Scenic Cruise of Lake Yellowstone

We arrived early for our scenic cruise of the lake--in time to talk with the folks coming off the earlier cruise. When we asked a couple of them how the cruise had been, they said, "Bumpy." Our boat captain mentioned that the orange wind warning flag was flying.

We had a great ranger-guide, who hung in there (literally, from an overhead bar) as we bounced through the waves. She told us about the history of the buildings in the lake area, including the Lake Hotel. We cruised out to Stevenson Island and saw the ruins of the largest passenger boat ever to sail on the lake. While we were there our captain spotted a pair of bald eagles in a tree on the shoreline.

When we returned to the dock, we walked through the Lake Hotel and then the Lake Lodge before returning to the campground and fixing lunch.

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Mammoth Hot Springs

Today we drove up to the north end of the park to visit Mammoth Hot Springs. Here's a bison that was walking along the road.

What comes to mind when you hear "hot springs"? Most of us don't have visions of boiling water acidic enough to eat holes in your boots, but that's just what we found. The acid and the thermophiles (critters that actually thrive in the hostile environment of the springs) create wonderful colors and formations. The springs well up, dissolve minerals from the limestone, and then deposit them in fantastic terraces of travertine.

We stopped at the Visitor Center to see the displays and watch a short video on the challenge of preserving our natural and cultural heritage for future generations.

One the way home, we stopped at various overlooks. When we got to the Museum of the National Park Ranger, it was just closing. We'll probably visit it another day. We decided to visit the Artists' Paint Pots, a series of small pools and bubbling mud pots in various colors that reminded people of paints: bright orange and milky blue and dark brown and white and even turquoise. We walked a loop mainly on boardwalks and got to see the area from a high overlook.

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Mud Volcano and Other Adventures

We started off our day by going to the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center, which has an extensive collection of birds. The back of the Visitor Center overlooks Yellowstone Lake and has a sandy beach.

We went north a bit on the Grand Loop Road to visit the Mud Volcano area and the Sulphur Cauldron. The sulphur in the air made it smell like rotten eggs. It was a new experience to see the earth steaming and bubbling.

We picnicked at the Otter Creek Picnic Area, on the banks of the Yellowstone River, and watched the white pelicans fishing for their dinner. Then we visited the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, but didn't take any of the hikes. We're planning to come back another time.

After dinner we walked over to the lake, and on the way decided to try the ice cream at the Fishing Bridge General Store. (Report: yummy!)

We went to the evening campfire program. The ranger who gave it (Harlan Kredit) is a veteran of 40 summers at Yellowstone. He was a great storyteller. Ken got to be a tree up which a frightened visitor and a bear climbed...

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Chris and Annie Arrive!

Today was the big day--Chris and Annie flew in from Portland to West Yellowstone (via Salt Lake City). We drove over to West Yellowstone early to check out the town and because we weren't sure how long the trip would take.

It turned out that the 57 miles took only two hours--quicker than we expected, since it's all on park roads. One of the hazards of driving in the park is that people often drive slowly or outright stop to see the wildlife. Another is that there is lots of road construction, and the section we were driving warned of potential 30 minute delays. It turned out that we were delayed less than 10 minutes at the flagger.

Bison calmly sitting by the road--one of many, many in the park.

West Yellowstone is quite small. We went first to check out the grocery stores. The largest was better stocked than many we have encountered in small towns. It belongs to a chain that sells Western Family house brands. We picked up a few things, then went on to explore the town.

That didn't take long. The town evidently exists mainly as a tourist gateway to Yellowstone, so it's full of souvenir shops and the like. We did check out the Grizzly RV Park. It's nice, but we're happy to be in the middle of the park.

When we drove up to the airport, it was as small as any we've ever seen--the kind where you go out and look up in the sky to see when the airplanes are approaching. One gate. Very nice people. Even the TSA employee was pleasant.

It was great to see Chris and Annie emerge from the plane and walk across the tarmac. At first I only recognized Annie--but who was that handsome guy behind her? Although I had heard that Chris had "gone natural," I was unprepared to see him with solid gray hair. Annie was amazed at how tiny the airport was.
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Fishing Bridge

We left Grand Teton National Park this morning. As we drove north on Hwy 89, we got to see the mountains one last time. At the Oxbow Bend Turnout, the snow-capped mountains were reflected in the still waters of Jackson Lake.

As we drove north, the terrain changed. In Yellowstone, we passed through burned areas with several years growth on the new Lodge Pole Pines springing up to heal the scars. We passed Lake Lewis, and then we drove along the shore of Yellowstone Lake, winding around West Thumb and the Lake District until we finally came to Fishing Bridge.

