Tag Archives: Bison

2013_07_30 (Tue) TRNP-NU and Medora ND

Entrance to Red Trail Campground.

Entrance to Red Trail Campground.

We are staying at the Red Trail Campground in Medora, Montana.  The WiFi signal is strong, and the Internet connection is fast enough to work, IF nobody else is using it.  We kept getting disconnected and finally turned on our Verizon MiFi device.  Bingo!  I love 4G/LTE when it’s available.

 

Entrance to TRNP South Unit in Medora MT.

Entrance to TRNP South Unit in Medora MT.

We decided last night that this morning we would tour the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  It’s a 62 mile drive to get from the entrance of the South Unit in Medora to the entrance to the North Unit, in the middle of nowhere.  Rain was forecast for today but we wanted to get there early, so we were on the road by 7:15 AM MDT.

(BTW: This MDT thing becomes important in this part of North Dakota as the dividing line between the Mountain and Central Time Zones zigzags around this part of ND basically cutting off the southwest corner of the state for Mountain Time and leaving the rest as Central Time.  A careful look at the state highway map revealed that the dividing line runs right down the middle of the North Unit of TRNP on an east-west line.  We actually crossed the line while in the Park and our phones changed to Central Time for a while.)

The North Unit may be in the middle of nowhere, but it is very much on the route to somewhere, namely Williston, ND some 60 miles north and bit west of the Park.  Williston is the hub of the northeastern Montana / northwestern North Dakota oil boom, and the truck traffic and equipment moving up and down US-85 was something to experience.  Apparently North Dakota expects this to continue for a while as much of this stretch of US-85 is being widened.

CCC shelter overlooking the Little Missouri Scenic River; TRNP North Unit.

CCC shelter overlooking the Little Missouri Scenic River; TRNP North Unit.

Once we turned into the Park, however, all was very quickly quiet and peaceful.  Not being adjacent to a major Interstate Highway, the North Unit is probably much less visited than the South Unit, and we encountered very few other vehicles driving the 14 mile road (28 miles out and back).  The weather was thick, as is obvious in these photographs, but it was an interesting and different way to see the Park.  We encountered a “back country ranger” at this overlook and had a great, long conversation with him about the Park and the area around it.  He told us that the North Unit does not have the wild horses that the South Unit has, but it does have bison, moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain lions.  Although he didn’t mention them, we saw wild turkeys and a pheasant in addition to a couple of bison and deer.

Thick weather in the TRNP NU.

Thick weather in the TRNP NU.

The weather in the North Unit was very thick this morning and the mood in the park is very different in this kind of weather.  The Ranger told us that The North Unit is usually very dry this time of year but has had an unusually high amount of rain this season, and has already exceeded its normal annual rainfall.  The Little Missouri Scenic River has water in it, when it would normally be dry, and the Park has a lot of greenery and flowering plants.

Clouds rolling up out of the river valley to the rim; TRNP NU.

Clouds rolling up out of the river valley to the rim; TRNP NU.

On the drive back to Medora we stopped at the Painted Canyon Rest Area and Visitor Center on I-94.  This facility is located at the southeast corner of the South Unit of TRNP and affords nice views of a corner of the park where the interior roads do not go.

 

[04722 CN A chokecherry bush (I think).

[04722 CN A chokecherry bush (I think).

Back in Medora, we stopped at the TRNP South Unit Visitor Center, which was closed when we went for our drive last night.  On the way in from the parking lot we passed through an area of plantings that were labeled.  I think this bush was a chokecherry, but I didn’t see a label for it.  There are a lot of chokecherry-based products for sale in Medora, so I’m sticking with my story.

TR’s “nicer” log home, now on display in TRNP SU Visitor Center in Medora MT.

TR’s “nicer” log home, now on display in TRNP SU Visitor Center in Medora MT.

In the backyard of the center is Theodore Roosevelt’s 2nd (and nicer) North Dakota log cabin.  Our timing was good as we got there in time for the 2 PM Ranger-led tour of the house, which is otherwise locked.  It was very fancy for its time (1884), with three rooms, wood floors, an attic, a cold cellar, and glass windows.

We left the South Unit Visitor Center and drove through the adjacent De Mores Meat Packing site, now a state park with the smokestack and remnants of the foundations of the buildings that once stood there.  We then had a slow drive through Medora and back to our coach.  Here are a few pictures of the town:

Just down the street from the entrance to TRNP SU in Medora MT.

