We kept a journal of our trip so we wouldn't forget our adventures (something we do on all our big trips). Below is a very condensed version of our trip - if you're lookin' for the pictures, head to our Picasa site. (I did my best to post the pictures in chronological order to go with the summary below, and where possible, when I took a picture of Wade taking a picture, the picture he was taking follows right after it.)
Day One
The night before our (absurdly early) flight out of Tampa, we stayed in the airport Marriott hotel and enjoyed being able to walk right to the gate the next morning. We had a fairly uneventful flight to Bozeman, Montana and rented a car to drive the 2 hours to Yellowstone. The drive was fairly flat and lined with ranches and bed and breakfasts. We entered the Park through the northern gate, which passes under the "Roosevelt Arch" - a huge stone arch that Teddy Roosevelt laid the cornerstone for in 1903 (Yellowstone was designated the world's first national park in 1872 by Congress and President Grant). We drove through the increasing hills and reached the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel with just enough time to check in, drop our gear, and head to dinner. We were pleasantly surprised that although the hotel (old military barracks) was a bit spartan, the dining room served wonderful food. (Lodges and affiliated services like restaurants, gift shops, and transportation are actually run by concessionaires in National Parks since the Service isn't allowed to make money off of visitors) After dinner we headed over to the private hot tubs for a soak under the stars and a lightly falling snow. By then we were pretty tired from traveling all day and the 2 hour time difference, so we headed back to the room to prep for the next day.
Day Two
The next morning we stuffed ourselves at breakfast, ordered a boxed lunch to go, then threw our stuff in the car and headed out into the Park for some exploring. We drove to the nearby Mammoth Hot Springs to wander the boardwalk and get our camera gear warmed up. We spent the morning snapping pictures, adjusting to the cold, figuring out how many layers were right, and watching me huff and puff while taking so many stairs. Most of the morning was cloudy, but by the end the sun started peaking through. After that we headed out to the famous Lamar Valley to look for wildlife. We started with a short hike to see a little waterfall and were rewarded with big bull elk grazing within a hundred feet of us. Further down the road we encountered a classic Yellowstone scene: buffalo moseying down the road. We pulled over and got within arms length of them as they passed the car. Next was the lone female black wolf in the distance standing over her coyote kill, but unfortunately she had a pretty bad case of mange and was not looking so well. We continued down the park road and stopped in a snow-banked area known for otter and beaver sightings. While the otters were a no show, we did accidentally spook two beavers as we trudged down the side of the hill to get to the river. At this point, the sky was looking more ominous (and had been snowing off and on all day), so we headed back to clean up and make it to our dinner reservation. On the way back we saw more buffalo, deer, a coyote hunting for mice in the snow, and a bald eagle. After dinner we headed to the Map Room common area in the hotel for some entertainment. We drank hot cocoa and played board games and cards while one of the staff played piano for all the guests. It felt like something out of hundred years ago and we loved how relaxing and homey it felt.
Day Three
The day started before dawn with an early breakfast then boarding a van for a pre-dawn wildlife tour. To our surprise, the tour was the same route we'd explored the day before! It was still nice to get the guided tour and learn more about the park and we were able to finally see some Big Horn Sheep (something I'd been hoping for). We were back to the hotel by lunchtime to refuel and head out on another tour south to Norris Geyser Basin. This required taking a specially outfitted van that had snow treads instead of tires 2 hours south into the park. We were treated to our first truly clear sunny day and we learned a lot about the park as we drove south. We also found some very picturesque spots, Swan Lake Flats being one of them. Once at Norris (the hottest geyser basin in the park) we walked the snow-covered boardwalk and learned about life in the hot geysers of the park. The ground is so warm there, it's usually about 10 or more degrees warmer than the other areas of the park and snow won't stick to the ground. After a lap around the site we piled back into the van for the ride home. Once we got back to the hotel we cleaned up and went to the visitor center before dinner. It brought back some entertaining memories talking to the rangers and listening to the visitors questions - Ranger: "No sir, we don't 'have a bear problem,' and no you can't shoot bears in the Park - it is a National Park and they are protected." (Replace 'bear' with 'shark' and you get an idea of the absurd questions I used to get in the Everglades). We headed to dinner and were pleasantly surprised to find one of the deserts on the menu was gluten free! The staff were really helpful and even brought out the ingredient list for us to check to make sure it was ok for us to eat! (Finding GF deserts is usually pretty darn difficult when traveling, especially when it's a molten lava chocolate torte!) We gleefully enjoyed the dessert them capped off the night with more piano music and a game of Rummikub. We turned in early to pack since the next day we were moving on south to Old Faithful.