That's a bit of a misnomer now, since no fishing is allowed from the Fishing Bridge, to protect the cutthroat trout that spawn there. As we drove towards the campground, we suddenly saw an adult bison bull standing right on the side of the road. If he'd decided to cross the road, we'd have had a delay.

We pulled into the campground with some trepidation, since reviewers online had described the spaces as very tight and the campground as a big parking lot. We were lucky enough to get a space on the end of a row, and with careful positioning, we got Venture set up, with slideouts deployed, and we could still get the truck parked. It was a tight fit, but we were very glad to have gotten a space that would accommodate our dually. The folks working at the registration desk couldn't have been nicer.

After lunch we set up the DirecTV dish and the HughesNet Internet dish. The campground has many tall pine trees, so we weren't sure we would be able to find the satellites, but Ken did a great job, as usual, and soon we were in contact with the outside world. Well, partly. There's no cell service in the campground area. We were able to set our Droids to use Wi-Fi, so as long as we're near the rig, we can actually still access the Internet on them.

On our walk we spotted this interesting setup, with solar panels on flexible mats. We stopped by later when the owner was outside, and he told us that his company, Power Film, builds and sells these innovative units.

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Busy Day

First thing this morning we took the truck to Jackson Hole Brake and Alignment to see if they could figure out our brake problem. They showed us some cracks in the front brake rotors which they said resulted from overheating. When the brakes get hot, they could expand and grab, producing the violent bumping down the road effect we have intermittently experienced. We decided to wait to have the rotors replaced. To our surprise, the service person, Tony, told us that brake inspections are always free at Jackson Hole Brake and Alignment. They put the wheels back on and soon we were on our way.

Our next stop was the laundromat, where we did all our laundry and got the clean clothes back in the truck. That's a crucial point, because our next trips were to Sports Authority, two grocery stores, a thrift store, a service station, and a liquor and wine store. Pretty soon the back seat of the truck was piled high and we headed home to put away all the food.

We really stocked up because people had strongly suggested that prices are high and selection is limited in the park. Plus, we are having company for the next two weeks, so we'll need extra food for them. We're excited to be getting ready for our visitors.
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Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point

We took the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake this morning to start our hike to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. The trail was rather steep, and along the way we could hear the roar of the water before we saw the cascade rushing down the mountain. It's a popular hike, so we had plenty of company on the trail. The falls itself was spectacular--not as big as some we've seen, but almost all whitewater.

Then we continued on to Inspiration Point, from which you have a panoramic view of Jenny Lake. The trail became narrower and more rugged, but it was well worth the climb. We decided to continue on through Cascade Canyon a way. When we came to a trail junction with an arrow pointing back down to the boat dock by a different route, we took it.

Now we were pretty much on our own, so I started clapping and singing to make sure the bears knew we were there. Even though I was making a racket, we came upon a marmot busily eating leaves. It seemed unaware of our presence, and Ken got several good shots, as it ate not five feet away from us, just off the path. When we finally decided to walk on past, it finally scurried away.

Our only other wildlife views today were of one pronghorn and several fish and minnows in the lake.

We spent some time sitting on a rock, enjoying Jenny Lake, before heading home.
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Colter Bay

We wanted to explore Colter Bay, which is near the north end of Jackson Lake. We drove first to Jackson Lake Lodge, where a naturalist sets up a spotting scope from 9-10 a.m. on the porch overlooking Willow Flats, which is generally a very good place for wildlife watching.

Today we saw some White Pelicans, some Sandhill Cranes, and a herd of elk. All were very far away. We were hoping to see bear or wolves, but not today. We learned that the elk moms often choose to give birth in this area because it offers lots of good places to hide the newborn calves until they can walk well and rejoin the group. The bears have figured this out and come looking for the calves.

At Colter Bay we took a hike out to a point where we could see the Tetons across Jackson Lake. Then we attended a concert by a string quartet at the amphitheater. They played variations on "Happy Birthday" in several classical styles in honor of America's birthday July 4.