Just down the street from the entrance to TRNP SU in Medora MT.

Shouldn’t every pizza parlor have a saloon, and look like this?

Shouldn’t every pizza parlor have a saloon, and look like this?

Medora is a much more refined town than its “rough” exterior suggests.

Medora is a much more refined town than its “rough” exterior suggests.

Even the post office and bank are quaint.

Even the post office and bank are quaint.

For dinner this evening Linda prepared a Kabocha squash that she bought for $1 at the Cody Farmers Market last Saturday.  Niether of us had ever heard of this squash before she bought it.  She cut it in two halves and microwaved them for 8 minutes to start the cooking process and cut down on convention oven time.  She sauteed a mixture of brown rice, onion, garlic, carrots, bell peppers, and kale seasoned with salt, black pepper,dried basil, and Tamari sauce and stuffed the squash halves with it, mounded over the top.  She backed these for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F using convention feature of our convection microwave oven.  The squash came out perfectly cooked with a light yellow to slightly green color that paired wonderfully with the slices of honeydew mellow and the Riesling wine that accompanied the dish.  Savory, nutty, chewy, and a little spicy without being “hot”, it was another wonderful example of what she has learned to do with these basic WFPB ingredients.

We have been back in “vacation mode” last week and this.  We would prefer not to be, but we need to be back in Michigan in early August and are trying to see what we can on this trip with the time we have.  We have not taken hikes that we would like to have taken, done any geocaching, or had the luxury of waiting for the weather to change.  We did not go for pre-dawn or post-dusk drives and we did not stay up late enough to view the stunning night sky at the new moon in the deep, deep darkness of the west.  We did not visit the Chateau De Mores (State Historical Site) or see the Medora Musical (OK, never really planned to).  And we did not bring/operate our ham radios.  But we did what we could with the time that we had, and it was all good.  And when we are be back this way we intend to be managing our time differently.  But for now, tomorrow we must move on and cross North Dakota.

 

2013_07_24 (Wed) YNP Day 2

We had a long day yesterday and decided to get an earlier start today.  We left at 7:08 AM and headed for the East Entrance to Yellowstone N. P.  We enjoyed the drive up to and into the Park as much as we had the day before.  As with yesterday’s post, I can’t possibly describe and illustrate a day in YNP, so I will outline our itinerary, comment on a couple of things, and include a few photos.

Coming in from the East Entrance we again passed through Fishing Bridge, making a brief stop there to top off the tank, clean the windshield (yes, YNP has bugs, though not that many), and use the facilities.  (Note: there are restrooms at every major feature in the Park with a parking lot.)  After crossing the bridge we headed north up the west side of the Yellowstone River towards the Yellowstone Falls and The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Canyon Village beyond.

Bison crossing the Yellowstone River at Buffalo Ford.

Bison crossing the Yellowstone River at Buffalo Ford.

On the way up we encountered Bison crossing the Yellowstone River.  I had a nice chat with the fisherman they “chased” out of the river.  He was fishing for Cutthroat Trout (catch and release only) at spot known as “Buffalo Ford” so it did come as any surprise to him when Buffalo showed up and forded the river.

 

Bison are common, which makes them all the more dangerous.

Bison are common, which makes them all the more dangerous.

Bison are common in YNP.  They are usually slow moving and docile looking, but look into their eye(s) and you are looking into a wild animal.  Massive and prone to agitate for no apparent reason, they are much more dangerous than people seem to realize, and close encounters with people generally do not end well for the person.

 

There are pedestrian trails and boardwalks in this area.  Note the bison upper right.

There are pedestrian trails and boardwalks in this area. Note the bison upper right.

The area between Fishing Bridge and Tower-Roosevelt, along the Yellowstone River and into the massive upland wilderness to the east, is a prime spot in the park for large wildlife.  Ravens are everywhere in the park, and other birds, including pelicans, are often seen.  But this Yellowstone River area includes Trumpeter Swans, mule deer, blacktail deer, bison, elk, moose, coyotes, wolves, black bears, and the king of the wilderness, Grizzly bears.  Seeing bison is guaranteed, and probably deer as well.  Elk are a rarer sight, but catching even a glimpse of a wolf or bear is truly special.  Before reaching the Falls we stopped at Mud Volcano, where bison were roaming through the geothermal landscape.

The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River from Artist Point on the south/east side of Yellowstone Canyon.

