That's A Lotta Bull!

Critters we’ve seen on our 2012 trip so far: prairie dog, bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, llama, white tail deer, elk, grizzly, coyote, badger, Uinta ground squirrel, black bear, yellow-bellied marmot, wolf, bullsnake
*Birds we’ve seen on our 2012 trip so far: Western meadowlark, magpie, wild turkey, killdeer, osprey, red-naped sapsucker, sandhill crane, bald eagle
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2012 trip so far: 2

Not much has happened the past couple of weeks though we continue to go wildlife scouting fairly often on our days off. The day we returned to see how much of the elk carcass remained, we were able to get a close-up shot of a yellow-bellied marmot. It seemed to be patiently waiting for its photo op by the side of the road near the drainage pipe from where it had come out. Usually they’re scurrying by and no chance for a decent photo!

Coming back from town early one afternoon we spied a couple of bighorn sheep on the rocky hillside. Seldom do we see a ram this time of year so felt lucky catch a glimpse of this guy munching alongside his gal pal.

One of our favorite places to go around dusk is Lamar Valley hoping to see wolves, and there is generally always a bison jam especially later in the evening. We were starting to head back home around 9pm when we were stopped by a couple of bulls wanting to butt heads right in the midst of the all the cars. The photo is a little blurred but you get the picture! It was just initial posturing and then they parted ways with the biggest continuing to graze along the roadside…and he was big!!

Keeping on the topic of critters in the park, we have a few bullsnakes here in the campground. They are often mistaken for rattlesnakes, and though their bite will hurt, it won’t kill you. This snake is the park’s largest reptile ranging in size from 50” – 72”. They live in burrows, eat small rodents, and can be seen curled near large rocks, slithering through the sage, or sometimes crossing the road!

We rarely eat breakfast out but decided to try the Town Café (http://www.towncafe.net/) in Gardiner late one morning. We had heard they served a good breakfast at a reasonable price. Of course you have to keep in mind that around here they are reasonable prices for a tourist area! The décor is typical western with bull elk and ram heads hanging on the wall. The portions are large so you do get a lot for your money, and we were thankful we didn’t order a side of hotcakes. Picture a dinner plate and on it are 3 pancakes that are so large they hang over the edges of the plate! Russ got the chicken fried steak that came with potatoes, eggs, and toast, and he said it was ok but nothing special. I ordered a 2-egg omelet with 4 ingredients served with toast, and it was more than I could eat but very tasty.

The weather here has been unusually warm for this time of year as it has been in much of the country. We were told that it was as dry in April as it normally is in August which creates concerns for wildfires. There had been a park wide ban on fires in the back country, but fires were still being allowed within established fire grates in the front country campgrounds. However, thanks to some recent rain activity, the ban was lifted...at least for the time being.

The only other big news is that we were able to replace our microwave/convection oven. To have it repaired would probably have cost a minimum of $250, and Russ was able to find the exact same model brand new in the box on eBay for $340 including shipping. It’s white instead the original black but that’s ok…it works!

Yellowstone Tidbits:
*Bighorn sheep: Males (rams) can weigh up to 300 lbs. including their horns which can weigh nearly 40 lbs. Females (ewes) weigh up to 200 lbs.
*There are more than 600 lakes and ponds covering roughly 107,000 surface acres in YNP as well as 1,000 rivers and streams that make up about 2,500 miles of running water.
*Yellowstone Lake and the Yellowstone River together contain the largest inland population of cutthroat trout in the world.