Yellowstone

Yellowstone was everything we could have hoped for as a wildlife park. We saw some amazing things, including 2 wolves trying to dig out a coyote den with two adult coyotes yipping in distress nearby and a mama grizzly leading two cubs, passing right in front of us on the road. We tracked them for a while as they lumbered up over a ridge and down the other side where we encountered them again, this time from a distance. Both sightings attracted a large crowd of bystanders. I was impressed with the number of people who had scopes. These are serious nature lovers. One man let us look through his scope to see the wolves and the coyotes, as they were a good distance away but we got great views of them through his scope. We never did find out what the outcome was of the wolf-coyote encounter, but the wolves are doing a good job in keeping the coyote population down in the park, which in turn helps the smaller animals. We also saw numerous bison, some fairly close up, some elk, all from a distance, a black bear from a distance, an osprey, some golden tailed marmots, snow shoe hare, mule dear, numerous geese and some coots (look like ducks) and some pelicans. To see wildlife you either have to put yourself in a good spot and sit and wait, or drive around and notice where there is a collection of people and scopes. We did the latter due to time constraints.

Yellowstone, or as I like to call it, Many-ColoredStone, is mainly known for its geothermal activity, it has more than the rest of the world combined – I DIDN’T KNOW THAT! Numerous geysers, hot springs, steam vents can be easily seen. There are three caldera, which are volcanic cones in the park, and an enormous lava pool underneath the ground. The last time a major eruption occurred here was 640,000 years ago. One would think it is overdue for another eruption, but according to the geologists studying the situation, more has to happen underground before an eruption is imminent, sorry that’s the best I can offer on that right now. But it could take a relatively short time (years?) or maybe 50,000 years or more. When it does happen, everyone’s lives will be changed, because it will produce an amazing amount of ash that will spread through much of the continent. That’s the way it happened the last time anyways. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen anytime in our lifetimes. The planet is definitely facing a lot of challenges.

We were surprised to see so much snow here this time of year. We had expected to still see it in higher elevations, but although there is a deep snow pack in the passes, snow can be seen at lower elevations too. We learned that the snow came late this year, much of it in March. So it’s hanging around longer as a result. The weather could have been a little better, there has been a fair amount of rain both nights we have been here so far, but the days have been ok, with just a few sprinkles. We splurged and stayed in a cabin near Yellowstone Lake, it would have been rough camping with the rain and nighttime cold. We did a little hiking, a trail near Yellowstone Lake which was very picturesque and a trail that went by the Upper and Lower Falls in the Yellowstone Grand Canyon which was spectacular. As you would expect, you only have to go a little ways down a trail and you can get away from the crowds at the viewpoints and turnoffs. The elevation is fairly high, between about 7000 and 9000 feet, so we are acclimatizing and not ready to do major activity.

I like the fact that Yellowstone was the nation’s first national park, that happened way back in 1872. Due to the efforts of three notable men, Dr. Ferdinand Hayden, Director of the U.S. Geological and Geographic Services, Thomas Moran, notable artist and photographer William Henry Jackson whose visual accounts of the Yellowstone regions confirmed the incredible truths of what the area had to offer and convinced Congress to set aside this land so that it could be preserved and revered by all, starting a national movement in protecting our natural treasures. We have wanted to get here for some time, to see where the national park movement all started. We are hear and we know why, the scenery is captivating and stunning, in good weather or bad, what a joy to be in the nation’s premier natural setting and to see what started the national park movement.

A visit to Yellowstone is not complete without seeing Old Faithful, or as Kathy likes to call it Old Fairly Faithful. It doesn’t erupt on as strict a schedule as it used to. We saw it with a mob of other people, including a couple we just met there who had ties to Binghamton. It was a little over ten minutes late, and this eruption only lasted a little over a minute. We did some hiking up to Observation Point afterward and then caught the next eruption about 90 minutes later, this one lasted a little longer.

Yellowstone had a major fire back in 1988, we went to the Grant Village Visitor Center which had a movie and information on the fire. The 1988 fire burned about one million acres, about 40% of the park. There was much controversy then about the way the park service managed the fire. Since the park was closed for a long time and many trees and other flora were burned, people were understandably upset over the perceived damage to the park. But as it turns out, little wildlife was lost, and the lodgepole pine trees needed the fire to sprout new trees. Since then, there has been much regrowth and overall benefit to the ecosystem in the park. We saw more areas that were burned out, as there have been several smaller fires since. The park service and forest service recognize that forest fires are a natural occurrence, most actually start by lightning strikes, and now have adopted a policy that allows fires when they can be beneficial. Initially, the area affected by a fire does look ugly, but as we saw from the areas hit by the 1988 fire, they have rebounded and more diversity in wildlife is now evident.