Welcome to Yellowstone!
It may seem strange, considering some of the places I have been lucky enough to have visited, but I was more excited about this vacation than any previous. It was our first true, road trip, family vacation. I planned for weeks, I had a map of Yellowstone in my head and I had memories from my last visit when I was only 6 years old. The ghosts of that visit have wandered through my memory ever since, which is, undoubtedly, what has inspired such excitement about returning and sharing that wonder with my children.
The plan went off wonderfully. We were in no hurry. We had places to stop along the way. We were journey oriented. In order to take the leisurely route we spent the first night in a KOA in Bozeman, Montana. We arrived at 11pm and set up our new tent in stealth mode.
We soon learned that the street lamp closest to our tent had a horrible work ethic. It blinked on in a fluorescent white glare and within about 18 seconds took on a twittering yellow pallor. Only 30 or so seconds after that it would blink out and only a shadow of light clung to life in the lamp. In the morning Paul informed us that this shadowy light lasted about 1 minute and 37 seconds before the cycle would repeat. He is an interesting human.
A short drive away from our KOA penthouse was The Museum of the Rockies. What a gem! We all are looking forward to visiting again on our next trip to Yellowstone.
A short drive away from our KOA penthouse was The Museum of the Rockies. What a gem! We all are looking forward to visiting again on our next trip to Yellowstone.
Almost There
Only 80 miles from Bozeman was our next stop, West Yellowstone, MT. We checked into our Hotel and spent the rest of the evening wandering through the inevitable black hole that is the tourist trap center of town. Our favorite store, go figure, was a very non-Barnes & Noble bookstore. It was a labyrinth of shelves filled with the widest variety of books I had ever seen in such a small space. It was entertaining to see the excitement in my family's eyes as they wandered through this maze of information and imagination. I realized that one of the greatest things is the sound of your child in a bookstore quietly yelling, "Mom! Come 'ere you gotta SEE this!"
Just outside the door of "our favorite bookstore ever"
we found our first and, we later decided, favorite West Yellowstone Buffalo.
we found our first and, we later decided, favorite West Yellowstone Buffalo.
The next morning at exactly 8am [ opening time ] we went across the street from our hotel and in to a small world of bears and wolves aptly called, The Bear and Wolf Discovery Center.
The bears are those that had to be removed from the wild due to an over-familiarization with humans. The wolves were born in captivity. The pack at the center were an Alpha male and female, Hayden and Lakuna, and a beta male and female, Granite and Naia . The photo below, taken by Reid, shows Hayden anticipating a breakfast of elk steak. [ Reid found it a bit emasculating that Hayden was whining ... I reminded him that if the fence weren't there he might be the one whining. ;o]
In the Park
Our first day we drove the Grand Loop. I was driving when we had our first Buffalo encounter. Not knowing what to do I just eased the car to the right and put my flashers on, yielding to the horns and dimension. He kept looking at us with a sort of mafia henchman attitude ... like a Buffalo Joe Pesci from Goodfellas.
"Do I amuse you?"
This photo courtesy of Paul.
"Little World"
"Little World"
One of the most beautiful sights during the week was that of the Lower Falls of Yellowstone river in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The views of this fall inspired our government to, thankfully, preserve all of Yellowstone, as well as much of the surrounding geography, for the enjoyment not only of U.S. citizens but the world.
Yellowstone should be on the 100 things to do list for everyone in the United States. I believe many non- U.S. citizens must have it on their list as well. In the same vein that major U.S. cities have sections called, "Little Italy", or "Chinatown", Yellowstone can be called, "Little World". In the week we were there I heard 8 languages I could identify and about 5 others I couldn't.
Mmmmm S'mores ...
We made S'mores almost every night we camped. We are of he mind that it really isn't car-camping unless you make S'mores. We got these great rotating campfire skewers that made killer, flame roasted, golden brown marshmallows. I think we only had 3 or 4 marshmallows during the week that had 5th degree burns which required instant carbon dioxide extinguishment [ is that even a word? ... spell check says, no. ]
Mmmmm Hot Dogs ...
Mmmmm Camp Kids ...
wait ... eww! They would taste like bug spray.
wait ... eww! They would taste like bug spray.
I did get a chance to write a Haiku while we roasted ... everything.
White of ashen fire
a summer night spent laughing
in Yellowstone Park
White of ashen fire
a summer night spent laughing
in Yellowstone Park
A Particular Aroma
Sarah had major issues with the loverly sulfur smell [ and variations on the sulfur theme ] that wafted all across Yellowstone. Eventually she and her less elaborative brother got used to it. These are our "wee inedibles" at Mammoth Hot Springs visually expressing their opinion.
Throughout Yellowstone there are numerous awesome [ literally ] vistas. Heading towards Tower Junction we decided to stop and shoot the family. We survived. Barely.
Naturally, of Course.
I'll take Answers that elicit, "Duh." for $1000, Alex.
The thermal event most readily associated with Yellowstone.
"What is: Old Faithful".
"Duh."
