Thursday, July 12, 2018

More Yellowstone!

June 28-29, 2018
Livingston, Montana

Thursday morning we head south on Hwy 89, through a beautiful valley and the small town of Gardiner, Montana. We're going to see more of Yellowstone National Park!

I look past a handful of people with binoculars, and see this huge nursery herd of Elk. Before we get to Yellowstone, it's already a great day!

All cows and calves. The herd is beyond the ranch, in open space along the river.

Such cuties!
Only a few cars in line when we arrive at the entrance. After climbing to the park administration village (this is a huge operation!), we find the parking area for Mammoth Hot Springs completely full.

Fortunately there is Upper Terrace Road which gives us a wonderful view of this unique geothermic area. What fun to take our time meandering through all the bubbling formations!

Why the long face?

Delicate antelope at the park entrance.

Wow!




Frosting or snow?
Not far up the road we see a single ranger among the trees. A couple other vehicles have stopped to look. Oh goody - it's a baby Black Bear! We learn from the ranger that he has no mother, he's on his own but doing well. 

He playfully swats at the long grass.

Then he finds a yummy yellow flower to snack on.
There are several side roads, some named, others are a mystery. As in our previous visit we find these off shoots of the main roads have few people, and usually a pit toilet with no lines (valuable intel when spending all day in the park).

A beautiful example of columnar formations - 500, 000 years old.

 
No place else is Yellowstone.
A long stretch of the road between Mammoth and Norris is under construction through summer. We're delayed about 30 minutes, then bounce through dirt, holes and rock. I'm very glad we didn't drive the motorhome this route to Livingstone!

They'll have to hustle to get this all done before Winter.
We make a quick stop at Canyon Village where there are several parking places and no lines. Wonderful! I grab us something to eat, and we're once again on our way. 

Climbing Dunraven Pass (8900 feet) to the base of Mount Washburn (10,243 feet) we see snow ridges along the roadside. I opt not to drive to the top of the mountain on the narrow, shelf road. Surprising, right?

Mount Washburn


These Bighorn Sheep are still shedding their winter coats.


A fuzzy lamb, the exact color of the mountainside.
At Tower-Roosevelt we find yet another new look for the park. Interesting layers and tufts over the Yellowstone River.



With formations on both sides of the river, it's interesting to stand under the tufts.
The Yellowstone River

We only see a couple Bison on this side of the park.

But this single sighting is the highlight of the day - a healthy wolf trotting along the elevated side of the road. 
The loop reconnects to the northern entrance at Mammoth, and we head back to Livingston.

The back of Mammoth Hot Springs.
Livingston is a cute western town. My BFF, Janis, recommends a place to eat in the historic downtown. The Sport is actually the oldest business in Livingston, opened in 1909. The whole street is pulled up, leaving a dusty strip of dirt between the storefronts - I'm sure very much like it looked when the restaurant opened. After dinner, we drive along the river and through Sacajawea Park. 





I'm so glad we were able to see most of Yellowstone, and some day we'll see the last "section" above the Grand Tetons. 

Rather than continuing north to Glacier on Friday, we're making a detour east to Roundup, Montana, to finally see our good high school friend Peggy, and her daughter Kaylee. The last time we were here she hadn't started her new house yet, and last year we were turned back by the fires and smoke. Michelle is also a high school friend who we credit with getting Bill and I back together ten years ago - and she's joining us at Peggy's too!!

Fun times with fun friends is next.


18 comments:

  1. What an awesome wolf sighting, Jodee! We viewed several wolves feeding on a bison carcass in Lamar Valley through a spotting scope once. They were pretty tiny, even through the scope. So cool that you saw one that close!

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    1. It was wonderful! We thought at first it was a coyote until we got closer. Seeing several, even far away would be so cool!

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  2. The wolf sighting is awesome Jodee...great job having the camera ready for the photo. You have certainly seen a lot of Yellowstone we missed when we visited several years ago. I think maybe a trip back there is in order...love, love your adventures and awesome photos !

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    1. Thanks Gay! I can't believe I didn't see it sooner, when it was less crowded, but I've sure enjoyed what we've seen now.

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  3. It is so interesting how many of us seem to choose the same areas to explore at the same time. Yellowstone seems to be on several peoples radar this year, including ours. This is one park I can't get enough of with all its variety. Our last visit we stayed in Gardiner and ate at the same restaurant. You found so many new areas for us. How sweet that you saw the cub. I am glad the rangers are watching it and it is doing well alone:) Wow! What a huge nursery!! That is a ton babies. I imagine the Big Horn don't ever get rid of all that winter coat before they start the next coat. Summer is very short for them. Lucky you found these beauties:) You had certainly had a special visit with seeing a gorgeous healthy wolf. I know the park is concerned with their numbers. Hope your visit with your friends went well.

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    1. I was thinking the same thing last year when several of us were in parts of Oregon and the PNW! And now in the Great Lakes and Upper NY area :-) Great minds and all that! Yellowstone has definitely become a favorite even with the crowds which were very manageable for us.

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  4. You really scored big time with all the animal sightings. After putting up with the traffic at the prime tourist stops we really enjoyed the open plains of eastern side. Even without all those elk, but we did have lots of bison. Not sure who was more surprised the bathing black bear or us when we scared each other at Lillypad Lake.

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    1. LOL! I'm sure it was a tie!! It's a beautiful place in between all the big draws.

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  5. OMWow! Your photos are superb! All that beauty and sounds like you avoided most of the crowds. Totally awesome to see the wolf. Only visited Yellowstone once in 1980 on my honeymoon and we hitchhiked around the loop so didn't get to see near enough.

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    1. Thanks Gaelyn! It is such an incredible place - and there's so much of it :-)

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  6. Mammoth was my favorite section of Yellowstone. We stayed in the campground and could walk to the center of town which was usually filled with Elk or to the beautiful formations. Great pictures of them and of the numerous columnar you saw. You really saw a lot in one day. Love the shot of the river and that wolf looks extremely well fed. What a great day you had! I never see as much in a week as you do in a day.

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    1. I didn't give us enough time so we had to really pack in the wows in a day!I would love to have the time to hang out in an area for a few days.

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  7. Yellowstone is awesome!! We did a quick drive in/drive out on Thursday--it wasn't really that crowded in the Lamar Valley and we saw lots of baby buffalo.

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    1. It's wonderful to be close enough for those quick visits. Glad you found some babies!

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  8. Great photos capturing wildlife and your visit to Yellowstone! There always seems to be construction between Norris and Mammoth. We got stopped there a few years ago and when it was time to go, Toadie was dead as a door nail. It was then we discovered her quirk. She likes to shutdown completely until you open and close the driver's side door, then she fires right up and all is well. Weird, huh? :)

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    1. The construction was so extensive I can't imagine it will be done by next year. That is definitely a very weird quirk - probably not in the manual!

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  9. Absolutely amazing that you saw a wolf. I'm really happy for you (and okay, I'll admit it, I'm envious!). And you got such a fantastic photo! I'll bet the park would be delighted to have a copy of that pic. So fantastic what you managed to see in just a day in the park. Yellowstone is truly magical. It has become one of our favorite places...maybe next time we can visit together, because you are obviously a wildlife whisperer! :-))

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    1. LOL - Bill has a really good eye for seeing critters while I'm driving! Seeing that healthy wolf so close was wonderful (I'm often envious of all you guys see), and having my camera ready to go is rare :-))

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