I Love A Parade

*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, white-
tailed jackrabbit

*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, mountain bluebird, cliff swallow

 [Click on any photo to enlarge.]

This was the 36th year for the Gardiner Rodeo & Parade.  We had checked out the parade two years ago, and though we couldn’t attend last year because of work, we drove the 5 miles into town for this year’s event.  The theme was “Red, White & Blue” and patriotic decorations were abundant.  It’s
   pretty much your typical small town parade, but there didn’t seem to be as many participants as two years ago.  However, there were plenty of horseback riders and most folks were throwing candy to the crowds from their decorated cars and trucks.

 

As you can tell from our posts, the animals in Yellowstone are the big draw for us from the littlest squirrel to the biggest bison and bears.  This little guy (or girl) at left was just too funny!  We also happened upon the grizzly sow again out in Swan Lake Flats but this time there

      were only 2 cubs with her.  All sightings lately have been of only the two cubs so we’re not sure what exactly happened to #3.

 

       Across from the parking lot for the Calcite Springs overlook one day, we got to watch the antics of a couple of young bighorn sheep rams.  Looks like they were practicing their headbutting for when they get a little older!

 

One of the activities you can experience while in Yellowstone is the Old West Dinner Cookout where for $57 (plus tax) you can ride in a covered wagon to a cookout with all the fixin’s while a cowboy sings around the campfire.  We’ve never been, but we get to see the wagons sometimes when
  we’re out in the Tower Roosevelt area.  However, if you’re looking for a cheaper form of relaxation, maybe you can take inspiration from the elk and simply lie around on the grass under the trees!

 

  Spotting a mountain bluebird is always a joy.  The male’s brilliant blue color is striking and easily seen, and though we’ve had a few in the campground, it seems I’ve never had the camera handy.  So it was a treat when I was able to snap this guy posing in a tree across from the Mammoth Terraces.  Since the females are less bright and grayer, we weren’t sure if we’d ever seen one but heard there was a mountain bluebird nest on the road to the Slough Creek Campground.  While out that
way one day, we found a handful of photographers, tripods at the ready, who were waiting for the male to return.  These birds are cavity-nesters, and though we never saw him, the female finally popped her head out of her hole and sat there for some great photo ops.

 

While on the subject of birds, we were thrilled to see a bald eagle flying over our site, then across the road a few weeks ago.  Though we’ve seen them throughout the park, this was the first time we had seen one here.  What a magnificent sight!  Then a few hours later we
    also witnessed a male pronghorn walking through the sage not far from our site, another critter we rarely see in the campground.  I just think they are one of the coolest looking animals.

 

     Before closing out this post, I want to introduce you to our co-hosts this summer…Ernie, Tammy, Jill, and Chip.  This photo was taken at our 4th of July campfire.  It’s been a good summer so far and we’ve enjoyed getting to know each other better.
 

 

Yellowstone Tidbits:

• Yellowstone is home to over 1,700 species of native plants and over 170 species of exotic (non-native) plants.
• The mountain bluebird is the state bird of Idaho and Nevada.  The female chooses her mate solely on the location and quality of the nesting cavity he offers her.
• Bison:  Can run 35 mph and jump over objects 5 ft. high; male (bull) weighs up to 2,000 lbs., female (cow) weighs up to 1,000 lbs., young (calf) weigh 40-50 lbs. at birth and are up walking within a couple of hours.  Bison can reach food 3 ft. below the snow’s surface.
• Bighorn sheep:  male (ram) weighs 174-319 lbs., female (ewe) weighs up to 30 lbs.; young (lamb) 8-10 lbs. at birth.  Rams’ horns can weigh 40 lbs. and their skulls have two layers of bone above the brain that act like a shock absorber for collisions during the head-on butting that occurs during the mating season.