Great Adventure
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Chapter 5: Yellowstone Nat. Park, WY to Bozeman, MT
July 22 - August 7, 2002
Our plans for visiting Yellowstone National Park had to be adjusted after
learning that we would be without our Honda for a week. I called the
central reservation line for Yellowstone and, by a near miracle, got
reservations for four nights at two different campgrounds within the park.
We toured the park in the motorhome and, aside from having to unhook
our utilities each morning, it actually worked out very well. The dog and cat
came along, of course. The generator powered the air conditioning so we
could safely leave them inside while we saw the sights. Navigation was
easy because the main roads to the major attractions are laid out in a giant
figure eight over the park’s 2.2 million acres. – twice the size of Rhode
Island.
The first day, we entered the east gate of Yellowstone via the Sylvan Pass
at 8530 ft. through the Absaroka Mountain Range. The road then skirted the
northeast edge of Yellowstone Lake, and we stopped for lunch at the
historic Lake Hotel, overlooking the water.
A deer walked right across the front lawn while we
were eating. Later in the day, we visited West Thumb.
If Yellowstone Lake is shaped like a human hand,
then that portion looks like the thumb. At West Thumb,
we walked along lakeside boardwalks through
thermal features, including bubbling hot springs
with colorful mineral and algae formations, and
fumaroles (steam vents) in the earth.
The second day, we drove the motorhome to see Old Faithful and other
geysers in the same basin.
Old Faithful
Geysers are essentially hot springs with constricted plumbing
underground, allowing steam and pressure to build until boiling water is
released in a giant fountain. Old Faithful erupts approximately every 92
minutes, and it was only five minutes behind schedule for our show.
Between eruptions, it steams constantly. As it gets close, it teases with
short bursts of water, until finally the fountain shoots up between 100 and
200 feet. We spent three hours walking the pathways through this geyser
basin, in constant amazement at these geological wonders. Some geysers
are just holes in the ground, while others have built up mineral deposits at
their base with shapes inspiring names such as “Castle Geyser” or “Grotto
Geyser”. Some erupt several times a day, some only a few times a year.
Midway Geyser Basin was our next stop. The awesome Grand Prismatic
Spring is the size of a football field. The crystal clear spring waters boil up
the colors of the rainbow - deep blue at the center, surrounded by teal,
then orange, red, and purple at the edges.
Morning Glory Pool
Some thermal features belong in “Ripley’s Believe it or Not”, including
Dragon’s Mouth. A small water-filled cave breathes steam and sulfur in a
low roar. It is easy to understand the name once you hear it! Following the
boardwalk uphill, Mud Volcano bubbles a gray-green-white mass of
steaming mud. Across the road lies Sulfur Cauldron, a deep pit emitting
odorous clouds of steam.
Driving along the 24-mile “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone” formed by
the Yellowstone River, we understood how Yellowstone Park got its name.
The canyon walls are various shades of yellow-gold, tinged with orange
and red, due to the mineral deposits left by the thermal features, which still
expel steam from the canyon walls. We stopped at numerous overlooks to
view the canyon and its two major waterfalls. The Upper Falls are 109 ft.
and the Lower Falls 308 ft. high – twice as high as Niagara!
Yellowstone Canyon
After Yellowstone, we backtracked to Cody, WY and retrieved our Honda
from the dealer in Powell. What a renewed sense of freedom! After a full
week, it got a little old to have to disconnect the motorhome to go
anywhere. Cody is the self-proclaimed “Rodeo Capital of the World”. All
summer long the rodeo plays nightly as it has for 65 years, hence the claim.
So what else to do but go see the rodeo!
Twelve events took place over 1-½ hours; including bareback riding,
saddle bronco riding, calf roping, steer riding, and steer wrestling. Yes,
there are cowboys crazy enough to wrestle a 2000 lb. steer! I also enjoyed
the less dangerous events such as barrel racing, the only event in which
women participated. Three barrels were placed in a triangle, and the
women rode their horses at breakneck speed around them in a cloverleaf
pattern to cross the finish line in the fastest time. For the children under
twelve, there was the calf scramble. A green ribbon was tied around the
neck of a calf, which was turned loose in the ring with 30-40 children, who
were challenged to catch the calf and untie the ribbon to claim the prize. A
little girl from Connecticut named Allison was the winner of a free horse
back trail ride from one of the local tour companies. Between events, we
were entertained by rodeo clowns, who look out for the cowboys to try to
prevent injuries.
