To The Summit & Back

[Click on any photo to enlarge.]

Yellow-bellied Marmot

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2015 trip so far: elk, mule, mule deer, llama, prairie dog, donkey, bison, coyote, pronghorn, Uinta ground squirrel, black bear, moose, bighorn sheep, yellow-bellied marmot, wolf, least chipmunk, fox

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2015 trip so far: California condor, Brewer’s blackbird, American kestrel, spotted towhee, magpie, wild turkey, mountain bluebird, bald eagle, Canada goose, Clark’s nutcracker, sandhill crane, osprey, red-tailed hawk, mountain chickadee, Northern flicker, great horned owl, Peregrine falcon

*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2015 trip so far: 6

 

One of the places Gloria definitely wanted Shari to experience was the Beartooth Highway, and as luck would have it, the road was going to open for the season on May 22, the day before they were scheduled to leave.  We got an early start and spotted this little fox running along the edge of the road as we made our way towards the northeast entrance.

 

The Beartooth Highway is often considered one of the most spectacular drives in the country and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.  In fact Charles Kuralt, former CBS correspondent, reported that the Beartooth Highway was “the most beautiful drive in America”.  For those who may not remember,

beginning in 1967 he was host of a segment called “On the Road”, and over the next 20 years, he and his crew visited every state in the country in a motorhome, logging more than a million miles. Avoiding the interstates, he preferred to take the back roads in search of America.

   From Mammoth to the pass is a 170-mile roundtrip drive, and it officially starts outside the northeast entrance of Yellowstone and follows Rt. 212 into Montana and back into Wyoming.  As in the past, the plan was to drive to Rock Creek Vista Point, stopping only occasionally along the way, and

then on the way back making more stops including at the summit which you'll see a little further down.  According to our GPS, the elevation at the summit is 11,015 but the official stat measures it at 10,947, the highest elevation highway in WY.

 

    At Rock Creek Vista Point (elevation 9,190 ft.) we got out to admire the magnificent views, and the girls really got into taking advantage of the snow, continually throwing snowballs at each other and me!  The three of us walked
      out to the point where we watched several chipmunks vie for scraps of food and a large marmot scurrying around just below the ledge.  We even managed to find someone to take our picture since Russ was back at the car with Abby.

Yes, Abby joined us on this trip and had a blast at the summit running through the snow, playing, running after the girls, and she even found another furry friend whom she tried to engage in play.

Though the area is beautiful this time of year, we all agreed that it is not nearly as beautiful as later in the summer when the alpine lakes are not covered in ice and snow.  Below left is a picture taken when Gloria visited in Aug. and below right is about the same location on the day of this visit.  But as you can tell in the photo at left, it didn’t stop anyone from having fun!

On our way back we passed by Beartooth Lake that was still partially frozen over and stopped at a couple more overlooks taking in the beauty and majesty of the area.  A storm was moving in, but even with the overcast skies, the views were spectacular.  In Cooke
     City we ate lunch at the Prospector Restaurant in the Soda Butte Lodge.  Miner’s Saloon, where we ate last time, was not yet open for the season which was a shame because we liked their food better.

 

   Once back inside the park, we were lucky enough to spot a couple of moose grazing in a meadow across the river, and further down at the Baronette Peak (elevation 10,354 ft.) pullout we had hoped to see some mountain goats.  Even though there were none to be seen
   (at least not with the naked eye), we did see some beautiful waterfalls.  If you look closely, you can see several of them cascading from under patches of snow though these are only temporary and will be gone once the snow melts.

 

   Sadly their week was up and it was time to return them to the airport.  We had all survived a week in the RV, we made a new friend in Shari, and made memories to last a lifetime.  Unfortunately we never saw any elk calves and every night was too cloudy to see the myriad number of stars and the Milky Way which Gloria so wanted Shari to witness nor were we able to enjoy any campfires.  Our friend Pam was supposed to join them on this trip but a last minute family situation prevented her from joining us.  Maybe another time.

Yellowstone Tidbits:

·         Red fox:  Male (dog) weighs 11-12 lbs., female (vixen) weighs about 10 lbs., young (kit) weighs about 4 oz. at birth; can produce 28 different vocalizations

·         Moose: largest member of deer family; male (bull) weighs nearly 1,000 lbs., female (cow) weighs up to 900 lbs., young (calf) weigh 25-35 lbs. at birth

·         Yellowstone has 5 park entrances, 466 mi. of road, and over 1000 miles of backcountry trails.