One of Jasper's favorite places is
Stub Stewart State Park. The Rose City Astronomers have monthly Star Parties here in the summer, and the trails beckon all year long. We went there for a mid-winter ramble, to see what wonders we could find. While walking the trails, we heard a huge racket coming from the direction of one of the camps. I honestly figured it was a bunch of rowdy campers howling at the moon. Except when we walked by on our way back to the car, that campground was empty. And when we got home, I hopped on the computer and found a sound sample just like what we had heard... coyotes! (While I don't think it's wise to be reckless around them, there have only been somewhere between 20-30 injuries to humans from coyote attacks that have ever been recorded. Off-leash dogs are far, far more dangerous. So we were cautious, but not worried.) I have been told that it's a bumper year for coyotes, and we often see them out the windows of our car in the very early morning. Much of the trail we were following was covered with undisturbed snow, making it perfect for spotting animal tracks. Some of which looked to have been left by our noisy companions.
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| Deer tracks. |
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| Little Boy tracks. |
One of Jasper's favorite places is Stub Stewart State Park. The Rose City Astronomers have monthly Star Parties here in the summer, and the trails beckon all year long. We went there for a mid-winter ramble, to see what wonders we could find. While walking the trails, we heard a huge racket coming from the direction of one of the camps. I honestly figured it was a bunch of rowdy campers howling at the moon. Except when we walked by on our way back to the car, that campground was empty. And when we got home, I hopped on the computer and found a sound sample just like what we had heard... coyotes! (While I don't think it's wise to be reckless around them, there have only been somewhere between 20-30 injuries to humans from coyote attacks that have ever been recorded. Off-leash dogs are far, far more dangerous. So we were cautious, but not worried.) I have been told that it's a bumper year for coyotes, and we often see them out the windows of our car in the very early morning. Much of the trail we were following was covered with undisturbed snow, making it perfect for spotting animal tracks. Some of which looked to have been left by our noisy companions. 
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