Day Four (our anniversary)
The next morning we packed up early and headed to the shuttle that would take us south to Yellowstone. South of Mammoth all the roads are snowed in, so you have to leave your car there and take the snow-tread vehicles. We dropped our gear for the Pernot that shuttles gear (and old Italian snow-cat) and boarded the shuttle. We took the same route south past Norris and stopped along the way for pictures and some talks by the tour guide. We also finally had our first taste of snowmobilers that come in the west entrance. After having the silence, solitude, and plentiful wildlife of the north end of the park, it was a bit of a shocker heading south and hearing snowmobiles everywhere. We arrived at Old Faithful just before she went off only to find a few hundred snowmobilers already there forming a human wall around the geyser. It was a less than promising start to the last half of our trip. We headed back to the Snow Lodge to check in, then had lunch. As a precaution, we decided to go ahead and try our legs at cross-country skiing since the next day we had booked a half day trip. Oh, yeah, and I'd never been CC skiing before and Wade had only been once with mixed results... did I mention we were pushing our boundaries this trip?? So after getting our ski gear and heading to the beginner's loop to practice, we were both pleasantly surprised to find out that we a) were not terrible at it, and b) actually enjoyed it! That was a huge relief. So we practiced until we couldn't stand any more (literally) and headed back to clean up for dinner. Discovering we could CC ski was really liberating - Old Faithful is completely snow covered (that practice loop is normally a parking lot in summer) and the only way to get around is by skis or foot if you aren't on a snowmobile tour. After a lovely anniversary dinner we put our feet up by the fire to read and relax before heading to a presentation by one of the park rangers.
Day Five
We started the day off with a hearty breakfast, grabbed our skis, and headed out to explore the geyser basin around Old Faithful. We saw buffalo, Canadian geese, and plenty of geysers exploding around us. We passed the morning skiing, taking it all in, and taking pictures before heading to the visitor center to ask about wildlife and which trails would be good for beginners like us. We then ran to beat the snowmobile crowd to lunch and packed up for our ski tour. We lucked out that the tour was a guide, us, and an older couple. We weren't so worried about being the slow pokes and could just enjoy it. We had a beautiful ski out to Fairy Falls for 2 hours (I am glossing over the face plants in the snow, near miss high speed collisions that almost happened, and the buffalo that forced us to go off trail to pass them), spent a half hour soaking up the view of the falls under a falling snow, then headed back to the Bombardier (old school snow cat that's been servicing the park in winter since the 40s) for hot cocoa and the ride home. However, when we got back the buffalo had other plans. Once we were in the 'Bomb', the buffalo herd came up around us and settled in, so we had to play a bit of a waiting game as they got squirrely and the youngsters played in front of us. We enjoyed the show then finally broke free of the herd to make it home just in time for dinner. After dinner we treated ourselves to hot cocoa and hot buttered rum by the fire. A perfect ending to the wild day we had.
