Well we are back where technology is available, so as promised I will fill you in on the last few days. All I can say is that the time spent in Yellowstone was amazing and it once again confirmed to me why Yellowstone is one of my happy places. Here is what happened over our three days in Yellowstone. (Its long, but its a fun read!)
Day #1-Wednesday June 24th
On Wednesday morning we left for Yellowstone, with the car stuffed full of bags, food and well…. us! Us being my mom, dad, Jillian, myself and Abby. We took a long drive through the Gallatin Gateway, through Big Sky down to West Yellowstone. It was a perfect day! Once we arrived in the park we drove from West Yellowstone in search of the perfect picnic site. After passing by some sites because that were too crowded, we finally stopped at the Virginia Cascades picnic area. We enjoyed a nice lunch and took in the open meadows of Virginia Cascades, a place that I have loved since I was a kid. After some turkey sandwiches, cookies that Jillian baked and drinks we packed up and moved on to see the park.
On Wednesday morning we left for Yellowstone, with the car stuffed full of bags, food and well…. us! Us being my mom, dad, Jillian, myself and Abby. We took a long drive through the Gallatin Gateway, through Big Sky down to West Yellowstone. It was a perfect day! Once we arrived in the park we drove from West Yellowstone in search of the perfect picnic site. After passing by some sites because that were too crowded, we finally stopped at the Virginia Cascades picnic area. We enjoyed a nice lunch and took in the open meadows of Virginia Cascades, a place that I have loved since I was a kid. After some turkey sandwiches, cookies that Jillian baked and drinks we packed up and moved on to see the park.
After lunch we made our way to the hotel in Gardner Montana at the North Entrance, going over Mt. Washburn to Tower Junction, up to Mammoth and out to Gardner. We wanted to drop off all of our bags so that we could move around the park freely. On the way through the canyon near Gardner, you could see Big Horn Sheep all along the mountain sides and out on a few rock ledges. There were several females watching over their new lambs. We had the opportunity to take some amazing pictures as several of them were right along the roadside. One little lamb seemed to be very young, maybe a few weeks old and did not want to cross the road with her mom.
Once we arrived at the hotel we unloaded, rested for a few moments and then made our way back into the park. Our plan that afternoon was to drive out to Lamar Valley to see what we might be able to find. (Wolves, bears, foxes, etc.). On our way out to Lamar Valley, between Mammoth and Tower Junction, Jillian spotted something she has never had the opportunity to see in Yellowstone. Off in the fields near Blacktail Lakes, was a beautiful Gray Wolf! My parents and myself have seen wolves up close in the park before, but Jillian had not so this was quite a treat. No one else was around when she spotted him either, so that made for a very special moment. We watched and snapped pictures as the lone wolf crossed the road and made his way towards the plateaus on the other side of the road. It was quite an amazing experience! As a note, for those that may not know, I have been obsessed with wolves for a very long time so to see them roaming in the wild is amazing and very special to me.
After that experience we turned back and headed towards the hotel again, all of us on cloud nine. It was an excellent start to the trip in Yellowstone! If you would like to see a complete slide show of our first day in the park, please click here…. Day One.
Day #2-Thursday June 25th
The next day we woke early and headed out the door ready to see some more amazing things. After the afternoon we had the day before, it was hard to imagine that we could see anything more spectacular, but we would eventually be proven wrong. Our plan that day was to Tower Junction, over Mt. Washburn to Canyon and then out the South Entrance. My mom and dad wanted to take me out to Grand Teton and Jackson Hole for lunch. It would be a long drive, but completely worth it.
As we entered the park, we found that the canyon out at Gardner had some new friends that wanted to be seen. Some Canadian Geese and their little ones were searching for bugs and such in the tall grass. They made for some wonderful pictures and were cute to watch as well. After stopping to admire them, we made a quick trip out to Lamar before heading over Mt. Washburn. At the Lamar Valley trail head it seemed as though people had their sites set on something, or a few things to be exact. Off in the distance, there was a female Grizzly with her two cubs. She was hard to see, even with a spotting scope. In a tree line across the river someone had also spotted a nest. Through the spotting scope you could see that it was a Bald Eagle’s nest and it was occupied. It looked as though one of the parents was in the nest with the babies at that time. Unfortunately the nest was too far away to take any pictures, but it was a wonderful memory to say the least.