Between Cody and the East Gate of Yellowstone, we camped by the
Shoshone River at Newton Creek Campground in the Shoshone National
Forest. Thirty-one campsites with no hook-ups lie at the bottom of a canyon
with the Shoshone River running through. This is bear country and our
campground hosts were also nature photographers, specializing in bears.
Between May and July they saw over two dozen each of grizzly and black
bears. No bear sighting for us, but we saw Mama, Papa, and Baby beavers
working/playing at the river’s edge, and we were on the lookout for a Mama
Moose and her calf living nearby. A number of campers fished for trout in
the river.
We spent a total of five days in beautiful Grand Teton National Park. The
park is located just south of Yellowstone and characterized by views of the
Teton Mountain Range throughout.
Grand Teton
The Teton Range is part of the Rocky Mountains and these are among the
first rocky peaks that we have seen with glaciers in the canyons above the
tree line. The main road through the park runs 56 miles from north to
south, paralleling the Tetons, Jackson Lake, and the Snake River. Our first
three nights were spent camped at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake.
Jackson Lake
From our site, a minute walk on a trail through the pine trees led to the
lake, which is overshadowed by Mount Moran, a 12,605-ft. peak with even
higher peaks in the distance. At night, we walked down to the shoreline to
get a clear view of starry skies with no light pollution. We could even see
the Milky Way.
Early on a sunny, blue-sky summer morning, we took a scenic float trip
down the Snake River in a 12-passenger rubber raft. With the mountains as
backdrop, our guide, Tim, pointed out three eagles, a mink, and a moose
along the way. Two of the eagles were adults - black with white heads -
perched high in the trees where they sit for hours waiting for prey. The
third eagle was brown - an immature bird born around March - yet it was
almost the size of the adults. The young eagle sat on the riverbank and
didn’t move a muscle as we floated by.
The culinary highlight of our visit was a five course prix-fixe dinner at
Jenny Lake Lodge, courtesy of the Rodney family’s gift certificate. Jenny
Lake sits right at the base of the Grand Teton, the highest peak in the
range at 13,770 ft. - a magnificent setting for the lodge. Ed feasted on
venison and I had red trout, very similar to salmon in color and taste. For
dessert, Ed had a wild berry soufflé that was outstanding in flavor and
texture, served with a Grand Marnier English sauce!
We moved from Colter Bay to Gros Ventre Campground as a base to
explore the southern section of the Park. One afternoon, we drove east
out of the Park along the Gros Ventre River into the Bridger-Teton National
Forest. We passed the site of the 1925 Gros Ventre Slide, when half the
mountain slid into the river, creating a natural dam. After two years, this
dam gave way, flooding the town of Kelly below and destroying it. After 77
years, the scar in the earth from the slide is still plainly visible. Beyond the
slide, the road turned to gravel which intrigued us to see where it would
lead. We came upon Atherton Creek Campground, perched on the
mountainside with red cliffs above and the Upper Slide Lake and boat
launch just below. Beyond the lake was green ranch land with hills in the
background. It was the perfect campground – but with one major catch. It
was closed! We found out later from our campground hosts here at Gros
Ventre that it had just been completely renovated and was due to re-open
any day. Oh well, maybe another time!
One night we drove in to the town of Jackson to have a look around. It’s
very touristy, with hotels, restaurants, shops and art galleries, all very
upscale. I went through one western style gift shop (to get to the ice cream
shop in the back), and actually saw a wine rack made of antlers for sale!
Speaking of antlers, in the center square of Jackson is a small park with
four gates. A huge arch made of elk antlers tops each gate. Each spring the
local Boy Scouts go out into the adjacent National Elk Refuge, and
scavenge some of the antlers that are shed!
I got to see another view of the Teton Range by taking the aerial tram up
Rendezvous Peak from Teton Village. I had to go by myself, as Duncan was
with us and they wouldn’t allow dogs on the tram and there was absolutely
no shade in the parking lot where we could park the car and leave him. So
in 12 minutes I rode up 4000 vertical feet but about 12,000 feet altogether,
and had a tremendous view of the Grand Teton, other peaks including
those on the western side towards Idaho, and the Jackson Hole valley
below.
After dinner one evening, we went out to look for moose on Wilson Road
along the Snake River. No moose where they were reported to frequent,
but about ½ mile further along the road we came across a cow moose with
her young calf. They were just lying in the grass, occasionally twitching
their ears to shoo away insects. Further still we saw four elk feeding on top
of a ridge. It’s amazing how much wildlife you can see every day in these
parks!
