Yellowstone National Park — up close and personal

As we neared Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park last Monday afternoon, my son-in-law spotted a wolf crossing the road a hundred yards in front of us.

“It’s a big one,” he exclaimed as the rest of us caught a glimpse of it in the thick pines. He quickly turned left and parked in a pull-out, hoping that the wolf would continue cutting through the trees. It did; and came trotting across the road and I got six pictures of it as it came within 12 feet of my window, showing me it’s very large teeth as it appeared to grin at me. The two-day fall trip to Yellowstone was already a great success and it was just beginning.

Near Canyon, we met a very skinny bison causing a little jam as it walked down the road, slowly almost staggering. At first, I thought it was a cow, but it was a bull with its horns falling apart and a huge seeping wound on its side, probably caused by being gored by another bull during a fight.

The predicted heavy rain along with hail slowed our trip through the Canyon and Hayden Valley areas with most animals except bison hidden in the thick evergreens. Just before we got to Lake where we had reserved two cabins, we saw our first bull elk, a two or three-year old resting as the rain eased up.

As we checked in at Lake Lodge, we found out that our next item on the trip would not be occurring, trying to observe the grizzly bear, Raspberry and her cubs. She had disappeared last fall, and we were told she had probably been killed by a boar grizzly.

The rain and hail returned while we were at the Lodge, so we decided to eat before venturing out again. Just as we were finishing, the sun popped out and we were blessed with the most vivid rainbow that we had ever seen. The Lodge emptied quickly with everyone going outside to get pictures. Even the vehicles stopped in the middle of the road to record the beautiful sight, but one impatient driver started blaring his horn because of the rainbow-jam.

We decided to finish our plans and head toward Sylvan Pass for the evening and were well rewarded seeing a doe mule deer with three fawns, another bull elk and a beautiful sunset over Yellowstone Lake. The traffic was light and it was easy to stop and view the yellowing of the quaking aspen leaves as we looked for bears and hopefully a Great gray owl but did not find any.

Tuesday morning, we woke up to a thick fog but still decided to head to Lamar Valley about an hour away. As we were climbing the pass by Mount Washburn and getting above the fog, we ran into our first bear-jam. The rangers were already there directing traffic, but we were able to find a pull out and watched a four-year old “sub-adult” male grizzly digging up rodents on the hillside.

We stayed long enough for some pictures and then headed up the road, climbing high above the fog covered valleys. About a mile from the bear, we ran into four cars watching a large grizzly above the road. We stopped so that I could get out for some pictures while they found a place to park.

While I was taking pictures, the bear decided to run down the hill toward us and appeared to be charging. As we were scrambling to get into the nearest vehicle, it stopped and started digging as fast as it could, occasionally looking up at us, growling and then going back to digging. We did not see it find anything, but we had our heart-stopping moment of the day.

We finally made it to Lamar Valley where we saw hundreds of bison, got caught in a mile-long bison jam, waited for the fog to clear and when it did, we watched two male pronghorn antelope fighting over a female.

As the fog left, the sun warmed the day enough to send most of the animals into the trees, except for the bison, so we leisurely made out way to the Artist Paintpots area. We made a short hike around them enjoying their colors and the slow-motion bubble blowing mud before heading home.

Just another fantastic fall visit to enjoy the beauty of nature and wildlife up close and personal. Many of the amenities will be closing up and snow will soon close the roads; the bears will be hibernating and most of the bison and elk will be migrating out of the park. The wounded bison is probably bear and wolf food or soon will be as nature continues to appear to rest before it gets busy again next spring and summer.

Ririe Reservoir Alert

Bob Johnstone, manager of Juniper Campground, asked me to notify you the Bonneville County will be closing and locking the gates to the Blacktail area next Tuesday due to the low water and the muddy conditions there. The south end of Ririe Reservoir is still contaminated by the toxin, cyanobacteria, and is thick enough to make it a slippery mess and a dangerous one to humans and pets.

Have a fantastic and safe week while you enjoy the beautiful fall.