Boring Bison?

Day 33 - June 7th

We were on a mission today to see animals in Yellowstone National Park. Leaving the cabin, we noticed as we drove by how beautiful the fields were with the yellow flowers. We also saw a pronghorn and a herd of deer. 

We headed to Ernie's Bakery to pick up bag lunches. This time we were in time to grab a few bakery goods for breakfast...well, maybe brunch!

We drove through West Yellowstone and waited quite awhile in line to get into the park. Of course, we chose the line with the elderly man, moving in extra slow mode as people came up to the Ranger Station. If we had seen the sign up by the station earlier, we could have maneuvered from Lane 2 to Lane 4 BEFORE we were almost there. The boys made up their own game of trying to stay up with specific cars who started out next to us. They each made it to the Ranger Station long before we did. That was fine; we ate our "brunch" while we waited. Yummy!

From Madison to Norris to Canyon Village, we saw several different herds of bison. Some were large herds and some were by themselves. One bison approached the road where a car had pulled off on the left side to watch before we came along. We watched as the bison crossed the road and headed towards the car. We were on the right side, first in line. From our position, it looked like the bison was going to ram into the car. Luckily, he walked directly in front of their car. When we all started breathing again, we drove on as the bison started grazing on the other side.

We spotted an animal running by itself with some bison herds in the far distance. This led us to believe it might be a coyote, but it was pretty far away to be sure. Sharon was able to take pictures, but we weren't able to confirm exactly what it was until we got home that night. Our guess was right. It was a coyote.

We got to Canyon Village and headed north towards Tower-Roosevelt. On the way there, we saw beautiful landscapes, even snow along the roadside. Of course, Robin and Sharon were putting the windows down to take pictures while Richard drove. However, Dean was freezing from the cold air coming from both sides of the car. We gave him a blanket to keep warm and he was much happier!

Our drive was so full of landscape sights that we almost forgot about seeing animals. Soon we saw lots and lots of cars pulled over. We couldn't find a place to pull off except way down the road. There weren't any flat spots and people were willing to park just about anywhere, even if their cars got scrapped up from the drop between the road and hillside. We found a level place to park and walked back. Just about the time we got to where all the action was (even though we didn't know what the action even was), the Park Rangers began moving people away. It was a momma black bear and her cub. However, we didn't get to see them or take pictures. Bummer!

We stopped at Tower Fall and walked to see the fall. It was beautiful! We took pictures and then went inside the Tower Fall General Store. After a little time inside, we continued our journey.

As we were driving a little further north, Robin saw, through the trees, a moose walking down by the river. We were hoping to see more moose today so knew we wanted to pull over. However, again, there wasn't any place to pull over safely. When we could, Robin and Sharon jumped out of the car and walked quickly to the beginning of the trees. Richard and Dean caught up. We found bison hair and a path along the river. We were still quite a distance from the moose sighting and it was really hot. Needless to say, we never caught up with the moose.

We got back in the car and  continued to the Tower-Roosevelt area. As we made the turn to head towards the Northeast Entrance of the park, we saw horseback riders starting off on their trail ride. Traffic was stopped until all horses were safely across the road and on their way.

We continued on the road that takes you into Lamar Valley, which is where we had been told we would see lots of animals. We did see lots and lots of animals on this drive. However, they were ALL bison! After seeing dots on the landscape over and over and over again, the boys became bored with bison! These photos were taken of many different herds of bison all along the way from Tower-Roosevelt to the Northeast Entrance and back.

As we got to the Northeast Entrance, we traveled through and exited the park. We had been told in one of the visitor centers to drive a little bit on the Beartooth Highway so we did. The first city we came to was Silver Gate, WY. It was a quaint town with a mining history. At the Visitor Center, there was a nice display of mining equipment. We also saw some snow equipment. 