It is reassuring that out of the several hundred people who joined us to watch this magmatic icon, there were several sincere "ooohs" and even a few "ahhhs" of note. One small child even started crying. This act of nature may not be able to visually compete in our Multi-Media inundated world but for those still connected to reality Old Faithful is a unique reminder of our powerlessness against nature. Making babies cry is pretty neat too. :o]
Lamar Valley
The Serengeti of North America
The Serengeti of North America
In all of my research on Yellowstone the most intriguing area to me was the Lamar Valley. It is here that you are supposed to be able to see the densest population of animals in the park. It is even nicknamed, The Serengeti of North America. How could we resist? The best time to see all of these animals is either at dawn or dusk. So I wrangled the family [ with minimal grumbling ] out of their sleeping bags at 0400 hours [ 4am for normal folk and Oh-Dark-Thirty for the "special" peoples ]. Of particular interest was the Druid Peak Wolf pack which I hoped we would have a better chance of seeing if we got there early enough. This valley does live up to its nickname and Reid and I agreed it was the most beautiful and engaging area in the park.
By the middle of the week we had become professional turners out ... turn outers??? ... we pulled over "real good". Cruising through Lamar Valley Reid pointed out a large entourage of people who were obviously looking at something interesting. About 8 scopes and 10 cameras were trained behind a bluff that flanked the road. We pulled over and made the short trek up a rocky hill. There were coyoté pups, there was an Osprey or two, there were two wolves ... Wolves??? Hmmm??? Yes wolves, though they were about 1000 yards away. Even Reid could only see a small black shape through his camera. The small dot in the photo below is a black wolf.
As we strained to see the distant canid I heard a quiet exclamation from a fellow watcher and put down the binoculars to see a coyoté approaching from about 50 yards. He passed by only 15 feet from us. Amazing. He was large enough that we were confusing him for a small wolf until he got closer. He proceeded to hunt down and eat a small ground squirrel, upon the eating of which Paul squeaked more than the victim. [ He had developed an affection for the gregarious ground squirrels ]. I have not posted a photo of the event so as to make up for enjoying the distress of small children at viewing Old Faithful. :o]
By the middle of the week we had become professional turners out ... turn outers??? ... we pulled over "real good". Cruising through Lamar Valley Reid pointed out a large entourage of people who were obviously looking at something interesting. About 8 scopes and 10 cameras were trained behind a bluff that flanked the road. We pulled over and made the short trek up a rocky hill. There were coyoté pups, there was an Osprey or two, there were two wolves ... Wolves??? Hmmm??? Yes wolves, though they were about 1000 yards away. Even Reid could only see a small black shape through his camera. The small dot in the photo below is a black wolf.
As we strained to see the distant canid I heard a quiet exclamation from a fellow watcher and put down the binoculars to see a coyoté approaching from about 50 yards. He passed by only 15 feet from us. Amazing. He was large enough that we were confusing him for a small wolf until he got closer. He proceeded to hunt down and eat a small ground squirrel, upon the eating of which Paul squeaked more than the victim. [ He had developed an affection for the gregarious ground squirrels ]. I have not posted a photo of the event so as to make up for enjoying the distress of small children at viewing Old Faithful. :o]
On another pull over opportunity we saw a sight that would make any respectable hunter yearn for non-government land ...
The photo below is of a bacterial mat. At the Museum of the Rockies we learned that these were the first life forms on the planet. We were all excited to have foreknowledge of these amazing structures.
The kids gave their token, "That's cool!" comment but I could see that they were truly interested, perhaps imagining that where they stood was not now but then; that they beheld something rare and inspiring that helped shape the world they now inhabited. Which is what I was experiencing while watching their reactions and seeing their interest ... rare and inspiring, people who might shape the world of the future.
Yee HawwwOw!
One of the highlights of the trip was our Saddle & Paddle trip. On another early morning we drove to Gardiner Montana to Wild West Whitewater and outfitters. As we started out on the trail my horse eagerly took the lead and left the rest of my family in the dust. The only decent photo I could get was of our guide, Cody. Two hours of riding left our saddles sore and we were eager for the water of Yellowstone River.
Saddle
Paddle
Our guide on our Class III whitewater trip was Mike, who, Reid told us, was South African.
Mike immediately assigned the two biggest, strongest men to front oars, Reid being one of them. When he asked who wanted to get the wettest Sarah almost dove in to the boat. Although I wanted to row I tried to decline [ I had stabbed my hand the day prior ... another story ] and offered the oar to another of the women in our group. They flat out refused so I took my oar. Mike asked for another woman to row but none would so Paul, of course, eagerly volunteered. Mike was hesitant but Paul convinced him, if not of his strength, then of his determination. Off we went.
We're still in the boat, honest.
Mike immediately assigned the two biggest, strongest men to front oars, Reid being one of them. When he asked who wanted to get the wettest Sarah almost dove in to the boat. Although I wanted to row I tried to decline [ I had stabbed my hand the day prior ... another story ] and offered the oar to another of the women in our group. They flat out refused so I took my oar. Mike asked for another woman to row but none would so Paul, of course, eagerly volunteered. Mike was hesitant but Paul convinced him, if not of his strength, then of his determination. Off we went.
We're still in the boat, honest.
The Aftermath
This is how we all felt on the trip back to camp. It was a good "tired" and a very good trip.
In the End
Yellowstone is a feast for the senses. Unexpected smells, melodious and unfamiliar sounds, fire smoked, gamy tastes, steam and stench from geysers and abundant color and texture surround you at all times. We plan to return as often as possible.
