Giddy Up!

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far:  pronghorn, horse, llama, elk, bison, grizzly, bighorn sheep, mule deer, Uinta ground squirrel, wolf, black bear, moose, coyote, fox, bullsnake, bat

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far: bald eagle, grouse, osprey, magpie, red-tailed hawk, Canada goose, great horned owl, American kestrel, sandhill crane

 [Click on any photo to enlarge.]

One afternoon we were headed for a fun social event and along the way decided to stop at the Calcite Springs overlook.  These thermal springs along the Yellowstone River are made of hydrothermally stained volcanic rock that has turned pure white and were the inspiration for many of Thomas Moran’s paintings including one
that was presented to Congress in 1872 which led to the establishment of Yellowstone National Park.  Across from the overlook are columnar basalt cliffs that were created by an ancient lava flow as it slowly cooled into these vertical columns...always very impressive.

 

The fun event was a potluck hosted by Ray and Darlene (that's Ray in the foreground at right and Darlene behind the table in white) at Tower Falls Campground the day before it was to open for the season.  Ray and Darlene have been the campground hosts at Pebble Creek for 16 years but were filling in at
   Tower for a month before Pebble opened.  They usually spend a couple of weeks here at Mammoth ahead of their hosting duties and had invited us to this shindig.  Though arrivals started out slowly, eventually there were about 25 - 30 in attendance, and we had a
   great time meeting the rangers, staff, family, and friends in that area.  All made us feel very welcome including John’s Golden Retriever, Scout, who Abby really enjoyed meeting.

 

      Another fun event that was held over Memorial Day Weekend was Yellowstone’s Epic Horse Drive, an annual event we’d not heard of before.  Each year nearly 200 horses are brought back from their winter pasture and are held overnight at the Gardiner rodeo
fairgrounds so they can rest before the next day’s 9 mile drive through town and up into the mountains to their summer pasture at Hell’s A-Roarin’ ranch where they are used for horseback rides around the area.  It’s basically a 2 day event including (for a fee) cowboy BBQ, dance, arts & crafts fair,
   rodeo, and more, but we were really only interested in seeing the horses run through town.  Before the drive starts, folks are able to visit the rodeo grounds and take pictures of the horses and cowhands.  As you can see, some horses were resting more than others!  After a few snapshots, we
found a great parking spot right along Scott Street and waited for the drive to begin.  It didn’t last long, and it was amazing to see how quickly the wranglers moved the horses through town.  Russ had a tight hold on Abby, but I think she was a little intimidated by those large critters anyway!

 

May and June are elk calving months, and there seemed to be an abundance of them this year.  We spotted a cow with her day old calf across the road from the campground early one evening, and on another day we spied a set behind some buildings up in town (or were they the same ones??) 

However, early one afternoon as Russ was making rounds in the golf cart, he nearly got to witness an elk calf birth right here in the campground!  Though he didn’t see the actual birth (probably for the best J), the calf was still “wet” as he put it when he discovered them among the trees near the tent
   area.  He went back to the RV, grabbed the camera, took a couple of shots, and then came to the office to relieve me so I could see it, too.  By the time I got down there, the calf was pretty much dry but desperately trying to figure out how to work those 4 spindly legs! 
    It was so cute and sort of funny to see it continually trying to not only stand up but stay standing and walk, but it doesn’t take them long.  One lady shared a video with us later in the day of it trying to figure out how to lie back down,
       and it fell over on its back…way too cute!  Within a few hours though the calf was following mom around and sticking close to her side.

Spring is the time of year for lots of births here in the park, and we were excited to finally see the
grizzly sow and her 3 cubs we had heard about just 5 miles from the campground.  She was foraging through the sage in clear view for all the spectators on the road, and though initially we could only see her, gradually we spotted first 1 cub, then 2, and then finally all 3!

On our way home, there was quite a commotion being created on the hill behind the campground.  An elk cow whose calf was hidden somewhere nearby had treed a year old cinnamon colored black bear who we could hear desperately crying for its mother (at least that’s the way it seemed).  I couldn’t get a good
shot of the cub in the tree as the cow ran back and forth but did get one after it had finally managed to escape and took off running.  We drove back up to town, driving over to where we figured it was heading, and watched as it climbed up and over the hill.

 

A favor for a friend took us on a day trip to Idaho Falls, ID, and before we got out of the park, just past Norris Junction we stumbled across a pullout full of people with spotting scopes and cameras.  And what were they spying?  A wolf!  Here it was 9:30 in the morning
   and we run across another wolf…who says you need to get up before sunrise?!!  There have been times when we’re not 100% sure whether that animal in the distance is a wolf or a coyote, but there was no mistaking this one.  Even with the naked eye she was the biggest wolf
we’d ever seen!  Nearby lay what was left of a carcass where she returned for further feeding.  We only stayed to watch for about 15 min., but she was an awesome sight to see.

 

One last note for this post is an update on the Mammoth great
horned owls.  The owlets are getting big and though I haven’t been able to get a photo of the 3 together, we finally did see all 3 one evening.  Soon they’ll be ready to leave the nest and venture out on their own.

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Bald eagle:  Became the national emblem of the U.S. in 1782; has a wingspan from 72-90 in., can fly to an altitude of 10,000 ft. and achieve speeds of 30-35 mph, weighs 10-14 lbs., can live 20-30 years, and mates for life.
• Bull snake:  Yellowstone’s largest reptile ranging from 50 - 70 in. long, lives at lower elevations, and is often mistaken for a rattlesnake
• Elk:  Most abundant large mammal found in Yellowstone; male (bull) weighs about 700 lbs.; female (cow) weighs about 500 lbs., young (calf) weighs about 30 lbs. at birth
• Bats consume 3,000 or more mosquitoes and other insects nightly and are responsible for up to 95 percent of the seed distribution necessary for the regeneration of forests.