We drove a little further on the Beartooth Highway, looking for the chocolate colored mountains we had been told were so beautiful. Not finding them, we decided to turn around and head back. We went back into the park and found a picnic area to eat our bag lunches. Not only did we find a nice shady picnic table, but the people in the next area came by when they saw our Florida sea turtle license plate. They, too, were from Florida. We talked a little bit about our Yellowstone experiences. After eating, we packed up and headed back toward Tower-Roosevelt.

Somewhere along the stretch between Tower-Roosevelt and Canyon Village, we did spy a few more animals other than boring bison. We saw a small herd of pronghorn in a field. They were enjoying their afternoon snack. Many people incorrectly refer to these animals as pronghorn antelope. However, we learned from several Park Rangers that they are not members of the antelope family so should just be called pronghorns. 

As we continued on, we spied some cars pulled over again. Richard pulled over, but had to pull real close to the edge in order to make sure his tires were outside the road line. As Robin got out on the passenger side and tried to close the door, the gravel edge of ground gave way and she slid about 6 feet down the embankment before she was able to grab hold and stop the fall. Once she climbed her way back up, she and Sharon crossed the road and found 3 big horn sheep, grazing under the trees. At the time, we weren't really sure what they were - mountain goats or big horn sheep. We later showed a Park Ranger the photos and he confirmed they were female big horn sheep. These were the first ones we had seen. As we got back into the car, Robin wasn't moving so fast. Fortunately, there were no broken bones this time.

Further down the road, we again found cars and pulled over. This time it was a grizzly. Some viewers said it was another momma and her cub. This time we were able to take a quick photo before the Park Rangers moved everyone away. We didn't see the cub, but did get to see the mamma before leaving.









We stopped at Canyon Village Education Center for a little while before heading to see Lower Falls and Upper Falls on the Yellowstone River. The Lower Falls had a short trail and steps to get up to the overlook area. It was worth the exercise to see the gorgeous view of the falls, the river, and canyon walls. Next, we drove to the Upper Falls Overview and saw the magnificent sights there. We loved listening to the sounds of the moving water.

The next stop was to Lamar Valley to see Mud Volcano and mud pots...or so we thought. A large herd of bison decided to migrate from the valley on one side of the road to the hillside on the other. If you have seen the Ice Age movies where the animals are all headed side by side from one place to another, then just substitute bison and you have the picture. There were lots of calves following right with the "big guys." As the first ones began crossing the road, traffic was brought to a complete stand still. We watched from the car as bison reached the top of the slope and headed onto the road. Some walked right across and started grazing along the other side. Others, got to the road and then hung out. One older bison decided the road was a better place to walk than the grass so he walked right down the other side of the road. Finally, after about 20 minutes of sitting still, there was a break between groups and a few cars on our side got through. We waited a little longer and another break came and we were able to move through. That was quite the sight and they, suddenly, weren't boring anymore. 

We drove to the Mud Volcano, got out and explored. There was even a small herd of bison laying on the side of one of the mud areas. It is amazing that they know to stay out of the hot mud springs. The smell of sulfur was very strong in this area as well.

We left Mud Valley and drove back to Canyon Village before heading back to the cabin. The bison crossing traffic jam was still underway, but there were a lot more breakthroughs this time. We got through and saw a bison with a group of Canadian geese along the way. 

We stopped at Canyon Village and ate in the cafeteria there. The food was mediocre, mostly because it wasn't hot.

From Norris to Madison, we stopped for cars pulled over, but found we were too late. There had been a moose there, grazing in the meadow, but it headed back into the woods just about the time we got there. Sharon made a moose call from the car, which was pretty pathetic! We all laughed hysterically! 

We pulled over on the road between Madison and West Yellowstone because the sunset was so beautiful.

When we got into West Yellowstone, we went to the grocery store to get some Epsom salts for Robin. She was pretty sore and stiff from her fall. After that, we went in some of the town shops that were still open at 9:30 pm. When the shops closed at 10:00, we drove back to the cabin. It wasn't long before we were all counting sheep in our dreams.