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Every Piece of the Puzzle Is Essential

This morning we headed to the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve for our scheduled 9:30 a.m. ranger led hike about the ecology of the preserve and of the Grand Teton/Yellowstone area. We got there early enough to spend some time in the Visitor Center. Very different from any we've ever encountered, it embodies LSR's vision of the role of natural beauty in restoring and sustaining the human spirit. Rather than being "educational" in the conventional way, the interpretive center provides an experience: "Visitors move through a series of sensory experiences linked with a poem by esteemed nature writer Terry Tempest Williams. These visual, auditory and tactile explorations include recordings of Rockefeller speaking about conservation, high definition nature videos, large-scale photography, and a soundscape room with nature recordings from the preserve." [http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6623&urlarea=npsnews]

Mike, our ranger-leader, introduced himself. He's a University of Michigan student who will graduate next year with a degree in ecology and environmental science. That right away gave Ken a connection with him. The group size was limited to 10, but there were actually only six of us, so everyone could hear and ask questions.

Our hike took us along the Lake Creek and Woodland Trail to Phelps Lake, to the site of the former Rockefeller summer home. Before the Preserve opened, all traces of the former dude ranch and Rockefeller home were removed and the areas revegetated or used for the Visitor Center complex. Roads were removed or unpaved and converted to trails.

We saw grizzly claw marks in a large aspen tree, a pine cone midden created by squirrels, and lots of lodge pole pines dying from pine beetle infestation. The pine beetles have been part of the ecosystem for a long time, but recently, because winters are no longer cold enough to kill the larvae, they have emerged as a serious threat to the park ecosystem. For example, grizzly bears depend on White Bark Pine nuts found at higher elevations to bulk up for their winter hibernation. What will happen to the bears if they lose this source of nourishment?

On our way back to the Visitor Center, we came upon this beautiful buck browsing about 30 yards off the path. It looked at us, then went back to browsing. Ken managed to get one quick shot.

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Jenny Lake

This morning we drove first to the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve, where we have signed up to go on a hike tomorrow morning. It's down the Moose-Wilson Road, and the road lived up to its name: there were moose grazing along a creek in a valley next to the road. Moose Jam! The road is winding and very narrow, so when 20 cars decide to stop to see the moose, the result is deadlock. A ranger came to direct traffic and clear up the tangle.

Then we drove on into the park, past the entrance station for the first time, to go to Jenny Lake, where we planned to walk along the lake. We were lucky enough to get a parking space at the Jenny Lake Visitor Center. (Lucky, because we were one of many vehicles trying to visit this popular area on the 4th of July....). We enjoyed our walk along this lovely blue lake, with the mountains lapping its farther shore.

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Lovely Day

Despite being a bit cooler than we like and starting off cloudy (not good for the solar panels), today has turned out to be a beautiful day with clear blue skies. But the thing that made this a really good day for me is that I finally got our router to work with our satellite Internet--yay!

We've been noticing some interesting rigs and vehicles on our walks. Here's a VW "Wild Thing" and a pair of Lazy Days.

Tonight we went to the 9:00 p.m. "Campfire Program" at the amphitheater. The program was interesting, but the campfire was a dud! The ranger set up a few pieces of firewood and started them before going to the stage to start his talk. The campfire is off to one side anyhow, so even if it had been a roaring fire, it wouldn't have provided much heat--and heat is what we needed. We sat real close and shivered our way through the program.

It was an interesting slide talk on the early explorers and mountain climbers in the park. One of the best stories was of a man who actually descended the mountain on skis in 1971. He needed some proof, so he hired a pilot to fly over the route and take photos of his ski tracks.

We walked very fast on the way home and immediately made some hot chocolate to revive ourselves.
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Wolverines!

Today we went to Jackson and did our laundry and shopping. The grocery store we checked out is called The Jackson Whole Grocer (pun intended).

This evening we attended a ranger program at the campground amphitheater on wolverines. Part of the appeal of the topic is that the University of Michigan sports teams are called the Wolverines. The ranger presenting the program was a brand new intern, a recent geology graduate.

We learned a lot about wolverines, including some surprising facts. They live in high altitude, cold regions. They are solitary, and each animal requires hundreds of square miles of territory. Very few remain in the lower 48 states. The entire Yellowstone-Grand Teton ecosystem may contain only 4-10 animals. Although wolves are predators of the wolverines, ironically wolverines depend on wolves to provide large animal carcasses which they can scavenge. So it turns out that wolves are good for wolverines.
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Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center

I was feeling somewhat better when we got up this morning, so we decided to go to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center to find out more about the park. This visitor center is only one of several visitor and information centers in the park. It is the newest, and the architecture is very different from the "National Park Rustic" to which we have grown accustomed. It features a large multistory window overlooking the Grand Teton Range.

We looked around and watched the park video, created by the Discovery Channel. It's the best park video we have seen, with information on the geology, history, and wildlife. We are especially looking forward to seeing some of the wildlife. We picked up a hiking trail map to check out the available hikes.
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