After enjoying the eagles and the grizzlies from a great distance we made our way out to Tower Junction and over Mt. Washburn. Mt. Washburn is a wonderful place to see Grizzlies and wolves, but the morning turned out to be a bit disappointing. There wasn’t much that we could see at that moment, but we still moved forward, hoping to see more. As we made our way down through Canyon and out to Hayden Valley, we wondered if we would see the usual bison and elk. We did, and so much more!
At one of the pull outs along Hayden Valley and the Yellowstone River, a group of people began to form. I pulled out the binoculars and began to scan the areas that people were looking. Sure enough, along the banks of the Yellowstone River there were two gray wolves, a black and a grey to be exact. They were hunting and had chased about four or five female elk and their young into the river. It was amazing to see! As Jillian and I started to talk with some of the people standing around, there was a more detailed story to what was going on. The elk in the river had not been chased there by the wolves, but instead by large male grizzly that seems to be on the hunt. As he was trying to take down an elk, several wolves appeared and began to take over the hunt. The grizzly was now out of sight, but close by and the wolves continued to try and hunt. Unfortunately a few groups of people allowed their curiosity to get the best of them and they took off out into the field looking for the missing grizzly and to get a closer look at the wolves. Luckily a ranger appeared and backed them off just in time. As people were focused on the wolves, the grizzly appeared over the hill and looked as though he was going to cross the road… and he did.
After he crossed the road, the grizzly made a casual B-line for the bison that were grazing. There was a large heard of males, females and their young and at first it didn’t seem as though they noticed the grizzly. The grizzly moved along, stopping to sniff and eat bugs in the grass, but he had one thing in his mind… bison. Once he was close enough, he charged a group and that was it. The male bison began to push the females and young away from the grizzly and move them across the road. As the females and young got out of harms way, the males began to form a line in front of the grizzly, making it known that he was not at all welcome in the area. After several attempts the grizzly finally gave up and moved on, the males had successfully pushed him out.
IT WAS AMAZING to stand there and watch all of this unfold. It was Yellowstone’s ecosystem at its best being played out right in front of us. Its hard to describe it, but it was truly amazing.
Because the stop in Hayden lasted nearly an hour and a half, we lost time and ended up not going to Jackson for lunch. I was sad that we couldn’t go, but it gave us more time in the park. Instead, we headed over to Old Faithful for some lunch and then decided to drive back towards Mammoth. On the way we took several small drives along Firehole Lake and Nez Perce. We also got out and hiked a small trail out to Artists Paint Pots. This was a new trail for myself and my family, and it was worth exploring. The hot springs and the boiling mud pots were strange but beautiful. We also had the chance to try out the “baby backpack” and Abby seemed to enjoy it quite a bit!
As the sun started to set, we decided to make our way back to Gardner to get some dinner and get to bed. Along the way we stopped for a few pictures and took the Upper Terrace Drive in Mammoth. Its amazing to see how things have changed. Several springs along the terrace have come back to life again since I was there last.
The day ended in our room after a fun dinner of Pizza from Outlaw’s (which is super yummy) and a big bath for Abby. The excitement of the day had worn all of us out, but that was definitely a good thing.
To see more pictures from our second day in Yellowstone, click the following link… Day Two.
Day #3-Friday June 26th
The next morning we awoke to a nice cloudy and somewhat rainy day. While most people would be upset by this, we were thrilled. Gloomy days often brings the animals out and allow them to stay out in the open later in the day. Because of this, we thought our first stop would be out to Lamar Valley.
Throughout the drive from Mammoth to Lamar, the bison could be seen everywhere. All of the females seemed to be busy with their young. Luckily I was able to snap some great pictures of the bison with their babies. Too cute!
As we approached the stop for the Lamar Valley trail head, we noticed that something out by the river had the attention of a few people. Through our spotting scope we could see what appeared to be a black Gray Wolf feeding on a bison carcass. It was incredible! I know, most people wouldn’t find the idea of watching an animal eat incredible, but I do. After watching for a while, we were told by a few passing travelers that several wolves had been spotted up the road at Soda Butte. So we took off to see what we could, and sure enough they were right. Several gray and black colored Gray Wolves were up on a bluff keeping watch. Closer to us was a female, who seemed to be trying to cross the river and the road. Apparently on the other side of the road, up in the mountains behind us, this particular pack had a den. We feel that the female was probably trying to get to it, but unfortunately stupid people kept her from doing so. They kept hiking out to where she was, hoping to get a close picture which in turn scared her back towards the bluff. Oh well, I was able to get some great shots of her before those people scared her off.
