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.

The Circle of Life

Elk carcass

Elk carcass

Wolf

Probably alpha male from Canyon Pack

Raven

Raven with hunk of elk meat

Bald eagle



Elk carcass the next morning

There Be Wolf!

*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
*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

Most evenings when we venture out into the park we see critters of some sort and sometimes we get extra lucky. Last week was one of those nights. We headed towards Lamar Valley mainly in search of folks with scopes spotting wolves. The bison herds were in abundance as usual with some blocking the road (also as usual). A cow and her calf were directly in front of us, and baby decided it was hungry so began nursing right there in the middle of the road. We waited about 10 minutes, and since they were close to the edge of the road, there was plenty of room to get around them very slowly.


Though the bison rut doesn’t usually begin until August, it seemed to us that some of the bulls were already starting to feel frisky. We could hear the constant low bellow from one of them who also decided to wallow in the dust before beginning his vocalizations again. All part of the mating ritual.

We continued further down the road through the valley but weren’t spotting any scopes. Eventually we made a U-turn going back to the beginning of the valley, and right after we turned around again, there running alongside the road was a collared coyote looking a little scraggly and hungry. In case you’re wondering, the collars on coyotes, wolves, and other wildlife are used to study and monitor their movements and behavior.

We kept going back and forth on the road and finally spotted a large grouping of folks with scopes up on a hill just off the road so we decided to turn around in one of the pullouts a little further down. As we sat there waiting for traffic to pass, another car pulled up next to us and said there was a wolf running through the sage back in the direction where we had initially been headed. As soon as we could we headed that way and spotted a large grey wolf running full speed through the sage not that far off the road! We could tell by the trajectory of its run that it would soon be crossing the road, and though we were in a no stopping zone, we had to stop to allow him to cross. Once on the other side he seemed to slow down as he made his way up the hill, and Russ detected a limp. He was also collared, and as we later learned is number 754M, “uncle” to his pack’s pups and indeed had a leg injury which was causing the limp. What a thrill to have him cross not more than 40 yards in front of us!

After turning around to make our way home, we noticed that the spotters were dismantling their scopes and making their way back down the hill. Evidently they had been watching the same wolf and now the excitement was over. About half a mile further we spotted another coyote frolicking and hunting in the sage not far off the road. This one appeared not as scrawny and was uncollared. Though we may not have seen a large variety of animals, what we saw close-up that night more than made up for it.

Many evenings we’ll decide to take a drive “up the hill” as Russ puts it, and sometimes that’s literally just up the hill to the town of Mammoth where we might find elk hanging out, which is what we found one particular evening. We spotted Ranger John on elk patrol and got out to chat. Occasionally an elk would think the grass looked greener where we were standing and decide to cross over, but John only had to walk in its direction patting the squeaky toy in his side pocket and the elk would turn around. Evidently they don’t like that sound.

As we were talking, a radio call came through and John needed to head towards a bear jam a couple miles away so we followed behind always ready for a bear sighting. We spent the next hour hanging with him and dozens of other folks trying to get a picture of the cinnamon colored black bear foraging through the trees and brush. We helped John keep track of him so he could focus on keeping the people from getting too close, walking and following the bear’s movements. It started to sprinkle, and we discovered we were about ¼ - ½ mile from our cars. We got ours and asked John if he wanted a ride back to his truck, but he needed to stay where he was since the bear was still in sight and asked Russ if he would get the truck for him. With Russ following not far behind me, I pulled into the Upper Terraces parking lot and Russ parked in a pullout not far behind. Evidently the bear was heading in the direction of the lot, and it was believed he wanted to cross the road. I ran back to the car to get my bear spray and just as I turned back around, the bear ran full speed across the road not more than 30 yards in front of where Russ and several others were standing…what an amazing sight! It happened so fast that I had no time to get a picture before he disappeared into the trees.

On another evening we went a little further up the hill, about 10 miles this time, and near Willow Lake several people were parked in a pullout including a ranger car which could only mean one thing…bear sighting. Sure enough one had been spotted but had now moved back into the trees moving southward. Russ being the big wildlife tracker decided we should hop back in the car and head to the next pullout because he was sure the bear was headed in that direction. Soon many of the other folks had joined us and then the bear appeared. It was one of the most unusually colored black bears we’d ever seen…brown on most of the body with a blonde stripe running from its head down its back. In fact one person said it looked like a huge badger!

Animals aren’t the only beauty to be experienced in the park, and though we haven’t visited many of the thermal features yet this year, we are expecting company later in the summer and will plan those trips then. However, on occasion a rain storm will come through and we get the most beautiful rainbows. This time it was a full double rainbow whose colorful end actually crossed in front of the hills across from us. What a gorgeous sight!

Yellowstone Tidbits:
*Unlike most birds, the Black-billed Magpie can use scent to locate food and spends up to 40 hours building nests with domes on top.
*Wolves were re-introduced into YNP in 1995
*Bison are the largest land mammal in North America with bulls weighing up to 2,000 lbs. and cows up to 1,000 lbs., and they can run up to 30 mph.
*Coyotes are about 1/3 the size of a wolf.

Calling In Elked

*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
*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

On mornings we work, I get up early to feed Abby and take her out to do her business. One morning last week the taking out part was delayed by about half an hour because 4 elk were camped right outside the door! The rest of the herd was out in the meadow, but three were busy munching and one was resting comfortably amidst the brush at our site. I opened the door a couple of times hoping that either the noise from the opening or closing it would spook them enough to move on but no luck. They were making themselves quite at home and didn’t seem to have any intention of moving any time soon. We were afraid we were going to have to call in elked! (You know, kind of like calling in sick). Guess they finally got bored with the spot and decided to move on joining the rest of the herd.

Last night there were about 40 – 50 elk around the campground with a few attempting to make their way through the sites. Part of our job is to make sure the campers stay the appropriate distance away from the wildlife. One cow elk was particularly interested in one guy’s dog and another was very interested in tasting a family’s corn on the cob! We finally had to call law enforcement to come help with the situation as we are not trained in hazing the elk to make them go away, and the people don’t always listen to us. Made for an interesting evening.

The 4th of July potluck was held at Indian Creek Campground starting about 3pm. Unfortunately Richard and Jean had to work so couldn’t attend, but Steve, Holli, Russ, and I represented the Mammoth Campground. We decided to take deviled eggs and 4 slabs of BBQ ribs, and let me tell you those ribs were a huge hit…they were the first thing to run out! The potlucks are held at Site 1 which is right in front of the office so it’s easy for whoever is working to still enjoy the festivities. Ranger Joe wasn’t scheduled to start work till early evening so he and his family joined in as did Ranger Chris a little later before her shift started. There was still plenty of food left for her to enjoy though she did miss out on the ribs. We took Abby with us, and once she got over her initial excitement, she was a very good girl. We had her tied to a nearby log, but I’m sure she would have rather been sitting right in the mix of people. The hosts from Norris and a couple maintenance people also attended, and we ended up staying for several hours enjoying the camaraderie, good food, and beautiful weather.









Yellowstone Tidbits:
*Bull elk shed their antlers each spring with new growth beginning soon after. During the last couple months of antler growth, mature bulls antlers will grow 2/3 of an inch each day. The antlers can be just under 6 ft. wide and weigh about 30 lbs. per pair.
*Bison can reach food beneath 3 ft. of snow.
*Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake above 7,000 ft. in North America.