8/21/12 – We Are In Yellowstone National Park!!

Map of Yellowstone Park

After we left Columbus, MT, we drove a total of 231 miles, and came in the North Entrance into Yellowstone National Park.  Camping can be hard to come by in Yellowstone and we couldn’t make a reservation since we weren’t sure when we’d arrive.

We lucked out!  We found a lovely campsite near the entrance just below Mammoth Hot Springs.  We are camped on the side of a mountain, surrounded by huge sagebrush and twisted evergreens with tiny needles. 

Because of the wildlife in the area, we can’t keep any food outside, even our water jug.  Brown metal boxes are provided in many campsites.  They are called “Bear Boxes” because the bears can’t figure out how to open them.  No one has seen a bear in our campground since spring.

We have our own wildlife.  A magpie has visited us several times. 

And we have elk.  A herd of a dozen or so of these magnificent creatures spend their days in the valley below us, browsing on sage, wildflowers and bark.  At night, they climb through our camp, up the mountain to the soft, green grass around the hotels and Visitor Centers at Mammoth Hot Springs.  When a lot of cars stop to gawk and take pictures, it’s called an Elk Jam. 

Elk Herd heading up the mountain
Leaving the bushes by the restroom
Mrs. Campground Host in background

Every morning and night they pass around our campsite.  They like to eat the bushes around the restrooms.  The herd consists of one large buck with a huge rack (of antlers), a dozen or so does and three or four calves. 

This morning I hooked my computer to the outlet at the restroom and was working away on my pictures when I suddenly looked up.  An elk doe was browsing about 5-6 feet away.  We did parallel play for a while and then she left to find another bush.  Pretty soon, I heard her calf bawling for her.  They sound like a strange bird or a human child.

Elk Doe and Calf about 6 feet from our Campsite
Looking up the Mountain

People have to be careful around them, though.  We know we mustn’t approach closer than 25 feet (unless they come closer).  Bucks are dangerous as they are protecting their herd.  Does are less fearful unless they are protecting a calf.  This is their territory and we have to respect that we are gifted to share it for a bit.  However, it does have to be on their terms.

Young buck who stopped across the road

Sometimes people do stupid things, like trying for a full face close-up picture or walking toward them quickly.  The creatures here are wild, not tame.  One fellow was gored earlier this summer.  Recently, an elk ate the front of one couple’s tent.  Of course, they probably had food in their tent.  The elk that chewed the heck out of that tent probably didn’t swallow any of it – just gnawed on it.  You can imagine how the couple felt about that! 

You can’t trust bears.  Elk are okay.  What a joy to share our lives with them for a bit!

I sit in our campsite and look at the mountain across the valley-canyon.  We are camped at 6000+ feet and that mountain across from us is much higher.  The top is a ridge of basalt columns.  The bottom 8/10ths are like skirts falling gracefully from an ballroom gown. 

The day we arrived, we drove ¼ miles up the mountain to Mammoth Hot Springs.  When we were here 16 years ago, the whole mountainous spring was vibrant with color – reds and golds, blues and browns and brilliant whites.  They were amazing.  The next couple of pictures are from "the old days."





Pools at Mammoth by Author: Jon Sullivan



Jupiter Terrace and Spring: National Park Service

Things have changed here.  I was horrified at the scene.  Most of the Hot Springs have dried up.  Only a few trickles remind us of its former glory.  The mounds of limestone that have built up for centuries are now grey.  It made me sad to see it.  



Jupiter Terrace Today

The Ranger said that it is because of the drought that has affected the whole country.  I guess it is affecting the whole world.  Maybe it is climate change.  Maybe it is cyclical.  Whatever it is, I only know that crops all across the Midwest were not as lush and that Yellowstone has lost a place of beauty here at Mammoth.  Perhaps if the rains return, Mammoth will regain its former beauty.

Yesterday, we drove 51 miles south into the park to the Old Faithful area.  It doesn’t erupt quite as often as it used to but it is still so regular that the Rangers can post the exact time of the next eruption. 

 Winston the Moose stayed with me and Adina while Drichab Anna drove all over creation finding a parking place.  Then Adina went looking for Drichab Anna and Lee, from Los Angeles took this picture of Winston and me.   She was traveling with her brother and his wife from Beijing, China.



We sat on logs and benches to wait for the eruption and ate lunch.  The sun should have been too hot but there was a lovely breeze and we enjoyed ourselves.  The woman who sat on the ledge in front of and below us was from Texas.  We heard many different languages from all over the world.  Whatever else people see at Yellowstone, everyone comes to Old Faithful. 

As the geyser built up to its eruption, more and more steam began to come out of the vent.  Several crows flew close to Old Faithful, ruffling their feathers and bathing in the steam from Nature’s best spa.

Our wait for the eruption was well worth it.  Old Faithful continues to erupt as it always has, shooting hot water and steam between 120 and 180 feet into the air.  For as many times as I have seen it, seeing it again always takes my breath away.

Old Faithful

After Old Faithful, we hiked through the geyser basin adjacent to it.  I turned back after the shorter loop.  Drichab Anna and Adina continued on to finish the hike.

Geyser resting

Geysers' mineral-rich water deposit limestone every time they erupt which creates cones at their mouths. 

Chromatic Pool

Adina at one of the pools

Grotto Geyser erupts most of the time

Adina and Drichab Anna had nearly reached the farthest point on their long loop when they were caught in a Rocky Mountain Downpour.  It was sort of like a really heavy Wisconsin rain.  They pressed on and reached the most beautiful pool in the park: Morning Glory Pool. 


Morning Glory Pool - with raindrops

They came back very late, thoroughly soaked. 

Today, our moving van arrived at our new digs in Vancouver, WA.  Our granddaughter, Kelsey, and her friend, Ruche, met the truck and supervised the unloading.  We stayed in camp so we could be sure of being able to use our phones (mountains do produce a few dead zones).  We talked to them several times and they did a great job!  Thanks, you two!  Kelsey said that our new place looks like our home.  That felt really good!

We gathered a lot of pine wood from where the Rangers cleared a fallen log.  It was in a campsite where people had left.  Now we have a wood supply for the next several days.  Tonight we’ll have a splendid fire, roast marshmallows and make s’mores.  Then at 9 p.m., there will be a Ranger Program.

I don’t know when I’ll be able to blog again because we don’t have an electric hookup in our campsite.  You can just keep checking the blog, if you want to.  However, I do send out emails to let people know when I post.  If you want to be on my blog-email list, send me a request.  My email is listed in the right column, under my picture.