Yellowstone #1 -- Yellowstone's Bison Rock!

Tuesday, 18 June 2012.  Well, finally felt I'd best get on the stick and do something about posting a blog entry -- or two -- about our wonderful trip to Yellowstone from 13-17 June.  At last count I think I had over 300 digital pics to choose from for the blog -- all I can say is thank goodness for digital cameras!

First a few facts.  Yellowstone was established as America's first national park in 1872.  This idea spread world-wide and Yellowstone became the world's first national park.  It encompasses over two million acres of spectacular scenic beauty. And despite the perennial stories about Yellowstone "being loved to death" (along with our other national parks), only 2% of the Park is developed.  Beyond the heavily-traveled figure-eight road system (see map below), much of the Park's 3,700 sq. miles are virtually untouched.  Taken as a "whole," Yellowstone remains untouched, rugged and spectacular.

  

On our first day in the Park, Friday, 14 June, we entered at Gardiner, and traveled down the west side of the figure-eight road system, going via Mammouth, Norris, Madison, Old Faithful, West Thumb, over to Fishing Bridge, and then up to Canyon. By that time it was late in the day, so we decided to visit the eastern part of the figure-eight another day.  On the drive back to Norris, we drove thru a short-duration snow shower -- hard to believe it was June!  We probably spent a total of eight hours in the Park on this first day -- and saw most, but not all, the animals that we would eventually see.  And the second day offered some surprises -- but more on that later in this blog.

This is a pic of the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, MT.  It was built by the US Army at Fort Yellowstone and its cornerstone was laid down by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1903. The top of the arch is inscribed with a quote from the 1972 act that created the Park.  It read "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People."

Another view of the Arch.

Lynette posing with the Yellowstone Park sign just after we drove thru the Arch.

We ended up spending pretty much two full days -- a total of over 13 hours -- inside the Park on Friday, 14 June, and Sunday, 16 June.  We saw virtually everything that was on our list to see, including the usual tourist spots such as the spouting geysers (and Old Faithful is part of this), the bubbling mud holes and caldrons, and the limestone formations.  The scenery throughout the Park was spectacular -- especially the Yellowstone River and Canyon with the Upper and Lower Falls -- even those we drove through a short snow shower on Friday -- in June!  But I believe the Park's greatest treasure is its variety of animals -- and we were lucky (and that's the right word for much of the time) to be treated to a plethora of animals.  We saw three herds of bison (buffalo) along with numerous "loners" and small groups of two or three; several elk and deer, including one beautiful bull elk with massive antlers; two bighorn sheep (although I don't have any pics to prove it); a small black bear (about the size of a medium-sized dog) in the distance; and so many chipmunks and squirrels and birds too numerous one loses count after awhile.  I will say up front, I never endangered a single chipmunk scampering across the road -- although it was close a couple times!

But one has to start somewhere and I've decided to begin these Yellowstone blog entries with a collection of photos of bison photos -- they were magnificent animals to behold.  Hope everyone enjoys the pics as much as we enjoyed our time in Yellowstone!

After entering the Park via Gardiner, we drove several miles before encountering our first animals, which turned out to be the first of two herds of magnificent bison, just a few miles apart on separate sides of the road.  Bison are huge animals and if you've never seen one close up and personal, you are in for a treat!  Here's a few "overview" snaps of the first herd we spotted grazing near the road.

And here's a couple pics of two calves -- with their mothers, I presume.

I was using my Canon EOS Rebel with a telephoto lens attached and decided to try and catch a couple close-ups of the big bull bison in the herd.

Assume the bison still have their "scraggly" coats because they haven't shed their winter coats.

As we started to continue our journey -- and leave this herd in peace -- I spotted this one bull grazing on the sweet grass right next to the road.  And the closer we got to him in the car, the closer he moved to the side of the road until he was right next to the shoulder.  Think I ended up getting some pretty good shots.  In the first pic in this series, notice the bull's big brown eye watching me -- very spooky!

Guess he got bored with all the cars stopping on the road -- and he simply walked away.

I don't think we drove more than a couple miles when we spotted another herd on the other side of the road.  Not sure if this was a separate herd, just grazing close by, or a totally different herd doing their own thing.

 We saw so many calves with both herds -- guess it must be the season.

 I like this shot because it shows the huge hump on the bison lying in the grass.  

And now for the coup de grace of the bison pics.  On our second day in the Park, Sunday, 16 June, Lynette commented that she had always wanted to see a herd of bison crossing the road (we'd already seen a herd of caribou crossing the road in front of us when we were in Alaska back in the mid-80's) as we approached in the car.  Either that, or a big bison in the middle of the road we were traveling.  Well, wouldn't you know it --- door #2 opened up -- right in front of us as we were headed north back to the Gardiner entrance on our way out of the Park.  We came around a curve, and Boom!  There was this huge bull bison, just a-ambling down the very middle of the road.  I stopped the car, jumped out and started shooting with the telephoto lens.  As I was doing this, Lynette was screaming, "Get back in the car!  Get back in the car!"  Which I did of course, since the bison was still slowing coming our way.  As he got closer he moved ever so slightly to the other shoulder of the road, but still just taking his time.  By the time he got even with our car -- my window was down -- we were looking at each other eye-to-eye.  And let me tell you, staring into that bison's big brown eye as he warily watched us was unnerving to say the least.  What a great moment for us on our Yellowstone sightseeing trip!  By now there were a couple other vehicles behind us that had stopped and were treated to the same sight.  The bison just ambled off the side of the road and continued on his way.  Now, if you're wondering why I don't have a REAL CLOSE UP pic of this bison, well, I froze in the moment.  Since the Canon had the telephoto lens on it, I would have to change to a smaller lens to take a photo.  It all happened so fast that I wasn't thinking straight.  In the end, these are the best shots I got -- they'll have to do and I'm pleased with the ones I was able to get.  Really a great moment -- what a magnificent animal!

One last word before closing this blog entry. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is estimated at about 3,700 individuals, and are considered to be free-ranging bison. That means they have always existed in the wild and were never re-introduced into new territory as has been done in most other bison herd areas.

So that's it for the first Yellowstone blog entry.  In the next entry, look for additional photos of elk and our black bear.  Hopefully over the next few days....Cheers!