The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River from Artist Point on the south/east side of Yellowstone Canyon.

The Yellowstone Falls and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone are iconic features of the park, and worth taking time to see.  The falls face northeast, and the canyon runs that direction as well, so morning is the time to be there, and we were.  We drove into both the south/east rim (Artist Point) and north/west rim roads (brink hikes) and drove to Inspiration Point.  I will let the photographs do the talking.

 

Yellowstone Falls and Canyon from Artist Point.

Yellowstone Falls and Canyon from Artist Point.

Same view with Linda.

Same view with Linda.

White Motors Yellowstone Bus No. 404 at Artist Point.

White Motors Yellowstone Bus No. 404 at Artist Point.

Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River.

Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River.

At the brink of the Upper Falls.

At the brink of the Upper Falls.

The mists of time in the canyon below the falls.

The mists of time in the canyon below the falls.

This is the best view you get of Elk, if you get one at all.

This is the best view you get of Elk, if you get one at all.

The brink of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.

The brink of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.

Yellowstone Canyon below the Lower Falls.

Yellowstone Canyon below the Lower Falls.

The Canyon goes for 20 miles.

The Canyon goes for 20 miles.

From the Falls/Canyon it is a short drive north to Canyon Village.  The Canyon Village Visitor Information Center is Fabulous.  We had a light lunch of salad and mandarin oranges at the lodge cafeteria before continuing on our tour of the northern half of the Grand Loop.  We decided to do this loop clockwise, and headed over to Norris Geyser Basin.  This is a large geothermal area and requires a lot of hiking to see all of the features.  By this point it was getting hot and we were a bit tired, so we viewed what we could from platforms near the museum building.  When you only have a couple of days to spend in YNP, there will come a point when you realize you can’t begin to see everything, and resolve to come back, perhaps many times.  We reached that point at Norris.

Upper Terrace Drive, Mammoth Hot Springs.

Upper Terrace Drive, Mammoth Hot Springs.

As we left Norris and headed north towards Mammoth Hot Springs we paralleled the Gallatin Range to our west.  We skipped most of the features until we got near Mammoth Hot Springs, and took the Upper Terrace Drive.  This area is different from the other geothermal places in YNP, with travertine as the distinguishing visual element.  It is much less active than it was when I was here 50 years ago, a result of the constant earthquakes that alter the geothermal activity all over the park.

Travertine in the Upper Terraces area.  The travertine is white; the color comes from living organisms.

Travertine in the Upper Terraces area. The travertine is white; the color comes from living organisms.

Mammoth Hot Springs from Upper Terrace Drive.

Mammoth Hot Springs from Upper Terrace Drive.

Mammoth Hot Springs is five miles from the North Entrance at the Montana border and the famous Roosevelt Arch, but we did not drive up on this trip; so much park, so little time.  We drove through Mammoth Hot Springs and saw Old Fort Yellowstone from the car.  Every developed area in YNP has a different look and feel, and MHS is a place we will spend more time the next time we are here.

We continued our clockwise journey going east towards Tower-Roosevelt.  We took the Blacktail Plateau Drive, a 6-mile long, narrow, twisty dirt road with lots of steep up and down grade and significant elevation change, although 4-wheel drive is not required.  We saw a pair of Blacktail Deer with good size antlers lying in the shade of a distant tree.  And we did not see any other cars until we got near the end of the road.  Most tourists do not venture onto these little side roads so they give you a very different experience of the park from the Grand Loop.

We returned to the Grand Loop Road and headed trough Tower-Roosevelt for Canyon Village.  The Northeast Entrance road, which runs from Tower-Roosevelt to Silver Gate and Cooke City, is the longest and most remote in the park.  When the road leaves YNP it becomes the Beartooth Highway (US-212), one of the highest and most remote highways in the lower 48 states.  Our plans for tomorrow are to drive part of this highway in conjunction with the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway.

As soon as we left Tower-Roosevelt we got caught in a construction stoppage that lasted 30 minutes.  The road from Tower-Roosevelt back down to Canyon Village is a bit narrower and climbs past 10,243 ft Mount Washburn, the highest mountain in the Washburn Range, and over 8,859 ft. Dunraven pass.  We had a nice drive as afternoon turned to early evening until we got south of Canyon Village, where once again, we encountered a massive traffic jam in the area of the broad river plain where the bison hang out.  This time it wasn’t a bear sighting.  The bison were in the road and the Park Rangers were using their vehicles and PA systems to herd them off.  Some of them went reluctantly.  Once past the traffic jam, we made our way to Fishing Bridge and from there out of the park by way of the East Entrance and back to Wapiti.

