Still Friends

*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, moose
*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

[Click on any photo to enlarge for better viewing.]

This seems to have been the year for us to have company at Yellowstone.  Nearly 3 weeks after Russ’ sister left, one of my best friends and her husband arrived.  Again it was a work day for us so while I manned the office, Russ drove to Bozeman to pick up Gloria and Jim from the airport.  This was also their first time in Yellowstone, and they were going to stay a week with us in the RV despite the fact that Russ and Jim barely knew each other, but after a week together in tight quarters that would surely be remedied!

The next morning we planned to drive the upper loop portion of the Grand Loop Drive for about 85 miles roundtrip. Gloria was training for an upcoming half marathon so rose very early to get in some running.  We had let her know ahead of time that the campground loop was just a little more than a

    mile, and she ran it 3 times.  When she returned, we ate a hearty breakfast and hit the road heading for the Norris Geyser Basin stopping along the way at the Obsidian Cliff historic roadside exhibit and Roaring Mountain.  (Some of this may sound familiar
     from 3 weeks earlier!)  We decided to save Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone for another day and instead took a detour to Hayden Valley so they could have their first glimpse at herds of bison on the open range.  We made our way back up over Dunraven Pass, through Tower Junction, and back to Mammoth Hot Springs where a number of elk were hanging out.

We opted for a later start on Wed. because we were going to take them up the Beartooth Highway making a stop along the way, of course, in Lamar Valley (more bison), and Abby got to join us on this trip.  Gloria and Jim were amazed at the beauty they saw along the way, and Jim kept taking pictures of the GPS elevation

as we continued our climb up to nearly 11,000 ft.  At the summit we used the tripod to take a picture of the 5 of us, and I got shots of Jim acting silly and Abby having a little run off-leash.  On the way back we enjoyed a yummy lunch at Miner’s Saloon Casino & Emporium, a funky laid back sort of place, (sorry no website) in Cooke City just outside the park’s Northeast entrance. We stopped again in Lamar Valley hoping to spot some wolves before heading home but no such luck.

In just the 3 weeks since Terri had visited, the colors on the trees were beginning to change making the views even more spectacular as we our way towards Yellowstone Lake and around to Steamboat Point.  About half a mile south of LeHardys Rapids we came upon an animal jam at one of the pullouts and got out to investigate. 

Turns out there was a very tired grizzly lying in the sun across the river! We got out our spotting scope and set up along with everyone else so Gloria and Jim could have their first glimpse of a grizz in the wild though not a very active one, only occasionally lifting its head or swatting at a fly.  From here we drove to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and as you’ve seen in previous blogs, this area is magnificent, once again leaving Gloria and Jim amazed.

Russ decided to stay home the next day while I took them up to see the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces, the hotel map room, and the visitor center.  After a little shopping, we returned back to the RV, changed clothes, and headed for the Boiling River.  I had been telling Gloria about this place since

before she arrived, and she couldn’t wait.  For those who may not remember, this is an area in the Gardner River where a large hot spring flows into it mixing the hot and cold water in pools right at the river’s edge, and folks are allowed to get in enjoying its warmth.

Friday was a work day for us so we sent Jim and Gloria off in our car to visit Old Faithful and the many sights along the way there and back.  They were gone all day and had a great time.

We had traded days with Rick and Donna so we could spend the last day of their trip relaxing and enjoying our time together.  Gloria had spent 4 of the 7 days running the campground road training for her marathon but wanted the challenge of climbing one of the hills across from the campground.  She and I set out Sat. morning for the tallest one, and while I didn’t climb all the way to the top with her, I was there to capture the photos of her

triumph.  (That speck at the top of the hill at right is her!) Upon our return, she and Jim went off to climb the other hill and even went down to the river’s edge and back. Jim said it was quite the workout! We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.


     Their flight the next morning was early, and having just pulled out of the campground, we were stuck in an elk jam as a bull and his harem had just crossed the road.  With the window down, we heard this great creature bugle a fond farewell to Gloria and Jim.  The week had flown by.  We shared many meals, campfires, living quarters, and good times.  And yes, we are still very good friends.