Leaving the Grand Tetons, we turned west toward Idaho through the Teton
Pass. We were not expecting the steep grade and so we chugged along in
1st gear up and down the mountain. The elevation of 8429 ft. didn’t
intimidate us, as we had crossed passes that high several times, BUT it was
10 miles up and three miles down at a 10% grade! Ed is a good driver as he
drove commercial vehicles and trucks years ago. I always felt safe,
especially as he gained more experience driving the motorhome in the
mountains, and this time was no exception as he got us through Teton
Pass just fine.
After crossing the pass, we drove north through rural towns in eastern
Idaho with the “back” side of the Tetons on our right to the east. This view
is not as steep and therefore not as impressive, but still nice scenery for
those who live on the flat sagebrush valley plain. Idaho is so famous for
growing potatoes that they are featured on the car license plates and we
saw our first potato farms. Apparently they need irrigation to grow
successfully here in the southeast part of the state.
We arrived in the town of West Yellowstone around 1:30PM and prepared
to settle in for a few days. This gave us a chance to see some more sights
on the other side of Yellowstone National Park. The next day we drove into
Yellowstone and followed the Firehole Canyon road about six miles along
the Firehole River. This is a relatively small canyon, consisting of gray
volcanic rock rather than the beautiful yellows and reds of the Grand
Canyon of Yellowstone. Heading up to the Mammoth Hot Springs section of
the park, we saw numerous elk, and we were able to get reasonably close
to four bull elk with 10-point antlers. At Mammoth Springs we saw about
eight mama elk and their fawns feeding on the village green.
Mama and baby elk
At the original north entrance of the park, we drove out and back in
through the Roosevelt Arch, dedicated by Pres. Teddy Roosevelt in 1904
and inscribed “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People”. At Mammoth
Terraces, the hot springs have boiled over and created mineral terraces,
like steps, of various heights. The terraces predominantly orange and
yellow produced by minerals and algae that grow where the water is not
quite as hot.
Mammoth Springs terraces
After lunch, the sky blackened and a thunderstorm came up. We turned
east and drove in the rain over the Blacktail Plateau, enjoying mountain
views. The rain stopped and we visited the Petrified Tree, a tree trunk that
has turned to stone,
We had an opportunity to spend two days with my brother-in-law, David,
who was in the area with his family for his grandfather’s memorial service.
We didn’t get to see the extended Rodney family, as they were heading
south to the Tetons, but we had breakfast with David at the historic Old
Faithful Inn. David spent two summers in Yellowstone and he is a terrific
tour guide. He brought us through the Inn, we visited the Hamilton Store
gift shop where he once worked, and then we toured the Norris Geyser
basin.
Norris Geyser basin
David bought a guide book to all the Yellowstone geysers, so we were able
to read up on the history of various geysers and learn how seismic activity
in the area has changed the frequency of many geysers, dried up others,
and created new ones! Our geyser finale consisted of watching Fountain
Geyser erupt during a lengthy 1-2 hour cycle while watching the sunset
and having dinner in the motorhome.
At this point, we were preparing to leave two great national parks without
having seen a single bear! This could not be! So, we decided to visit the
Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, a refuge for bears and
wolves that can not survive in the wild for various reasons. We saw one
young female grizzly named “Easy”, as she is easy-going with the staff. But
the other bears don’t get along with her, so she was alone in the outdoor
enclosure. We watched her frolic and check under tree stumps for food
and we got to see her quite close through the electrified fence. She
looked so cuddly and sweet, all 275 lbs. of her, but we would have made a
tasty snack! She had become habituated to human food, had been
relocated six times, and the refuge was her last chance before being
destroyed. There were also a pack of wolves at the center, all of which had
been born in captivity. It was fascinating to watch them interact with
gestures of dominance and submission, play as a pack, and exhibit
curiosity about the crowd watching them. A little girl had a baby wolf
stuffed animal, and these wolves wanted to check it out! They tried to paw
under the fence and put their noses in the air as they all gathered round
close to where we were standing. Looking at them, it was hard for me to
remember that these weren’t dogs! Their stance and body shape - erect
ears, long, pointed snouts, and thick tails - were like Duncan’s, only larger!
They were very regal looking with silver-gray thick fur coats.
David was heading to Bozeman, MT to visit with his skiing buddy, Kim and
his wife, Suzy. Kim & Suzy invited us all to their house for a wonderful
grilled pork loin dinner with home-made cherry cobbler made from cherries
from their own tree. They were very hospitable and made us so welcome.
