Sunday July 5th - Bozeman to Yellowstone

We woke up to another beautiful, clear morning…but everything was still soaked from all the rain.  I must say I don’t like that part of camping, but all the GREAT parts make up for it!  We had breakfast first thing and were very happy to discover that instead of the continental breakfast they had announced, the caterers decided to just cook hot food!  They are really wonderful…all of the food was awesome, and even more impressive because it was prepared in a camp kitchen!

Marc took down the tent while I shuttled things to the car and took a few last pictures, and said goodbye to Hyalite.  I will be back to climb that mountain when it is snow free…I am determined!

We spent the drive talking about how wonderful the experience of this was.  Neither of us has ever been to a music festival before and we didn’t know what to expect at all but we were blown away but the talent of the musicians,  the great community “vibe” and to top it all off, to have it be so family friendly is really great!

We went to the nicest Laundromat in existence (seriously…and I’ve been to many all over the country) where I’d stopped before Marc came out.  If you are ever in Bozeman and need to do laundry, this is the place, Duds and Suds. 

It is also a car wash and has a pet wash.   You can even bring your pet rooster in for a bath. Seriously.

They have wifi and nice tables/work areas, a play area for kids, nice couches and a tv and movies, a snack bar, and it is sparkling clean.  And they are very  friendly.  They even have fresh flowers!   I did our laundry while Marc spread out all the wet gear to dry.  It’s amazing how much drier  the air was out in Bozeman as opposed to a half hour away up the canyon.

I dropped Marc off at the airport and went in with him since Bozeman’s airport is tiny compared to MSP.  Johnny from Storyhill walked in so I introduced myself (I’ve met and talked with Chris a few times but never John).  He was on Marc’s flight back to Minneapolis, where he lives and is also in a band called “Alva Star”.  We’re going to be checking them out!  Such a nice guy, both of them are…very approachable and gracious.

I said goodbye to Marc – we had a really awesome 3 ½ days but the kids need one of us at home!  I then headed for Yellowstone.  On my way through Livingston I realized…I have favorite grocery stores and favorite gas stations in many Montana towns…what does that say?  I stopped at my preferred both in Livingston (I don’t like the grocery store in Gardiner) and was quickly on my way down to  the park,  watching a storm come in from over the mountains and lo and behold you can see Hyalite and the surrounding ridges from the road through the Paradise Valley!  I knew it looked that way on the map but was surprised to actually SEE that it was so.

I was about 10 miles away from Gardiner when I slowed down for a mule deer.  Then I saw a fawn so I drove on and turned around and came back.  In the meantime the mom had crossed Hwy 89 (a very busy road).

I saw the fawn notice and start towards the road so I stayed stopped and the people coming the other way had stopped.  Then suddenly TWO fawns appeared on the shoulder of the road.  A big truck drove up behind me and was impatient so he roared around me and I tried to motion him to stop…I was sure he was going to run them over.  Luckily they saw/heard him and jumped back and ran the other direction.  I waited for mom but she didn’t want to cross back so I went ahead and turned around again and then she finally crossed the road.  I’m worried about those fawns but if I had tried to stop traffic  it would have spooked them too, I’m not sure what else I could have done.  I got coffee in Gardiner as the thunder started and headed in to the park!   I stopped at the new Yellowstone Association store in Gardiner for this year's "wolf chart" guide to various packs and wolves.  They have a really nice statue of Wolf 42.  I wish I had seen her.

Just as I came down the slope into the Roosevelt area, there was a bear jam…black bear in the fallen tree area where we’ve seen them many times. I just drove on and wanted to drive the Petrified Tree road since a lone black wolf had been spotted there in the morning.  No wolf, but another bear jam…big, gorgeus grizzly busily eating!    It was mayhem so I didn’t try to stop and get out at the “safe” area, I just drove slowly in and slowly out and got a few pictures.

I was thrilled to be in the park less than an hour and already have black bear and griz sightings!  I checked in at my cabin at Roosevelt (luckily I got a cancellation…I knew I’d get in too late to get a campstie at the sites in the Lamar Valley and Roosevelt is right in the middle of the best wildlife turf in the park, IMO).

Tomorrow I’ll camp at Slough or Pebble Creek.

I then drove out to Lamar hoping for wolf sightings.    There were a lot of people at the pullout where the Druid pack has been seen. I stopped but no wolves had been seen tonight so I moved on back by the Buffalo Ranch and just pulled off by myself and did some glassing.  I found a few coyotes out running along the river not far from some pronghorn (who weren’t at all concerned).  At first I just saw “canines” and was hoping so much that they were wolves.  No such luck.  The people who had pulled up next to me were calling it a wolf and I tried to correct them and they gave me dirty looks.  My philosophy is, if you think every coyote you see is a wolf, you will not realize how truly special it is if you see a wolf.  The same is true for bears.  If you see a brown colored black bear and insist it’s a griz, you may not realize how lucky you are when you do see a griz. Plus, as someone who teaches about wildlife I ethically feel it is my responsibility to tell people the truth .  They may not like it…I know I hate being let down when as above, I hoped for a wolf and got a coyote.  But still, I think it’s important to know the differences.

I moved to a different pullout and watched  a lone coyote hunting for a while…I love watching that, the way they pounce.  There were a lot of pronghorn, bison, sandhill cranes and one bald eagle out there also.

I’d been in two bison jams on the way into the Lamar Valley but on the way out I was in at least 6!  All the bison in the park seem to be in this valley and they’re all wanting to cross the road tonight. A very sad sight was one adult bison straggling along behind his herd and holding one leg off the ground, not using it at all…he will probably become wolf or bear food soon which they need badly but it is still sad to see an animal with a problem like that.  My photos were all too dark and I haven't had time to play around with them to brighten them so maybe I'll have some photos later.

© 2009 Tara Morrison