Yellowstone Tidbits:
*The Continental Divide crosses 3 places within Yellowstone a Park, the highest at Craig’s Pass (8,262 ft.)
*YNP is home to 3 plant species found nowhere else in the world: Ross’ Bentgrass, Yellowstone sand to verbena, & Yellowstone sulfur wild buckwheat.
*Non-native lake trout in Yellowstone Lake are threatening the survival of the native Yellowstone cutthroat trout & the species that rely on them, i.e. grizzly, bald eagle, etc.
*Norris Geyser Basin is home of the world’s tallest active geyser, Steamboat, which erupts more than 300 ft. with no regularity however.

Bullish On Friendships

*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, moose
*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

[Click on any photo to enlarge for better viewing.]

One of the great things about this lifestyle is the people we meet along the way.  We’ve shared hosting duties with several wonderful people the last couple of years and have stayed in touch with most.  As summer was turning into fall, we were bidding farewell to another set of hosts. Though we haven’t had the pleasure of working with Connie and Frank, we have gotten to be friends since they worked at Indian Creek and we’ve shared potlucks, dinners and just general chitchat.  We all went to dinner a couple days before they were leaving for the season and were joined by Donna and Rick who would be moving over to Mammoth and working with us for the next month.  Happy trails to Connie and Frank until next year!

Of course there are times when campers become friends, too.  No real rhyme or reason as to why some and not most, but probably simply has to do with how most people make friends.  Some are people that camped close to us and we get to chatting, some that
during registration or while making our rounds we strike up conversations with finding  something in common, some...
who knows.  Shirley and LeMoyne were camped behind us and during their stay, became friends and we even shared some libations on their last night.  They return to Yellowstone every year, and we’ll look forward to catching up again next year.

  When we got our schedule for hosting in Mammoth this year, we were excited to learn that we would be working through the elk rut (mating season).  We got to experience some of it last year when we stayed a few weeks after our hosting stint was over but were looking forward to experiencing more of it.  Generally as August winds down, the cooler
temperatures bring the elk down from higher elevations including the mature bulls with their big racks.  They are everywhere in the Mammoth Hot Springs area...in town behind the hotel, near the Visitor Center, in the campground, just everywhere (the bull at right is between our car and our RV!)  These bulls move around quite a bit gathering up cows and calves to create their own little harems, and there's usually lots of activity
with other bulls trying to “woo” the gals from the other guys, lots of posturing by the boys to show whose stronger and more virile, and the younger, immature bulls trying to get in on the action though not very successfully.  Hmmmm, sounds like your typical Saturday night!  Hope this guy on the left doesn't end up in jail after a rowdy night on the town!

One thing we had never seen (nor had one of our co-hosts who has been working in the campground during the rut for 5 years) was two of the cows sparring up on their hind legs.  These two ladies were evidently agitated at each other about something and perhaps vying for the attention of the nearby bull.  Just another catfight!

During the rut bulls have lots of pent up energy, and to show off they will thrash nearby bushes, cars, and the ground with their antlers.  To appear more impressive, they will also wallow in the mud and urinate on themselves as a “perfume” to attract more cows.  When I took this picture of a bull thrashing his antlers on the ground, I didn’t notice that he was “spraying” himself until I uploaded the pics to the computer!  Now that’s what you call an action shot!

As we’ve reported before, there are times when our campsite was surrounded by elk, and it can be quite intimidating when all you see is a huge rack passing by your front window!  Though I didn’t get a shot of that I did get one of him standing just outside our door!  We’d always heard bulls and bucks referred to as 10 point or 12 point, etc., but out here they refer to them as 5 point or 6 point or sometimes as 5 x 5 or 6 x 6, all referring to the number of

branches on their antlers.This guy was a 7 point (or 7 x7 or 14 point). However you want to call it, he was big!He hung out there for a little bit and fortunately did not decide to poke, scratch, or charge the RV, but finally lay down

      with his harem in the grass just outside. One cow, however, seemed to prefer a shadier location and seemed to be keeping a watchful eye over all those lying below her, or maybe she was just playing hard to get.

Yellowstone Tidbits:
*Young bulls (about a year old) are called spikes mainly because of their single antlers that have no branches.
*The earth’s crust is so thin in spots that in some places molten rock is no more than 2 – 3 miles below the surface.
*Yellowstone National Park protects the largest number of undisturbed hydrothermal features in the world.
*The most common tree in the YNP is the lodgepole pine that has cones which only open and release seeds during fire.
*Three tributaries for the Missouri River begin in the Yellowstone area with two of them beginning in the park.