My traveling companion suggested we arise at 5 AM this
morning, in hopes of seeing more wildlife, as we went on our way. One of our destinations was the Lamar Valley http://yellowstone.net/intro/lamar-valley/,
where wolves are known to linger.
It was dark at 5 AM, but by the time we headed out on the
road, the sun was already coming up. We
had seen a few elk bucks in our area, but this morning we saw a small herd,
about 8 elk cows less than a mile from our cabin. A good start!
When we arrived at Hayden Valley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayden_Valley, the traffic was stopped,
by the Bison crossing the road. This was
a real rush, to have Bison, large and small, walking so close you could reach
out and touch them. They stopped and stared
at us, and then went on their way. This
was the first time we could see calves well.
Although we regularly see large herds in the Hayden Valley, away from the road, I
wonder if the cows and calves mostly graze out of sight.
We did not see too much more, even in the Lamar Valley. Occasional Bison, but we saw one antelope
with a good set of horns, and additional elk cows.
We went on to Mammoth Springs https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/exploremammoth.htm, and walked in a short ways
from the bottom, and then went to the top, and walked down quite a ways so we
could see the main terrace. This is a
beautiful geological feature. Going up was not so bad.
We decided to take the route from Mammoth to Norris to
Canyon to Lake Lodge, even though there was advertised road work, with
expectations of traffic delays. We were
delayed 15 minutes or so, but were at the end of the line, and I have to think
those at the start of the line were delayed 30 minutes or more.
We stopped briefly at Sheepeater Cliff https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheepeater_Cliff, which was a sheer
cliff, and understandably, if sheep for some reason went over the edge, they
were goners.
We stopped near Norris to go through the National Park
Service Ranger Museum. It was
interesting, including that in the late 1800, the US Army ran the park, and set
up some of the standards and traditions that last today. Included in the history was the fact that former President Gerald Ford was a park
ranger in 1936, and later, his son was a park ranger for a while.
We were within a couple of miles of Lake Village and saw the
congestion in the road. The first ranger to arrive to direct traffic was an
emergency medical services ranger in an ambulance. I guess when an event like this happens,
whoever arrives first takes charge! We
did not know what it was, but someone said “Moose alert.” So, my traveling companion stopped, and down
the hill we went, only she tripped, twisted her ankle slightly, and scraped her
hand. She did not want medical care, and did want to see the moose. There were
two: an adult with antlers, and either a cow, or more probably, a young
moose. So this might have been a cow and
a calf. They were at a medium distance
from the road: not road side, but as close as or a little closer than some of
the elk we have seen, and much closer that the distant Bison herds (not on the
road.) We both got a good look, and then
moved on.
We had a late lunch at Lake Village, and then headed to the
cabins. As we arrived at the back of the
Lake Hotel area, there was the tell-tale crowd of animal watchers. This time,
fairly close up, it was an elk bull with an enormous rack of antlers. Gorgeous.
So, we arrived at the cabin a little after 3:30 PM and
unloaded the vehicle. Once again, the
cabin was at a pleasant temperature. We
opened windows, and curtains on 2 sides, but on the west or south side, the sun
comes in so that curtain remained closed. But with that window open and the one
across the way open, we have been treated to a wonderfully refreshing breeze.
Some might say we should be out doing something, or just
enjoying the fresh air. If we had a porch, I would do that. I could walk down
to the lake, even. But we are both very
tired, and have been to every spot we wanted to see in the park. We have seen elk, Bison, moose and antelope,
as well as an assortment of birds. At
the discovery center, we saw Grizzlies and Wolves. We still have a 3 day trip back to Lubbock,
and no one can blame us if we want to rest.
Because, after all, that is what a vacation is for!
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