*Birds we’ve seen on our 2012 trip so far: Western meadowlark, magpie, wild turkey, killdeer, osprey, red-naped sapsucker, sandhill crane, bald eagle, mountain bluebird
*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2012 trip so far: 2
We first met Dotty and Gary last year at Capitol Reef National Park. They had been hosts there for the past several years and their assignment was to start about the time we were leaving so we worked together for only a couple of weeks. Though they have no computer, we managed to stay in touch, and they called a few weeks ago to say they were planning a trip to Yellowstone to see us and wanted to explore the northern part of the park. Luckily we were able to get them the site right in front of ours the day of their arrival.
The first day out we decided to head for Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone making stops along the way at Indian Creek Campground, Roaring Mountain, Norris Campground, and the Canyon Village Visitor Education Center. All the campgrounds here are quite different so figured we’d give them a quick riding tour, Roaring Mountain has several fumaroles (steam vents) from the hyd
rothermal activity worth seeing (sometimes it "roars" more than other times), and the Visitor Center at Canyon is very cool and informative.From the Visitor Center we continued along the North Rim Drive with spectacular views of the Lower Falls and the canyon from several lookouts. First thing out of Gary’s mouth when he got his first glimpse was “wow!” Near the end of the Drive we had to make a stop at Glacial Boulder. This boulder was deposited here about 80,000 y
ears ago after traveling nearly 40 miles and is the size of a house. Gary stands about 6’4” so we had to get a picture of him next to it, and silly Gary decided he’d just try to move it out of the way! LOLOur beautiful drive continued up over the 8,859 ft. Dunraven Pass and past Tower Fall though we did not get out to look at this one. We de
cided to take the little side road to show them the Petrified Tree, and boy were we glad we did! Halfway down this narrow road a number of cars were parked partially blocking traffic and people were out with their cameras. Since this was the area where we had seen our first grizzly 3 years earlier, we assumed that’s what was causing the big commotion. I was the first to get out of the car, and there in the little valley below was the biggest bull moose I’d ever seen! This was especially exciting for us because it was the first moose we’d seen in Yellowstone in the 4 summers we’ve been coming! Moose used to be plentiful in the park, but after the fires of 1988 much of their vegetation was d
estroyed and most moved south towards Grand Teton. We’d occasionally hear reports of moose in the park but had never seen any. Unfortunately this particular fellow walked into the trees before the others got to where I was standing, but just up the hill a few feet was a cow moose munching on the foliage! The bull had lain down amongst the trees, and I was finally able to get a halfway decent sh
ot of him with my zoom.The elk made an appearance in the campground while they were here, and in fact a cow calling for her calf right outside their trailer woke Dotty from her sleep the first morning. One afternoon a herd of about 25 came through the campground and headed up the hill to town. W
e hopped in the car and spent about half an hour watching them and the people anxiously trying to get the perfect shot. We decided since we were “in the neighborhood” we take them into the historic Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and show them the Map Room
. This map of the U.S. measures 17’10” x 10’4” and is composed of 2,544 pieces of 15 types of wood from 9 countries. It was shipped in 6 sections from Seattle and assembled in this room in 1937, and is a very impressive sight.On another evening we took a drive out to Lamar V
alley with the hope of showing Dotty and Gary their first wolf. They were both continually amazed at the beauty of Yellowstone, and marveled at all the wildlife. Of course there were plenty of bison and about a dozen pronghorn, the largest grouping that we’d seen in one place thus far. Not l
ong after passing Tower Junction we ran into what we figured was probably a bison jam but then we saw several folks with spotting scopes. We pulled over and discovered that they were watching two wolves on a bison carcass! The high sage covered most of the carcass but with the help of the binoculars and the scope we could at least see the head and horns, and then periodically a wolf head would pop up. Occasionally they would wander off a few feet but then return to the carcass for a few more bites. Gary and Dotty got to see their first
wolves and we started calling them our lucky charms…first the moose and now wolves on a carcass! We watched for awhile then traveled a little further into Lamar Valley where we found more people with scopes who were watching a grizzly grazing and lumbering along among the sage. Now Gary and Dotty had seen their first grizz! (Sorry, no pics of the wolves or grizzly...too far away.) The sun began to set and it was getting chilly so time to head home but what a great ride.
We were pacing ourselves and not going somewhere everyday but when a herd of elk came through the campground again early one evening we had to head up to town to see them because this time a bull with a big rack accompanied them. This was the first big bull we’d seen this season which could only mean that the rut was beginning. Keep in mind this isn’t even the biggest of the bulls that will arrive! We couldn’t get out of our car right away because half of the herd was right in front of where we parked while the rest were across the street grazing. Soon one of the calves decided to join the group in front of us and passing right by my side of the car...very cool!
The day before they were scheduled to leave we stopped by the Albright Visitor Center at the top of the hill and took them for a tour of the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. These step-like terraces, which are constantly changing shape and color, form as the heated water comes up through the limestone, depo
siting the dissolved calcium and bicarbonate on the surface which then hardens into travertine. Fresh travertine is bright white in color but changes to gray with time creating a stark landscape that sometimes looks like snowdri
fts in the dead of winter. There are microorganisms that actually thrive in this environment and help create the various colors seen throughout the area.The week passed so quickly. We enjoyed many meals together and getting the chance to know each other better. We sh
ared our knowledge of the area with them experienced countless wildlife encounters together. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and so we bid them a fond farewell until next time.Yellowstone Tidbits:
*Pronghorn, which exist only in North America, are not true antelope but can sustain sprints of 40-50mph, and newborn fawn can outrun a human within a couple of days.
*Fumaroles are the hottest hydrothermal features in the park.
*Black or grizzly bear? If the hump is bigger than the rump, it’s a grizzly.
*A wolf’s stomach can hold about 20 lbs. of meat.
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