Day Six
We enjoyed a morning of sleeping in before heading down to breakfast. Then it was time to put our skis on and head out for some exploring. We headed up the trail again, stopped to have a snack at Morning Glory Pool, then went off-trail to eventually find an open field of small pine trees and a flock of Chickadees feeding on the fledgling pine cones sprouting from the trees. They sang and flitted about while we enjoyed the show and tried to catch them on film. Once we'd had our fill we headed back towards the Lodge only to be intercepted by a pair of coyotes. We stood our ground (you're supposed to and make noise so they maintain fear of people) and they eventually went around us but we managed to get some shots of them before they disappeared into the trees. One of the amazing things about Yellowstone in winter is that even though you may not see wildlife you can tell they are there. There are tracks in the snow everywhere - squirrels, snowshoe hares, weasels, buffalo, elk, fox, coyotes, bobcats, birds, we saw them all. We rarely went anywhere in the park that the snow wasn't touched by animal feet. It made the woods feel 'alive' in a way they don't back home. We wrapped up our exploring early to make it to an early dinner before setting out on a nighttime tour. The night sky cooperated by giving up crystal clear skies and stunningly brilliant stars. We loaded into another Bombardier to head up to Fountain Paint Pots to listen to the various thermal features and check out the night sky. It was really incredible to be out there in a really small group just listening to the natural sounds (geysers, bubbling mud pots, gas vents) - it was a truly unique way to experience the park that I couldn't get enough of. Unfortunately, at the end, it was marred by the sound of two snowmobilers making a late night run back to the lodge (likely staffers bringing supplies). After some more stargazing (and checking the temp gauge - almost below zero again) we had hot cocoa then headed back to the lodge to warm up.
Day Seven
The next morning we were on a mission to get up before dawn to take advantage of the beautiful light to capture the land of steam and snow. When we finished breakfast and headed outside it was -12 degrees. Yes, that's not a typo, it was negative twelve out. We watched people take cups of boiling water outside and throw them into the air to watch them instantly freeze. Eeek. We bundled up and hiked out to the geysers. We managed to get some neat shots of the steam hanging low like fog (when it's that cold the steam doesn't rise but instead turns to low hanging thick clouds), caught some geysers erupting, then hiked up a higher loop of geysers for more pictures. We spooked another coyote and were pretty certain that a few times we seriously couldn't feel our fingers (the downside of taking lots of pictures if having to take off your gloves a lot). After completing the loop around the geysers we headed in to warm up, clean up, have lunch, then check out. Once that was done, we read by the fire until it was time to board the shuttle. On the ride back we stopped at Fountain Paint Pots again for a tour. I have to admit, it was actually more impressive at night being there alone and listening to all the sounds under a full moon. The site was still pretty neat, but it was crowded with snowmobilers and a lot harder to find quiet to enjoy the natural symphony. The rest of the trip back to Mammoth was dotted with wildlife sightings (Trumpeter Swan, Red Fox, coyote hunting, buffalo) and more on the changing policies in the park and the surrounding communities. The deep hunting and ranching cultures (they're also BIG business there) are conflicting with efforts to protect park wildlife and it's beginning to take a toll on the size of populations of elk and buffalo. You can also now carry a loaded weapon into the Parks (before you could bring a gun but it had to be stored in a way to take 4 steps to load it). The was a rising issue as I was leaving Everglades and I know it's something park rangers are feeling nervous about. I suspect it will only take an accident or two before people realize it wasn't the best idea safety wise to let loaded guns and visitors mix in close confines at places where families spend a lot of time. Staff are also worried they'll start finding more people using guns for self defense with wildlife rather than taking the proven prevention measures. It's a shame really, if people weren't so stupid about feeding animals and teaching them bad habits (people=easy food), people wouldn't have to worry about taking extra precautions not to attract them. Ok, I know, off my soap box! Once we made it back to Mammoth we loaded up the car pretty quickly and headed out of the Park towards Bozeman. We stopped along the way for dinner then checked in late to a hotel near the airport
Day Eight
The next morning we left Bozeman at a chilly 8 degrees, then flew home to Tampa where I exchanged bags (I had one pre-packed waiting in the trunk of the car), we stayed another night in the airport Marriott, and I flew out before dawn the next morning to make it to a meeting in DC by 10am.
We could have easily stayed another day in both the Lamar Valley and in Old Faithful. Yellowstone was truly incredible and the visibility of wildlife was unlike anything I've ever seen. I now know why people call it "the Serengeti of North America". It is a special place and I am truly thankful that some visionary people saw it's true value 150 years ago for more than just land to be developed and plundered. I just hope people today continue to appreciate and protect it for it's natural wonders. We can't wait to return to experience the park in it's green and warm state in the future.
**The Park Service has done quite a job making Yellowstone accessible via the internet to visitors - check out some of the tours and info in the links I inserted above in the text. For our pictures, check out our Picasa site.
