It was forecasted to rain today. That may stop some people but it certainly didn't stop us. The skies were cloudy but there wasn't rain when we left the B&B. We were hopeful to get everything in as planned. Of course, our plans had already been amended to a large extent.
We had originally planned to get up at 4:30 in order to get to Hayden Valley by dawn to maximize our chances to see grizzlies and wolves. But we already checked those boxes. Yahoo! So we slept in. We still headed to Hayden, though. There was nothing there but bison so we moved along to the next destination, Old Faithful Inn, for a lunch of bison bratwurst. This day, it was just our luck to finish lunch and get to Old Faithful as it was ending its eruption.
Before reaching Old Faithful, it had started raining. It was also cold, hovering around 40 degrees and getting as low as 37. The on-and-off rain and cold made for a lousy photography day. Rain meant I couldn't get out to the geothermal features that were to highlight the day. The times I was able to get to the features were fruitless due to the cold. For example, the Grand Prismatic Spring is one of the most beautiful features with an aqua-colored core radiating out to various colors, but there was too much steam today to even see the colors. I had planned to take a new trail that ended in an overlook above the pool. We did a quicker one to the side of the pool and saw the steam problem. I'm glad I didn't waste the time on the longer trail. Besides the steam, we got got in a hailstorm about 50 yards from our car. Susan got wet enough that her outdoor activities were finished. Here are a few photos and videos that I did manage to get in the geothermal areas.
 |
| Norris Basin |
 |
| Grand Prismatic Spring |
 |
| Grand Prismatic Spring Area |
 |
| Firehole Lake |
 |
| Firehole Lake Area |
The thing that fascinates me the most about this part of Yellowstone is not the individual geysers, pools, and hotspots. It is that they are everywhere. As we drove around, every direction we looked there was steam rising from the earth. It was surreal and beautiful in its own way. The dashcam does a good job of capturing the sense of the oddness, although watching through raindrops and windshield wipers is a bit irritating.
The dreariness of the day cut into our hike times and we headed back to Gardiner earlier than planned. We stopped for dinner at Yellowstone Pizza. It had Pittsburgh sports signage scattered among the nature photos on the wall. Steelers and Penguins signs made it evident someone here was from Pittsburgh. It was the owner. The pizza wasn't bad but it was little crispy.
After a brief stop at our room, we decided to look for more animals at the B Bar Ranch about 20 miles north of us. It was 7 miles back a dirt road in the Gallitan National Forest. There was a parking area along the road with several cars already there. The view across the road looked down into a valley with the mountain of grass and trees rising beyond. There was another mountain of grass and trees behind us. We soon spotted a bear in the valley just moseying along. It looked like a black bear to us. Then we saw a pair of bears behind us. They were a little closer and there was no doubt that they were a grizzly mother and cub. A large herd of elk appeared on the mountain across the valley about the same time. We spoke to a local before we left and he said there were no black bears in that area and the bear in the field was a "black" grizzly. I have no reason to doubt him but still I do.
The only bad part of the day was that my car was coated with mud. The rain had turned that dirt road into a mud road. Now I have to wash the car for the second time. I don't really care about its appearance but every time I touch the car I get dirty.
I wanted to get pictures of the elk gatekeepers tonight but they weren't around. I forgot to mention that there had been bugling from across that morning. It was cool to hear.
One observation from today is that RVs are booming. Even the RV rental business is booming. "Cruiseamerica" RVs were everywhere in the park today. I'm willing to bet that I saw nearly 100 of them. These are rental RVs, though, and their drivers might just be a little inexperienced. One nearly ran me over in the Old Faithful Inn parking lot.
I also would like to add a couple of comments about spending time in the National Parks. These were true back in the 90's when we were here and apply even more today.
- The parks are crowded. The Road to the Sun in Glacier seemed to have more cars than Atlanta's spaghetti junction. Every parking area of significance was filled. Yellowstone is a much larger park so the people get spread out ... but the roads were busy and the parking areas had lines waiting for cars to leave.
- People are stupid. They will stop for anything. By stop, I don't mean they will pull over. I mean they will stop in their lane and block everyone behind them. They will also go at their own pace. Many roads in Yellowstone have a 45 MPH speed limit. I can't tell you how many car were at 30 MPH or below. There are signs saying that slower drivers should use the turnouts to allow others to pass. It is rarely done.
- Animals don't know the rules of the road. Bison, elk, and other animals will use roads as their own. They don't care about those big strange things with humans inside. They will move across or along the roads at their own pace.
- Parks are always under maintenance. That means that road construction may cause delays and some areas may be closed. Be aware and have alternative plans.
- Learn the entrances that will speed your entry into the park. We used the north entrance. It had 2 entry gates. That seems low when others have 4 gates. But it also means that fewer cars overall use those roads.
The main takeaway is that visitors must have patience and plan for extra time to do everything. Get there early and beat the crowds.
One last note about Yellowstone. As we traveled throughout the park, we saw that tree bark was rubbed off trees everywhere. We guessed that this was bison "scratching their itch". If we're right, this sight was to be expected where there were large herds. But it was even common where we saw only 1 or 2 bison. I guess they get itchy a lot and only bark can make them happy.
We'll conclude our Yellowstone visit with a photo of the Roosevelt Arch.
Susan’s quote of the day: “This kind of trip is for the young." It is true that we older folks get tired. But she agreed that we were glad we did it.
The highlights - B Bar Ranch.
The regrets - None.
Today's total miles - 202
Today's miles from start to destination - 0
Today's miles on side trips - 202
Today's miles driven by Paul - 202
Today's miles driven by Susan - 0
Today's hours in car - 7
Total Miles Hiked - 0.8
Cumulative total miles - 3,883
Cumulative miles from start to destination - 2,953
Cumulative miles on side trips - 930
Cumulative miles driven by Paul - 3,356
Cumulative miles driven by Susan - 527
Cumulative hours in car - 74 1/2
Cumulative Miles Hiked - 12.4
No comments:
Post a Comment