North Fork Teton River

Ben and I went "exploring" yesterday.  Ben thought that we could find some fish fossils if we walked along a dry river bed.  I went along for the fun.  We went to the North Fork of the Teton River.   First we went to the Wilford area to trace its split into the North and South Forks.  Not long after that, we discovered it is completely diverted into an irrigation canal.  The river is bone dry.  This was surprising since by 3000 E the river flows again.  I stopped and talked to an old timer in the area.  He said the only water feeding the river on its flow to the Henry's Fork are irrigation canals to the north.  He was sad to see the river die in the Fall and wondered where all the fish went...no dead fish in the drying pools.  He blamed the government and also showed me where they pulled a dead guy from his property after the flood.  By Sugar City the river kind of has a slow current as it picks up more irrigation water.

In the end, no fish fossils.  Ben did, however, find some kind of a mollusk shell (for mom), several cool sticks, a few twisted car bodies, a pile of plastic flowers and baskets (probably the rubbish pile from the Wilford Cemetery), and a severed Elk's head; I didn't even take a picture.

Here are some photos of an area we explored.  This might be an interesting area to explore in the winter.  It is easy to get to and the river bed and trees will make for some interesting subjects.