Yellowstone NP

Yellowstone NP - 6/25-28/2007

We departed Custer SP after a fine breakfast at the Game Lodge (President Calvin Coolidge's summer White House...) to continue westward to Wyoming and Yellowstone. Based on some sound (?) advice from some front desk clerks on the best way to head out of Custer and west to Yellowstone, we headed east. Considering our vehicle combination and the roads, we figured it would be best to take the long way - making our trip for this day just over 500 miles....quite a few more than we had planned. Oh well, what's another tank of gas at this point.

For those of you who haven't traveled in this section of the US, I can see why most people fly over this territory rather then drive it. If anyone has seen the horror movie The Hills Have Eyes, you know what we're talking about. The gist of that fine (lol) flick is a family on an RV trip end up getting eaten by mutants exposed to radioactive tests from the 40's and 50's. I don't think we saw any mutants....maybe because we didn't see a soul for hours on end...but the landscape was just like in the movie - desolate and eerie. There was a stretch of road in WY (Rt. 20 across the Bighorn Basin) where the wind was so bad we experienced a major dust storm. Pretty neat to see, but not to drive through. Hit the Yellowstone east entrance around 8:30p and learned they were doing major road construction - the first 7 miles of the 26 we needed to travel to the campground were all chewed up and unpaved. Nothing better to experience after 12 hours and 500 miles of driving... Needless to say, we had to squeeze into our campsite, and I mean squeeze, after dark with the temperature a balmy 45 degrees F - quite a change from the 90+ earlier in the day in Mutant Land, WY.

Our first adjustment at Yellowstone was to the weather, specifically the temperatures. Setting up the trailer that first night when it was 45 outside it was still relatively warm in the trailer when we went to bed, so I figured no need to turn on the heat. Around 4:30a as we were shivering and trying to stay warm under the covers Terry told me it was time to turn on the heat. I looked at the thermometer and the outside temp was 38 and inside it was a cool 46....aaahhh, summer in Yellowstone. Now I know some of you hardcore campers wouldn't think that is too cold, but my lovely bride is not a hardcore camper. Thankfully the heat works and we didn't have to turn around for warmer climates the next day - I didn't think we would need to use both the A/C and heat on this trip.

First full day in Yellowstone we went and saw all the geo-thermal activity around Old Faithful (OF - pic at left). There is a lot more activity (geysers, pools, etc.) in that part of the park then just OF (see pics at bottom). Amazing stuff. Katie and Matt remarked how the earth seemed to need a large dose of antacid - complete with jingles from current commercials. "Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea...the smells helped add to the atmosphere. After finishing with that area we continued with the lower loop through the park and caught a glimpse of a variety of wildlife. Matthew spotted a coyote which we were able to snap a pretty good photo of. Matt is our budding wildlife biologist - he is quick to correctly identify animals from a distance or by footprint or scat. He has developed a particular passion for wolves. Therefore, we ended the day by looking for wolves in the Hayden Valley - didn't see any then. That put in motion plans to catch a glimpse of a wolf somehow while in Yellowstone.

Day 2 begins at 6:00a because the best time to see some of the more elusive animals in the park is at dawn or dusk. Remember the temps? We set out with the temp. at 41 - so were wearing most everything we packed. No luck with the wolves, but we did get to see a grizzly bear and meet with a ranger very knowledgeable regarding all the wolf packs in the park and he gave us invaluable information for trying again later that day or the next. Bottom line, we needed to start earlier because the "professional" wildlife watchers at this one location saw more than 10 that morning before we got there. Part 2 of this day included a hike and tour through the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - including the absolutely beautiful upper and lower waterfalls (lower falls at right) of the Yellowstone River. Visited the Mud Volcano area (pretty cool, huh?) and saw buffalo up close and personal right on the trail. Oh yeah, this happened to be our 15th wedding anniversary so Terry and I went out to dinner at the Yellowstone Lodge.

Day 3 is our travel day from Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons, but that didn't mean we weren't going to try to squeeze in another chance to see some wolves. So up at 4:00a (temp. again at 40) and out the door so we could be at the best viewing location (45 minutes away) by first light. Did I ever mention that Katie and I are not really morning people? Katie was a trooper though and actually got into the truck by herself. However, she didn't move out of her seat until probably 7:30a - no matter what was being seen. The early morning rewarded us with a spectacular viewing of black bears (2), grizzlies (5, including 2 males sparring and a momma and her 2 cubs), 6 bull elk (huge racks), a lone bull moose, buffalo, and an elusive wolf. Matt was the only one of our group who actually saw her, but that was why we went out there. We had the great opportunity to hook up with professional wolf watchers and National Park staff that guided and educated us on the wolves of Yellowstone. Many of them had high-powered scopes for long distance viewing/watching. It was through the generosity of some of them that Matt was able to see his wolf - the alpha female of the Agate Pack (#432F). Sounds like a full morning, right? Wrong, we still needed to get back to our campsite, pack-up, dump the tanks, hook-up, and sign out before 10:00a. Completed in under 40 minutes and out of the campground at 9:55a - early for once, which might be a record for the Andersons.... Onward to the Grand Tetons which will have to wait for another post.

Castle Geyser steaming away