As an avid reader of all things Teddy Roosevelt, Yellowstone has been a draw for many years. It wasn’t smooth sailing for the area to become the first National Park in the country. (1872) It is often hunters who are the most influential when it comes to the conservation of land and wildlife. Even in this day and age. So it was with Yellowstone. It had to do with a sumptuous dinner.
We could only spend a couple of days. A short trip that managed to whet my appetite for more. The park, and the environs, deserve more. As mentioned in my previous blog; My first trip to Yellowstone, our first foray was through the South East entrance. There I saw my first Elk, and it turned out, my last. My first Yellowstone Bull Buffalo. My first Buffalo was in Custer State Park in South Dakota, you always remember your first, correct?. And, my first hot spring.
As we were staying at the Irma in Cody our entrance back into Yellowstone was from the East Entrance. This meant we were going to navigate yet again, the tricky road through Sylvan Pass. Travelling the road from East to West was not nearly as terrifying as going from West to East. Remember this photo from my previous Yellowstone blog?
The road to Yellowstone is impressive in its own right. We made a quick stop at the Buffalo Bill Dam. There are trails down to the base of the dam, but S had been left in the car while I got at least a bit closer. Not sure I would have liked being that close to the base of a dam in a cavernous river bed anyway.
Soon we were in the confines of Yellowstone.
One learns to look when there is a crowd of people. Sarge took photos of pretty girls on top of cars.
I looked to the left and there in the flats were a couple of last year’s Grizzly Cubs. They were scrounging in the riverbed.
when they suddenly went “Oh my gosh what was that!” I mistakenly thought it must have been another stupid human traipsing through the bushes to get a better shot. George Bumann, in one of his seminars, had discussed watching reactions to be able to catch even better wildlife viewing. Sorry, George, missed opportunity but, had we stayed, we would have gotten stuck in a bear jam. And, I did get a couple of cute pictures of the little guys from the class of 2020.
A bit further down the road, a ranger told me it was mama and this year’s cub that had caused their panic. You should have seen the older ones high tail it out of her way!
(and I blamed a stupid human!)
We were told to make sure we got to the Lamar Valley. It was beautiful and filled with Bison. Also filled with campers and people in lawn chairs, probably waiting for Wolves. I would have been one of those gawkers, had we not been on a tight schedule. Remember, this was a reconnaissance trip, with plans to come back.
I even got to see a Mountain Goat. Thank goodness I brought my spotting scope along! No picture. Need to practice that photo process. But what a treat.
Wildlife isn’t the only beauty of Yellowstone. Coming from the Granite State, read lots of grey rocks, the colour of the cliffs in Yellowstone is incredible. We here in New England like to boast about our blue skies, but one has to admit. They are not so bad out west either.
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is no slouch. Soon crowds began to grow so we caught views where we could on our way to West Yellowstone.
Next trip, want to join in and follow the trail to the base of Tower falls.
We got some small glimpses of geyser basins. The colours were surprising.
As we got closer to West Yellowstone, where we would have a fantastic game dinner, elk, and bison. We saw some locals ambling across the road.
Part of the park was closed. More reason to come back. Forced us to change our route away from the Tower Roosevelt hotel.
From West Yellowstone, we set our sights for Billings. Sorry, but easily skippable next trip, and on to Bozeman, we will be back.
Feeling adventurous we took the Bear Tooth All American Road. NOT to be missed and NOT for the faint of heart. Campers were not allowed but we did cross paths with one idiot. I hope they survived. The pass, at 10,947 feet, and yes you navigate a twisty windy road to get there, is closed in winter. Ah…Duh…
I did see a marmot poking out of the rocks near the summit. Check another wildlife viewing off.
As we came down into the valley, starkly beautiful, we came upon these ruins.
On the morning of February 27th, 1943, an explosion occurred nearly 7,000 feet below the Earth’s surface. The explosion was caused by a build up of methane gas, but what caused it to detonate is unknown. At the time, it was commonplace for miners to smoke while working. 77 miners were working that morning, but only 3 survived the day’s events. The explosion was so deep that people in the nearby communities didn’t feel anything, but only noticed something was wrong when a strange smoke and smell came wafting out of the mouth of the mine. Rescuers came from nearby mines as well as from a special rescue unit from Butte. Family members rushed to the mine to assist with the rescue, but the fumes were so poisonous that rescuers could only stand five minutes at a time in the mine. The Red Cross established an emergency hospital in Red Lodge which was staffed by student volunteers from the local high school. Over 100 rescuers suffered injuries and exposure to fumes. The number of casualties rose to 75. A handful of miners made it far enough to last an hour and half after the explosion. Reports tell of miners who wrote messages to their families with chalk. One message read, “Good bye wifes and daughters. We died an easy death. Love from us both. Be good.” After the disaster, the mine never reopened. Population in the area dropped significantly, and even today it is a fraction of what it was back then.
Kayde Kaiser |University of Montana | Geography Department
Another magical trip. There shall be more. Stay tuned as I comment on the environmental aspects of travelling, and what it is like to deal with someone you love having Cancer.
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