It is a hotel with history; it is one of the, if not the, oldest hotel in West Yellowstone. Staying there made me think of going to an older cabin with friends and relaxing for a week. It isn’t new with all the new gadgets and accommodations but it is worth the stay. The following is from their website:
THE HISTORIC MADISON HOTEL
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
by the United States Department of Interior
The Historic Madison Hotel reflects the rich history of early tourism to Yellowstone National Park. Built in 1912, the Madison Hotel began as a two-story rectangular building of simple log construction with saddle-notched corner timbering and a prominent front dormer. A cut-stone fireplace in the downstairs lobby warmed the original six upstairs rooms. Each room had a pitcher, a washbasin and a chamber pot. Water came from a well across the street. The hotel expanded in 1921 adding fourteen rooms, a bar and a dance floor. There was no running water until the 1930's. Today The Madison Hotel has most of the amenities you would expect to find in a modern hotel. Log support columns and beams, wood floors, light fixtures, the stone fireplace, and many of the room furnishings remain original. Although not the first hotel in West Yellowstone, the Madison is the only hotel that remains from the early days of tourism in Yellowstone National Park. www.madisonhotelmotel.com

Another place to check out while you are in West Yellowstone is the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. Great information on bears and wolves and their life and importance to the Yellowstone area and world-class exhibits. The habitats that the wolves and bears are in, allow you to view them easily and closely. However being an owl, my favorite was a presentation on birds of prey. During which I ran into my cousin Tegan. He seemed to be doing well, a few years back during a really violent thunderstorm he was blown out of his nest. A trucker rescued him and now he has a pretty sweet gig. Anyway great place, great information, and fantastic exhibits. Check out their website: www.grizzlydiscoveryctr.com

Colonel