Day 5: Day 2 in Yellowstone
Well the cabin may not have any air conditioning, but I think the temperature got in the 40s over night. It was freezing. None of us really wanted to get out of bed when Scott's alarm woke us at 6:00 A.M. The only thing that motivated us was the possiblity of seeing a bear. Scott had read that this one particular area, the Lamar Valley, was known for great animal watching. Everyone was in agreement that this would be a great opportunity for us and that we should go.
Along the way, we once again found a car pulled over on the side of the road and the driver up in the woods. Scott pulled over, and this time he got out to see what was being chased down. I could have kicked myself because come to find out it was a black bear. By the time I knew this, it had already disappeared. Scott was able to get there in time to take a quick picture and then it was gone. Oh well. Maybe next time.
We all became hopeful that we would get a chance to really see something today. Along our way we came across a group of people looking out into a meadow. They seemed very intense and and intent on looking at something that our naked eyes could not see. When we got out to inquire, we found out they were watching three grizzly bears coming over a distant hill. We were each able to look in their telescopes and watch them play. Yes, the people had telescopes. It was so neat when Harper saw it because she literally squealed for joy, clapped her hands, and jumped up and down.
We then headed out for the Lamar Valley. This is said to be the "Serengeti" of Yellowstone; it was pretty close. We saw hundreds of Bison, quite a few antelope, and deer. It was incredibly peaceful. I would highly recommend it to everyone.
It was now time to go see more of the sights. We began by going to Tower Falls which was a pretty water fall. We loved it. We then headed to a huge tree that was petrified. It was funny because we had been explaining to the girls what we were going to see and once we got there, Torii's response was, "That's it?" It was just funny how she delivered it. I must admit, it wasn't very exciting, but I have never seen petrified wood before.
At lunchtime Scott had a great idea; he suggested that we go to Montana for lunch. We were only about 45 minutes from the Roosevelt gate which leads to Montana. That is exactly what we did; we headed for Gardner, Montana. This was so exciting to me because I was born in Montanta and have not been back since I was a baby. Once again I got share a little of my life with the girls. This little trip also gave us the chance to see the Roosevelt Gate itself which was the original entrance into the park back when Yellowstone was determined the first National Park.
Upon returning to the park, we headed towards Mammoth which is where some of the prettier hot springs are located. Some of these hot springs were even the inspiration for some of the scenic designs on Disney's Runaway Train ride. They looked like large burt marshmallows to me. Once again if you ignored the smell, they were a lot of fun to look at. While we were in Mammoth, we went by the lodge and there we found a couple of female elks just walking around. How amazing is it that they are so comfortable being around humans? They are beautiful animals.
After Mammoth, we headed to a place called Norris to look at our first real geysers. Norris is where Steamboat Geyser is located; this is the largest hot spring, shooting as high as 100 feet, in the park, but it does not go off as consistently as Old Faithful. While we were there, the spray was only about 15-20 ft. We enjoyed watching it and seeing the girls' faces was priceless. At this area, we saw many more geysers, in fact Torii took control of the map and lead us around the boardwalk area. We took many pictures; the problem is going to be that we won't remember which one was which.
We decided we would return to the lodge for dinner and would return back to the park for more animal hunting. I really wanted to see a bear and Harper wanted to see a coyote or a wolf. So we went back to same place to eat, spoke to Alice the hostess, who adopted our girls to be her own, ate, and then went back out for the hunt again. Rather than going into great detail, let me just list what we saw and how:
1. Bison: by this point, this was no longer an exciting thing.
2. Coyote: Yes!!!!! We followed in our car up a large winding gravel road behind two other cars. Harper was so excited. We only got one good picture of it from behind, but that was good enough for Harper.
3. Wolf pups: These we saw through someone's telescope again. Wolves like to keep their distance. It was still pretty amazing.
4. Bear: Yes!!!!!! We not only saw, but three!!! A mom and her two cubs. They were right on the side of the road. Cars were parked in the middle and on the side of the road. It was truly the most inconceivable thing I had ever seen. The girls and I were able to get out the car and watch the cubs play. They even ran up a tree and down again. We must have stayed there for 15-20 minutes. It was the highlight of the trip for me. Unfortunately the pictures are not that great, but who cares. We saw Bears!!!!!
That was it. After that we returned to the main lodge where the girls celebrated with an ice cream sundae and Scott and I had drinks at the bar. It was a wonderful family bonding day and everyone slept well that night.
Favorites:
Torii: I liked seeing the black bears. I got to see baby cubs. I wanted to hold one beacuse they were so cute and furry.
Harper: I loved seeing the bears too. They were cute and stuff. It made me feel like it was the most special day of my life.
Scott: I liked taking my wife to the state she was born in becasue Montana is cool. . .and peaceful. . .and furry.