After traveling as a couple for three months, we especially appreciated
being with family and friends again.
July 22 - August 7, 2002
Our plans for visiting Yellowstone National Park had to be adjusted after
learning that we would be without our Honda for a week. I called the
central reservation line for Yellowstone and, by a near miracle, got
reservations for four nights at two different campgrounds within the park.
We toured the park in the motorhome and, aside from having to unhook
our utilities each morning, it actually worked out very well. The dog and cat
came along, of course. The generator powered the air conditioning so we
could safely leave them inside while we saw the sights. Navigation was
easy because the main roads to the major attractions are laid out in a giant
figure eight over the park’s 2.2 million acres. – twice the size of Rhode
Island.
The first day, we entered the east gate of Yellowstone via the Sylvan Pass
at 8530 ft. through the Absaroka Mountain Range. The road then skirted the
northeast edge of Yellowstone Lake, and we stopped for lunch at the
historic Lake Hotel, overlooking the water.
A deer walked right across the front lawn while we
were eating. Later in the day, we visited West Thumb.
If Yellowstone Lake is shaped like a human hand,
then that portion looks like the thumb. At West Thumb,
we walked along lakeside boardwalks through
thermal features, including bubbling hot springs
with colorful mineral and algae formations, and
fumaroles (steam vents) in the earth.
The second day, we drove the motorhome to see Old Faithful and other
geysers in the same basin.
Old Faithful
Geysers are essentially hot springs with constricted plumbing
underground, allowing steam and pressure to build until boiling water is
released in a giant fountain. Old Faithful erupts approximately every 92
minutes, and it was only five minutes behind schedule for our show.
Between eruptions, it steams constantly. As it gets close, it teases with
short bursts of water, until finally the fountain shoots up between 100 and
200 feet. We spent three hours walking the pathways through this geyser
basin, in constant amazement at these geological wonders. Some geysers
are just holes in the ground, while others have built up mineral deposits at
their base with shapes inspiring names such as “Castle Geyser” or “Grotto
Geyser”. Some erupt several times a day, some only a few times a year.
Midway Geyser Basin was our next stop. The awesome Grand Prismatic
Spring is the size of a football field. The crystal clear spring waters boil up
the colors of the rainbow - deep blue at the center, surrounded by teal,
then orange, red, and purple at the edges.
Morning Glory Pool
Some thermal features belong in “Ripley’s Believe it or Not”, including
Dragon’s Mouth. A small water-filled cave breathes steam and sulfur in a
low roar. It is easy to understand the name once you hear it! Following the
boardwalk uphill, Mud Volcano bubbles a gray-green-white mass of
steaming mud. Across the road lies Sulfur Cauldron, a deep pit emitting
odorous clouds of steam.
Driving along the 24-mile “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone” formed by
the Yellowstone River, we understood how Yellowstone Park got its name.
The canyon walls are various shades of yellow-gold, tinged with orange
and red, due to the mineral deposits left by the thermal features, which still
expel steam from the canyon walls. We stopped at numerous overlooks to
view the canyon and its two major waterfalls. The Upper Falls are 109 ft.
and the Lower Falls 308 ft. high – twice as high as Niagara!
Yellowstone Canyon
After Yellowstone, we backtracked to Cody, WY and retrieved our Honda
from the dealer in Powell. What a renewed sense of freedom! After a full
week, it got a little old to have to disconnect the motorhome to go
anywhere. Cody is the self-proclaimed “Rodeo Capital of the World”. All
summer long the rodeo plays nightly as it has for 65 years, hence the claim.
So what else to do but go see the rodeo!
Twelve events took place over 1-½ hours; including bareback riding,
saddle bronco riding, calf roping, steer riding, and steer wrestling. Yes,
there are cowboys crazy enough to wrestle a 2000 lb. steer! I also enjoyed
the less dangerous events such as barrel racing, the only event in which
women participated. Three barrels were placed in a triangle, and the
women rode their horses at breakneck speed around them in a cloverleaf
pattern to cross the finish line in the fastest time. For the children under
twelve, there was the calf scramble. A green ribbon was tied around the
neck of a calf, which was turned loose in the ring with 30-40 children, who
were challenged to catch the calf and untie the ribbon to claim the prize. A
little girl from Connecticut named Allison was the winner of a free horse
back trail ride from one of the local tour companies. Between events, we
were entertained by rodeo clowns, who look out for the cowboys to try to
prevent injuries.
