Up like a shot, make some coffee, out the door to Hayden Valley. Today is our last shot for Yellowstone wildlife and we’re determined to find some…the 4-legged kind, that is! No make-up but I’m sure the animals won’t mind.
Traveled Hayden for one last morning at 7am and stayed out there until 9a. We were greeted by deer before we even left the Lake Lodge parking lot! And boy were the bison coming into rut. They were grunting loudly and some ladies had her “man” following her wherever she decided to go. And we caught a couple territory fights between bulls who thought they owned the same “lady”. Witnessed some action on the part of the adults while the bison calves mimicked the act. We were in awe of all the activity and lots of noise from our bison herds.
There were many car backups as the bison “owned” the center of the road. One SUV got a little impatient and wiggled his way through three bison making them scurry. A park ranger in an SUV turned on his light and went after him. I hope the guy gets a hefty fine! And we were fortunate to catch a wolf on the far hillside traveling away from the herd since he was all alone.
Hungry. It’s time to call it quits and get some more coffee and breakfast.
After breakfast, we returned to the Mud Volcano Area and walked the 2/3 mile loop to see all the churning, bubbling and spewing pools. As we parked a little girl was passing by and I just had to get her picture. Hope you enjoy it as she is fighting the sulphur smell. BTW, I’ve never seen soooo many redheads as we have on this trip. I’ll bet we’ve seen over 30! And cuties too!
In 1978, Cooking Hillside got its name when a series of earthquakes shook the dense forest but left the trees standing. Soon afterwards, “the ground temps reached 200 degrees Fahrenheit and the roots sizzled in the super-heated soil and trees toppled over one by one as steam rose eerily between the branches.” The hillside resembles the Mt. St. Helens volcano disaster.
Black Dragon’s Cauldron had these swarming bees that never left the ground as they buzzed around in circles. They have black-and-blue striped bottoms and were attracted only to the dirt around this mud pot. And finally Dragon’s Mouth Spring looked and sounded like a dragon in his cave. It’s almost 1:30p and time for lunch. Returning to the cabin to download, eat and rejuvenate our camera batteries.
After lunch was our final run to find a bear. Not a 1 or 2-year old but a full grown bear up close and personal. We headed out to Fishing Bridge and took Bill Hood’s advice to travel along the shores of Yellowstone Lake for bears.
We traveled about 8-10 miles until the shoreline disappeared and the road rose into s-curves as it gained altitude. We turned around. No bear no matter how many turnouts we took and searched through the meadows and the tree line up above. What a bummer. We decided to return to the cabin but continue our search as we drove the same distance back.
SUCCESS! A large black bear was walking parallel to the road about 30 yards off. He wasn’t on the lake side of the road but the mountainous, treed side. He walked for about 20 minutes staying near the road and then veered towards the mountain where more lush flowers and streams were available. We watched him until he planted himself in a food-rich spot and remained for almost 10 minutes which caused us to quit photographing him. Melodie had over 50 shots and decided she had enough. I was able to pare mine down to 5 when I dumped them into my computer. We’re so thrilled that we have to celebrate. We went to the visitor’s center to report the sighting and then to the general store so Melodie could purchase a bear charm for her necklace. Filled with glee we returned to our cabin to work on our photos and then go to dinner at the cafeteria at 7p.
Getting ready for dinner, I couldn’t understand why my face was so sunburned. I had forgotten to put makeup on all day and the time spent photographing wildlife on the side of the road was the only time I didn’t wear my large-brimmed hat. Silly me! Makeup it is tomorrow. Shrimp scampi over white rice was the fare tonight and delicious. It wasn’t a ton of food and we left satisfied and not stuffed. It is time for journaling and a beverage before hitting the hay.
For the 2nd night, Melodie had no hot water for her shower. Let’s see if I can get a discount out of them for the inconvenience.
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