Kelli: Hmmmm. . . Let me think about it. Okay, just kidding. I LOVED SEEING THE BEARS!!!! That is the only animal I wanted to see and not only did I see a mom but also two cubs. WOW!!
Along the way, we once again found a car pulled over on the side of the road and the driver up in the woods. Scott pulled over, and this time he got out to see what was being chased down. I could have kicked myself because come to find out it was a black bear. By the time I knew this, it had already disappeared. Scott was able to get there in time to take a quick picture and then it was gone. Oh well. Maybe next time.
We all became hopeful that we would get a chance to really see something today. Along our way we came across a group of people looking out into a meadow. They seemed very intense and and intent on looking at something that our naked eyes could not see. When we got out to inquire, we found out they were watching three grizzly bears coming over a distant hill. We were each able to look in their telescopes and watch them play. Yes, the people had telescopes. It was so neat when Harper saw it because she literally squealed for joy, clapped her hands, and jumped up and down.
We then headed out for the Lamar Valley. This is said to be the "Serengeti" of Yellowstone; it was pretty close. We saw hundreds of Bison, quite a few antelope, and deer. It was incredibly peaceful. I would highly recommend it to everyone.
It was now time to go see more of the sights. We began by going to Tower Falls which was a pretty water fall. We loved it. We then headed to a huge tree that was petrified. It was funny because we had been explaining to the girls what we were going to see and once we got there, Torii's response was, "That's it?" It was just funny how she delivered it. I must admit, it wasn't very exciting, but I have never seen petrified wood before.
At lunchtime Scott had a great idea; he suggested that we go to Montana for lunch. We were only about 45 minutes from the Roosevelt gate which leads to Montana. That is exactly what we did; we headed for Gardner, Montana. This was so exciting to me because I was born in Montanta and have not been back since I was a baby. Once again I got share a little of my life with the girls. This little trip also gave us the chance to see the Roosevelt Gate itself which was the original entrance into the park back when Yellowstone was determined the first National Park.
Upon returning to the park, we headed towards Mammoth which is where some of the prettier hot springs are located. Some of these hot springs were even the inspiration for some of the scenic designs on Disney's Runaway Train ride. They looked like large burt marshmallows to me. Once again if you ignored the smell, they were a lot of fun to look at. While we were in Mammoth, we went by the lodge and there we found a couple of female elks just walking around. How amazing is it that they are so comfortable being around humans? They are beautiful animals.
After Mammoth, we headed to a place called Norris to look at our first real geysers. Norris is where Steamboat Geyser is located; this is the largest hot spring, shooting as high as 100 feet, in the park, but it does not go off as consistently as Old Faithful. While we were there, the spray was only about 15-20 ft. We enjoyed watching it and seeing the girls' faces was priceless. At this area, we saw many more geysers, in fact Torii took control of the map and lead us around the boardwalk area. We took many pictures; the problem is going to be that we won't remember which one was which.
We decided we would return to the lodge for dinner and would return back to the park for more animal hunting. I really wanted to see a bear and Harper wanted to see a coyote or a wolf. So we went back to same place to eat, spoke to Alice the hostess, who adopted our girls to be her own, ate, and then went back out for the hunt again. Rather than going into great detail, let me just list what we saw and how:
1. Bison: by this point, this was no longer an exciting thing.
2. Coyote: Yes!!!!! We followed in our car up a large winding gravel road behind two other cars. Harper was so excited. We only got one good picture of it from behind, but that was good enough for Harper.
3. Wolf pups: These we saw through someone's telescope again. Wolves like to keep their distance. It was still pretty amazing.
4. Bear: Yes!!!!!! We not only saw, but three!!! A mom and her two cubs. They were right on the side of the road. Cars were parked in the middle and on the side of the road. It was truly the most inconceivable thing I had ever seen. The girls and I were able to get out the car and watch the cubs play. They even ran up a tree and down again. We must have stayed there for 15-20 minutes. It was the highlight of the trip for me. Unfortunately the pictures are not that great, but who cares. We saw Bears!!!!!
That was it. After that we returned to the main lodge where the girls celebrated with an ice cream sundae and Scott and I had drinks at the bar. It was a wonderful family bonding day and everyone slept well that night.
Favorites:
Torii: I liked seeing the black bears. I got to see baby cubs. I wanted to hold one beacuse they were so cute and furry.
Harper: I loved seeing the bears too. They were cute and stuff. It made me feel like it was the most special day of my life.
Scott: I liked taking my wife to the state she was born in becasue Montana is cool. . .and peaceful. . .and furry.
Kelli: Hmmmm. . . Let me think about it. Okay, just kidding. I LOVED SEEING THE BEARS!!!! That is the only animal I wanted to see and not only did I see a mom but also two cubs. WOW!!
posted by Kelli | 10:35 PM
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