Between Cody and the East Gate of Yellowstone, we camped by the
Shoshone River at Newton Creek Campground in the Shoshone National
Forest. Thirty-one campsites with no hook-ups lie at the bottom of a canyon
with the Shoshone River running through. This is bear country and our
campground hosts were also nature photographers, specializing in bears.
Between May and July they saw over two dozen each of grizzly and black
bears. No bear sighting for us, but we saw Mama, Papa, and Baby beavers
working/playing at the river’s edge, and we were on the lookout for a Mama
Moose and her calf living nearby. A number of campers fished for trout in
the river.
We spent a total of five days in beautiful Grand Teton National Park. The
park is located just south of Yellowstone and characterized by views of the
Teton Mountain Range throughout.
Grand Teton
The Teton Range is part of the Rocky Mountains and these are among the
first rocky peaks that we have seen with glaciers in the canyons above the
tree line. The main road through the park runs 56 miles from north to
south, paralleling the Tetons, Jackson Lake, and the Snake River. Our first
three nights were spent camped at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake.
Jackson Lake
From our site, a minute walk on a trail through the pine trees led to the
lake, which is overshadowed by Mount Moran, a 12,605-ft. peak with even
higher peaks in the distance. At night, we walked down to the shoreline to
get a clear view of starry skies with no light pollution. We could even see
the Milky Way.
Early on a sunny, blue-sky summer morning, we took a scenic float trip
down the Snake River in a 12-passenger rubber raft. With the mountains as
backdrop, our guide, Tim, pointed out three eagles, a mink, and a moose
along the way. Two of the eagles were adults - black with white heads -
perched high in the trees where they sit for hours waiting for prey. The
third eagle was brown - an immature bird born around March - yet it was
almost the size of the adults. The young eagle sat on the riverbank and
didn’t move a muscle as we floated by.
The culinary highlight of our visit was a five course prix-fixe dinner at
Jenny Lake Lodge, courtesy of the Rodney family’s gift certificate. Jenny
Lake sits right at the base of the Grand Teton, the highest peak in the
range at 13,770 ft. - a magnificent setting for the lodge. Ed feasted on
venison and I had red trout, very similar to salmon in color and taste. For
dessert, Ed had a wild berry soufflé that was outstanding in flavor and
texture, served with a Grand Marnier English sauce!
We moved from Colter Bay to Gros Ventre Campground as a base to
explore the southern section of the Park. One afternoon, we drove east
out of the Park along the Gros Ventre River into the Bridger-Teton National
Forest. We passed the site of the 1925 Gros Ventre Slide, when half the
mountain slid into the river, creating a natural dam. After two years, this
dam gave way, flooding the town of Kelly below and destroying it. After 77
years, the scar in the earth from the slide is still plainly visible. Beyond the
slide, the road turned to gravel which intrigued us to see where it would
lead. We came upon Atherton Creek Campground, perched on the
mountainside with red cliffs above and the Upper Slide Lake and boat
launch just below. Beyond the lake was green ranch land with hills in the
background. It was the perfect campground – but with one major catch. It
was closed! We found out later from our campground hosts here at Gros
Ventre that it had just been completely renovated and was due to re-open
any day. Oh well, maybe another time!
One night we drove in to the town of Jackson to have a look around. It’s
very touristy, with hotels, restaurants, shops and art galleries, all very
upscale. I went through one western style gift shop (to get to the ice cream
shop in the back), and actually saw a wine rack made of antlers for sale!
Speaking of antlers, in the center square of Jackson is a small park with
four gates. A huge arch made of elk antlers tops each gate. Each spring the
local Boy Scouts go out into the adjacent National Elk Refuge, and
scavenge some of the antlers that are shed!
I got to see another view of the Teton Range by taking the aerial tram up
Rendezvous Peak from Teton Village. I had to go by myself, as Duncan was
with us and they wouldn’t allow dogs on the tram and there was absolutely
no shade in the parking lot where we could park the car and leave him. So
in 12 minutes I rode up 4000 vertical feet but about 12,000 feet altogether,
and had a tremendous view of the Grand Teton, other peaks including
those on the western side towards Idaho, and the Jackson Hole valley
below.
After dinner one evening, we went out to look for moose on Wilson Road
along the Snake River. No moose where they were reported to frequent,
but about ½ mile further along the road we came across a cow moose with
her young calf. They were just lying in the grass, occasionally twitching
their ears to shoo away insects. Further still we saw four elk feeding on top
of a ridge. It’s amazing how much wildlife you can see every day in these
parks!