 

2013_07_23 (Tue) Yellowstone N. P.

We were up a bit earlier today, anxious to be on our way to Yellowstone National Park (hereinafter YNP).  I had been to YNP twice before today; once with my parents and sister in 1965 when I was 13, and again in 1989 with our son when he was about to turn 11.  Today was my third visit, but what made it special was that it was Linda’s first.

US-14/16/20 on the way to the East Entrance of YNP.

US-14/16/20 on the way to the East Entrance of YNP.

Most of the 32 mile drive from Wapiti to the East Entrance of YNP is through the Shoshone National forest.  The road (US-14/16/20) follows the Shoshone River up through a deep, rugged valley of the Absaroka Range, climbing from 5,700 ft. ASL in Wapiti to 6,951 ft. ASL at the East Entrance.  The Shoshone N. F. begins just west of Wapitii and is designated the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway.  It provides a spectacular scenic drive through the Absaroka Range.  The road was very good and was easily drivable at the 50 MPH posted speed limit.

Sylvan Lake on the East Entrance road into YNP

Sylvan Lake on the East Entrance road into YNP

After using Linda’s “Senior Access Pass” to gain entry to the park we continued on to the Fishing Bridge area 27 miles farther down the road, driving over 8,530 ft. ASL Sylvan Pass before the half way point.  The road descends down to the northeastern shore of Yellowstone Lake and then runs along the edge to Fishing Bridge on the north shore of the lake.

 

Yellowstone Lake looking NW towards Fishing Bridge.  ~7700’ ASL.

Yellowstone Lake looking NW towards Fishing Bridge. ~7700’ ASL.

Fishing Bridge is one of the four “developed” villages in YNP, and we stopped to check it out.  It has a Visitor Information Center, General Store, filling station with auto/RV service, and an RV campground.  Nearby is a long E-W bridge that crosses over the Yellowstone River as it flows north out of the lake.  In times past folks were allowed to fish from this bridge, hence the name of this area, but no more.  The waters in this area are a prime spawning ground for native Cutthroat Trout.  Bridge fishing was decimating their population, and was halted many years ago, along with a ban on fishing the first six miles of the Yellowstone River.

A vintage White Motors Yellowstone bus!

A vintage White Motors Yellowstone bus!

From Fishing Bridge we had access to the rest of the park.  The road system in YNP consists of a large figure-8 in the center of the park, known as “The Grand Loop”, with entrance roads coming into it from the north, northeast, east, south, and west.  For our first day in the park we decided to drive the lower half of the figure-8 in a clockwise direction.  It is not possible in a blog post to describe everything we did, or include photos of everything we saw, in a single day in YNP, so I will simply outline our itinerary and include a few photos.  Perhaps a Picasa web album will appear at some point in the future with a more compete visual record.

An MCI MC7(?) Yellowstone bus, one of six left in the fleet.

An MCI MC7(?) Yellowstone bus, one of six left in the fleet.

Traveling clockwise from Fishing Bridge we traveled southwest and then south along the west shore of the lake to the geothermal area just north of Grant Village.  While here we saw a Yellowstone MCI MC7(?) park bus in the parking lot.  The driver was a young lady and she told us that they had 30 of these buses at one time but only six are left and they are going to be sold next year.  She thought they would sell for about $1,700 and she was saving up to buy one to convert to an RV!  She thought they were going to replace them with MCI “D” models, but wasn’t sure if that meant 102D3s or something else.

An older Prevost H3-45 operated  by Le Bus.

An older Prevost H3-45 operated by Le Bus.

We saw a lot of 45′ tour buses in YNP.  The vast majority were Prevost H3-45s, both 4- and 2-windshield vintage, although the 4-windshield coaches were newer than ours and almost certainly had DD Series 60 engines.  We also saw a few Setra, VanHool, and MCI coaches.

 

 

A geyser at the edge of Yellowstone Lake in the West Thumb area.  Even the lake is geothermally active.

A geyser at the edge of Yellowstone Lake in the West Thumb area. Even the lake is geothermally active.

Crossing the Continental Divide.

Crossing the Continental Divide.

