We sang and whistled and talked loudly as we marched the 150 yards, or so, from the house, down the driveway to where the Airstream was parked for our stay at Yellowstone. We are staying with friends on their property, about 10 miles from the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It was a great spot to park, with full hookups and a short walk up to the house were Maria cooked up great dinners and breakfasts. He works in the park and she had worked and lived there for many years so we were fortunate to have them show us around.
Why were we making so much noise going down to the trailer? It was dark and we had just been hearing stories about bears and cougars and wolves and elk and everything else foreign to us city folk. Our friends also said a neighbor had called to report that a grizzly was spotted just down the road feasting on apples….just like in the tree next to where we parked. So not to surprise any momma bear, we trudged loudly down the walk. (editor note: the next night we drove the truck up to the house)
Today, we were headed for the park. It was only 50 degrees out when we left so tennis shoes and layers were appropriate….that is until we started toward the Old Faithfull Lodge, over the only pass open. It snowed and snowed a lot. About 6-8 inches by my account. But what a great scene and not one many people get to witness. We had walkie talkies between the 2 cars and when an animal was spotted, we alerted the other car……Squirrel!
We saw a coyote along the road, dusted in snow, and looking at the cars with an expression of “what the hell, this is still September?” A moose was spotted wandering along the river bank and of course, there were buffalo.
We had lunch at the lodge and waited for the appropriate time for the geyser show. Maria had worked in the lodge and told us of people who asked the dumbest questions like “why don’t turn on the lights or lasers on the geyser?” or “at what age do deer turn into elk?”, now seriously people! We went out to the deck to watch through the fog and snow. Someone in the crowd asked “how long will the geyser erupt?” and a guy (not naming who) answered with “oh probably another thousand years or so”. Loved it!
We had a great trip through the snow, passing waterfalls and stopping for a view of the Yellowstone Grand Canyon in the snow. Breathtaking! In Mammoth Springs, we came upon a heard of elk in the town with the male bull up on the hill above sending the females down where he could watch them. Another male came over the ridge and we wondered if an encounter was to happen. It was the season after all. Our friend then told us of the bull number 10 vs bull number 6. They tag the elk to monitor migration and number 10 was the king of the heard. But when number 6 cornered him in a baseball diamond at the park, number 10 got backed into the dugout and gored. Number 6 became the leader but he had a reputation of hating anything red. Our friend told us his buddy, who had a new pickup truck that number 6 ran his horns straight through the grill. Evidently was a Chevy fan. Later he did it again to the door of a red car. He is still out there folks.