Leaving the Grand Tetons, we turned west toward Idaho through the Teton
Pass. We were not expecting the steep grade and so we chugged along in
1st gear up and down the mountain. The elevation of 8429 ft. didn’t
intimidate us, as we had crossed passes that high several times, BUT it was
10 miles up and three miles down at a 10% grade! Ed is a good driver as he
drove commercial vehicles and trucks years ago. I always felt safe,
especially as he gained more experience driving the motorhome in the
mountains, and this time was no exception as he got us through Teton
Pass just fine.
After crossing the pass, we drove north through rural towns in eastern
Idaho with the “back” side of the Tetons on our right to the east. This view
is not as steep and therefore not as impressive, but still nice scenery for
those who live on the flat sagebrush valley plain. Idaho is so famous for
growing potatoes that they are featured on the car license plates and we
saw our first potato farms. Apparently they need irrigation to grow
successfully here in the southeast part of the state.
We arrived in the town of West Yellowstone around 1:30PM and prepared
to settle in for a few days. This gave us a chance to see some more sights
on the other side of Yellowstone National Park. The next day we drove into
Yellowstone and followed the Firehole Canyon road about six miles along
the Firehole River. This is a relatively small canyon, consisting of gray
volcanic rock rather than the beautiful yellows and reds of the Grand
Canyon of Yellowstone. Heading up to the Mammoth Hot Springs section of
the park, we saw numerous elk, and we were able to get reasonably close
to four bull elk with 10-point antlers. At Mammoth Springs we saw about
eight mama elk and their fawns feeding on the village green.
Mama and baby elk
At the original north entrance of the park, we drove out and back in
through the Roosevelt Arch, dedicated by Pres. Teddy Roosevelt in 1904
and inscribed “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People”. At Mammoth
Terraces, the hot springs have boiled over and created mineral terraces,
like steps, of various heights. The terraces predominantly orange and
yellow produced by minerals and algae that grow where the water is not
quite as hot.
Mammoth Springs terraces
After lunch, the sky blackened and a thunderstorm came up. We turned
east and drove in the rain over the Blacktail Plateau, enjoying mountain
views. The rain stopped and we visited the Petrified Tree, a tree trunk that
has turned to stone,
We had an opportunity to spend two days with my brother-in-law, David,
who was in the area with his family for his grandfather’s memorial service.
We didn’t get to see the extended Rodney family, as they were heading
south to the Tetons, but we had breakfast with David at the historic Old
Faithful Inn. David spent two summers in Yellowstone and he is a terrific
tour guide. He brought us through the Inn, we visited the Hamilton Store
gift shop where he once worked, and then we toured the Norris Geyser
basin.
Norris Geyser basin
David bought a guide book to all the Yellowstone geysers, so we were able
to read up on the history of various geysers and learn how seismic activity
in the area has changed the frequency of many geysers, dried up others,
and created new ones! Our geyser finale consisted of watching Fountain
Geyser erupt during a lengthy 1-2 hour cycle while watching the sunset
and having dinner in the motorhome.
At this point, we were preparing to leave two great national parks without
having seen a single bear! This could not be! So, we decided to visit the
Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, a refuge for bears and
wolves that can not survive in the wild for various reasons. We saw one
young female grizzly named “Easy”, as she is easy-going with the staff. But
the other bears don’t get along with her, so she was alone in the outdoor
enclosure. We watched her frolic and check under tree stumps for food
and we got to see her quite close through the electrified fence. She
looked so cuddly and sweet, all 275 lbs. of her, but we would have made a
tasty snack! She had become habituated to human food, had been
relocated six times, and the refuge was her last chance before being
destroyed. There were also a pack of wolves at the center, all of which had
been born in captivity. It was fascinating to watch them interact with
gestures of dominance and submission, play as a pack, and exhibit
curiosity about the crowd watching them. A little girl had a baby wolf
stuffed animal, and these wolves wanted to check it out! They tried to paw
under the fence and put their noses in the air as they all gathered round
close to where we were standing. Looking at them, it was hard for me to
remember that these weren’t dogs! Their stance and body shape - erect
ears, long, pointed snouts, and thick tails - were like Duncan’s, only larger!
They were very regal looking with silver-gray thick fur coats.
David was heading to Bozeman, MT to visit with his skiing buddy, Kim and
his wife, Suzy. Kim & Suzy invited us all to their house for a wonderful
grilled pork loin dinner with home-made cherry cobbler made from cherries
from their own tree. They were very hospitable and made us so welcome.
After traveling as a couple for three months, we especially appreciated
being with family and friends again.
