Wyoming - Yellowstone Part 1

My opening words about Yellowstone are DO IT !! I read in the travel book we have that seeing Yellowstone from the back of a cramped station wagon, or these days a decked-out Winnebago - is almost a rite of passage in this country.

Yellowstone is the US’ first National Park. Early expeditionists submitted a report to congress who granted the region National Park status in 1872 (under President Ulysses Grant). It is worth noting that President Theodore Roosevelt is considered the conservationist President as he established many national parks and established many more monuments. When you think National Parks in the US, you think Theodore Roosevelt.  

It is a nearly 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. Mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho too. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers, including its most famous, Old Faithful. It's also home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk and antelope (thanks wiki).

Gypsy Guide. I must put a plug in for this fantastic app I loaded onto my phone. It’s called Gypsy Guide and cost $14 for Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Once the application is loaded, it doesn’t use cell data when you're travelling, only your GPS which just sucks power so make sure you plug into power in the car. As you drive into the park and around it, the app tour guide talks along way. It (he, we call him Alan, Alan, Alan) knows when to talk because he knows your GPS location. The guide tells you information and suggests things to see along the way. It’s been fantastic. They do other locations so check out their website and I will definitely be using this again. https://gypsyguide.com

We stayed in West Yellowstone which was a great launch point to the park each day. There is daylight from about 6am to after 9pm each day so we easily packed in a long day. There are essentially two big loops like a figure 8 with major attractions in each loop and with heaps of other things to stop and see along the way. The scenery is just so gorgeous and the Yellowstone River is mighty, fast flowing and impressive with several beautiful canyons and falls. Being an active volcano, there are lots of hot springs to visit. They are boiling and bubbling and absolutely stink of sulphur smell (rotten egg smell). It was overpowering to say the least. You can’t touch the water, the ground or anything cause it will either burn you, melt you or kill you. Some of the springs have erupted over the years and I’m not sure I’d like to be there with that stuff being thrown at me. Some of them had beautiful colour due to the bacteria and algae.

The highlight so far has, of course, been the animals. The park is full of tourists in their cars, RVs, vans and Harley’s. We’re all here for the same thing and everyone is patient, courteous and soaking up the magnificent experience. You have to be very careful driving as the traffic can stop and jam at any moment due to an animal sighting - this is known as 'bear jam' or 'animal jam'. People scramble off the road or slow/stop as they drive by…so we all do the same like a slow moving train. I love it. It is a lot of fun actually. Deb has been the chief photographer and captured some great photos with the long lens. At one stop, I took a peak through another guy’s tele-photo lens at the fox photo and it was so close – wow, just incredible. We have the park map on our lap so we can cross check the animals that we see. Quite often cars pull up and say, what's here? They just stop regardless cause everyone else is stopped. At dinner at night or breakfast in the morning, the conversations are usually about what animals everyone has seen and more importantly, where they saw it cause you want to go there if you can.

There are lots of bison and they are bloody huge. They look quite messy with their winter coats falling off. We’d stopped to watch a bison right across the road and he decided to cross the road towards us. It was quite funny as I was at the car putting eye drops in so couldn’t see anything. But I could hear the ladies all saying, quick quick, get in the car and there were foot scuffles. I was trying to quickly blink the drops in so I could see what was happening. Then, Deb appears and I can see everyone scrambling into their cars as the bison is coming towards us. Talk about instant reverse and departure mode. He didn’t look harmful but you can’t be sure. I don't want to be explaining a bison dent to the car hire company!! Was such a funny scene though. There are about 5,500 Bison in Yellowstone, they weigh about 2000 pounds for males, 1000 pounds for females. Yellowstone is the only place in the lower 48 states to have a continuously free-ranging bison population since prehistoric times. In the 1800s, market hunting, sport hunting, and the US Army nearly caused the extinction of the bison. By 1902, poachers reduced Yellowstone’s small herd to about two dozen animals. The US Army, who administered Yellowstone then, protected these bison from further poaching.

 

The golden highlight was seeing some black bears. Firstly a young bear on his own and then later, a massive crowd was forming roadside with a ranger (holding a big can of bear spray) to view a mother and her two cubs in the distance. 

We also saw a fox sleeking through the bushes and then a coyote stalking some bison. I could only catch him as he was moving away but it was amazing to see him. The feeling of seeing these wild animals in their natural habitat is a bit like finding presents on Xmas morning from Santa when you were five years old. Very exciting feeling indeed. 

Anyway, here are some animal photos below to give you an idea.

Coyote running away

Fox having a rest 

Elk

Big Horn Sheep

Fox on the Run (sounds like a good band name!!)

The Batman

Cody. Before entering Yellowstone, we drove down from Billings in Montana through Cody. Here we visited the Buffalo Bill Centre of the West. I'm a bit young to remember Buffalo Bill and his theatre and shows but I've heard of him. This is a Smithsonian museum and was quite huge. It has five museums inside - Buffalo Bill museum, Plains Indian museum, Cody Firearms museum, Western Art museum and the Draper museum of Natural History. We spent most time in the Buffalo Bill and Plains Indian museums as our good friend recommended the Indian museum. It was worth the visit and I have to admit that I find the Indian history and culture very interesting. Buffalo Bill material was interesting but bit before my time. I did enjoy the firearms museum - I've never seen so many guns, rifles and pistols. It was an extensive collection from flintlocks to Glocks to Gatlings. The is the US I suppose. 

It's late as I write this and there is much more I could write but my pillow calls me. The Yellowstone adventure is to be continued...