Continuing on from the Grant Village area we drove to the Old Faithful area, crossing the Continental Divide, which runs from the southeast corner of the park to the western boundary south of the West Entrance.  The Old Faithful geyser is the centerpiece and namesake of a geothermal basin that contains over 50% of the geysers in the world.  It is also the most developed place in YNP, and the most crowded.  I don’t know the actual figures, but it felt like most of the people in the park were there.

The cabins at the Old Faithful Lodge.  I stayed in one of these 50 years ago.

The cabins at the Old Faithful Lodge. I stayed in one of these 50 years ago.

We had lunch at the Old Faithful Lodge cafeteria.  The cabins I stayed in 50 years ago are still there, behind and to the left of the Lodge, and are still NPS brown.  We strolled around the area, finally selected a vantage point, and waited for the eruption of Old Faithful, and it was worth the wait.

 

 

The Old Faithful geyser in action.

The Old Faithful geyser in action.

Patience is more than a virtue in YNP, it is an absolute necessity.  We eventually extracted ourselves from the gridlock of people and vehicles at Old Faithful and continued on towards Madison.  Just before getting to Madison we took a small one-way side road through Firehole Canyon.  It was a “gorgeous” drive, in every sense of the word.  We did not realize that towards the end of this road was the Firehole River Swimming area.  Lots of people did, however, and it was mobbed with cars parked along the road such that it was barely passable.

Artists Paintpots from above.

Artists Paintpots from above.

We did not stop at Madison and continued on north towards Norris.  We stopped at Artists Paintpots and hiked up onto a high hill for a view down on the geothermal features.  Like the Old Faithful area, Norris is also an extensive geothermal area within YNP, but apparently lots of the folks who were not at Old Faithful were at Norris.  In other words, there was no place to park.  (This turns out to be a common problem throughout the park at this time of year and even though park regulations do not permit stopping/parking on the roads people park wherever they can and sometimes impede traffic as a result, especially if there is a wildlife sighting.)  One of the downsides to not staying in the park overnight is that it takes a certain amount of time to get to and from the place; in our case approximately 90 minutes from Wapiti to Fishing Bridge, our point of access to everything else.  Even if you leave early and return late, this limits your time in the park, and pretty much rules out being there at dawn or dusk, which are ideal times to see the park (good light) and wildlife (that’s when they are most active).  Although the park is open 24/7, and people are out driving on the roads at night, it is not a good idea, and this is when most accidents occur.

Lone Bison on a hill south of Canyon Village.

Lone Bison on a hill south of Canyon Village.

Twelve miles east from Norris is Canyon Village, and this leg of the Grand Loop is the crossover of the figure-8.  On the drive over we took the Virginia Cascade side road.  These side roads are usually narrow, twisty, and one-way.  They provide an opportunity to get off of the Grand Loop road, away from the traffic and crowds, and close to some special feature.  In this sense they are a more intimate experience, though not on a par with backcountry hiking.  Canyon Village is the developed area just north of the Yellowstone Falls and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. These are major features of the park and require a significant amount of time to see.  They are also best seen in the morning, so we headed south towards Fishing Bridge.

The Bison go where they want, when they want; it’s their park, not ours.

The Bison go where they want, when they want; it’s their park, not ours.

The Grand Loop runs along the west side of the Yellowstone River through a prime wildlife area, and we finally encountered a sizable bison herd at a spot where there is a broad grassy area.  We also encountered a major traffic jam.  Bison are certainly something that people come to see, but it took us about 40 minutes to go a mile or so.  When we got to one of (overcrowded) pullouts we saw lots of people with spotting scopes and cameras with telephoto lenses, all mounted on tripods.  Glancing in their general direction we finally saw the focus of their attention; a Grizzly bear moving north along the high bank.  Although Bison are large, wild, unpredictable animals, and potentially very dangerous, it’s the Grizzly bear and the wolf that most capture the essence of Yellowstone as a wild place.  (BTW: YNP is a truly international destination.  We heard plenty of people speaking languages other than English, and Asian tourists were numerous, or at least more obvious based on appearance. We also talked to some of the young folks working food service, and except for the cashiers, most did not appear to be native English speakers.)

Eventually we got back to Fishing Bridge where we topped off our tank.  On the way back to the East Entrance we took a side road up to Lake Butte Lookout, which we missed driving in.  From this vantage point we were able to see the Tetons 80 miles to the south.  The drive back to Wapiti was in the gradually fading light of evening, and it was dusk by the time we got back to our coach around 8:15 PM.