After we watched her join the rest of the pack on the hill, we turned around and headed back toward Tower Junction. On our way back we drove out to the Slough Creek campground, which was a gorgeous drive. This area is the origin of the Slough Creek wolf pack and we definitely knew they were out there somewhere. At one point we had to stop to change and feed Abby, so we decided to do that at a pullout along the gravel road to the campground. As we took care of things and took some pictures, we started to hear howling off in the hills in front of us. It was incredible! We sat and listened to them talking for a good forty five minutes or so.
We eventually had to leave and move on. We drove over Mt. Washburn down to canyon and decided to take a drive along the canyon rim. We only had the chance to stop at a few of the look outs and after catching a glimpse of Artists Point from the other side of the canyon, we realized it was far too busy to get a view of the Lower Falls. Oh well, next time I suppose.
After we stopped at the Canyon Visitor Center and gift stores to do a little bit of shopping, we took off for Old Faithful. We had dinner reservations at the Inn and had to book it to get there. At that point, all that could keep us from getting there on time, kept us from getting there on time. A large storm started to make its way over the mountains which left us stuck in a huge downpour. We also found all of the slow drivers who couldn’t seem to get up to speeds over 20 mph. We also got stuck in a “buffalo jam” for a good 30 minutes. The bison were walking down the middle of the road, which happens all the time, but people were just dumb. When they were able to pass them, they didn’t and everyone had to have a picture! Ugh, oh well… we did eventually make it and because I had called to let them know what was going on, they were nice about us being late.
Dinner at Old Faithful was amazing, as always and it certainly made my day. Once we were finished we took off and headed back towards Hayden Valley, hoping to get a glimpse of that Grizzly again. On the way we stopped at Kepler Cascades, a spot that I love and have the best picture and memories of from past vacations.
The drive through Hayden was beautiful at sunset with a storm building again in the distance. We saw our Grizzly off on some hills in the distance, but that was OK. We had the chance to see him up close the day before. We drove back to the hotel in the fading light and it was gorgeous and at times a little eerie. The cold rain hitting the hot pavement created low hanging fog, which looked a little creepy at times. It was definitely a ride to remember.
To view a slide show of more pictures from our third day in the park, please click the following link Day Three .
Day #4-Saturday June 27th
Our 4th day was our final day in the park and a short one as well. My parents had a wedding that afternoon and needed to be back in time to change and get ready. We got up early and packed the car and took one last drive out to Lamar Valley. Again the bison were out enjoying the warm sun after a night of cool rain. At the same spot as the day before, several animals could been seen feeding on the bison carcass. With a closer look through our spotting scope we could see that several wolves and a grizzly bear were fighting over the bison. Eventually the wolves chased the grizzly off. Once again it was incredible to see all of this unfold before our eyes. Unfortunatly they were too far off to take decent pictures.
As we left Lamar and headed towards the North Entrance to head home, my dad spotted something along one of the hillsides near Tower Junction. Once we stopped for a better look, we discovered that it was a mama black bear and her two cubs. They were sooooo cute! We watched them play and move around for quite some time. Because they were not too visible from the road, we tried to keep our find a secret from passing drivers. Everytime someone drove by we would pretend to take pictures of the wild flowers or other things. Evetunally they moved close enough to be seen by passers by, but thats fine… we started our very own “bear jam”! It was sad to say goodbye to Yellowstone when we did but after talking in the car my parents decided that we should take one more day before I left to come back and I didnt have any problems with that, at all!
While my parents were at the wedding, Jillian and I just hung out at home. We eventually went to the mall to shop a bit and to have some of the best peach/vanilla swirl frozen yogurt Ive ever had and then ran to Target! Yes, even on vacation I cant resist a trip to Target. AFter that I took Jillian to dinner which was so nice. We had the chance to talk about things and catch up, which we dont always get the chance to do. Later that night it was apparent that Abby was very tired and missing her daddy very much. Abby finally fell asleep cuddled up with her Grandpa Taylor and Doggie and it was one of the most precious moments I have seen.
If you would like to view the slide show from our fourth day in Yellowstone, please click here… Day Four
The Wharton Adventures 
What a neat trip!
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