Lake Yellowstone Hotel

This is a grand hotel by Lake Yellowstone. It was built in 1891 and has been restored to look like it did in the 1920´s. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Our room was very pretty and had a view of the lake. Plus, there was a really cute bear cub on the bed, which of course I had to bring home with me. The proceeds from the sale of the cubs helps support the Yellowstone Foundation. Too bad the cub wasn´t real.

Kent in front of a Yellow Bus. The original buses started touring Yellowstone in 1936, but they were discontinued in the 1950´s.

When the buses were sold, the Skagway Streetcar Company in Alaska bought 8 of them for its company. In 2001, they returned the vehicles to Yellowstone, and now they are touring again. We didn´t get to ride in one, but we did see one at Mammoth Hot Springs. Looking good, Kent!

Some of us in the Sun Room before dinner. I treated myself to Duck, which was excellent. Afterwards, we had drinks here with Pete and Mel, a young couple from England, while a pianist played the Grand Piano. A wonderful evening.

Arnica Fire

        When we first arrived in Yellowstone, the Arnica Fire was mostly smoke.   This photo was taken from the Lamar Valley, looking toward the fire, on Friday.  Occasionally we could smell the smoke, but it appeared to be a very small fire.  ´

        Studies have shown that small, controlled fires are needed for many of the ecosystems.  So the current trend is to keep it contained but allow it to burn itself out.  

     On Saturday, however, the winds picked up and the day grew hotter, which allowed the fire to grow.  The same weather conditions occurred on Sunday.  Roads had to be closed and more aggressive measures taken.  
     We were scheduled to go to West Yellowstone on Sunday and to Old Faithful, but we couldn´t get there with the road closures.   We ended up staying the night in Gardiner, but no one minded.   The hotel was very nice.  It overlooked a stream, and dinner was great.
      The next day we were able to get to Lake Yellowstone, pictured above.   The fire was clearly visible from there.   As we got closer to the hotel, we could see the sprinklers wetting down the trees in an attempt to keep the hotel safe.   It was an eerie sight.

    If you look closely, you can see the bucket hanging from the helicopter.   The firefighters were getting water from Lake Yellowstone to pour onto the fire.   The weather was forecasted to turn cold and snowy on Wednesday, which would end the fire.   In the meantime, the firefighters worked to contain it. 

       The fire burned approximately 9300 acres, or 14.5 square miles, according to the newspaper I bought.  Fortunately no one was injured, and the fire didn´t damage any structures.  

       The firemen said that if the rain and snow came on Wednesday, it would be a season-ending event.  That´s fireman-speak for ´´the fire will be out soon´´.    And it was.

Norris Geyser and the Dragon´s Mouth

Because of the forest fire, we didn´t make it to see Old Faithful. However, Yellowstone has many lesser-known geysers, vents, mud pots, and other interesting features.
The Norris Geyser Basin had plenty of steamy sites. They were very colorful, and the aroma of sulpher added its own ambiance.

Kent in front of Emerald Spring.

The Dragon Mouth Spring was in a different location, closer to Hayden Valley. It was very noisy and steamy--a great Dragon!

Kent and Janet in Yellowstone

The way we looked most of the time in Yellowstone.

Looking for wolves in Lamar Valley.

Kent with Linda at Artist´s Point.

Grazing

What can I say?  Watching the wildlife graze made us hungry.  
Whenever we stopped to watch, Linda brought out hot coffee and goodies.   We not only came back with great memories--we came back a few pounds heavier.  
Coffee, boysenberry yogurt, and wolves will always go together in my mind.

Yellowstone Afternoons

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When the days warmed up, as they tended to do the week we were there, the animals went back into the woods or their dens or anywhere cool.   So our group used that time to sightsee.
One day we stopped at the Apollinaris Spring.  In the early days of wagon trains and horses, travels could find good drinking water here. 

Some of our group checking it out.

Artist´s Point

A view of the Grand Canyon of the  Yellowstone and the Lower Falls. 

Yellowstone is known for its geological features.

Due to the forest fire, we weren´t able to get to Old Faithful.  Instead, we went to Dragon´s Mouth and the Norris Geyser Basin areas.   We saw lots of mud pots, geysers, and other steamy, smelly things.  They were unique and interesting, but they weren´t wolves. 

Hayden Valley and the Canyon Pack

We stopped at Hayden Valley a number of times, and some of the group hiked into it one afternoon.  It is one of my favorite spots.  For scenic beauty, I think it out shines Lamar.  This photo shows the Yellowstone River meandering through it.  Canadian Geese and ducks were always swimming there.  Nathan said it is usually a good place to find bears, but we didn´t see any.

Wolves were what we wanted to see, and the viewing at Hayden was the best.   The Canyon Pack lives here, and one morning we saw a beautiful grey female and a black pup.  We heard the wolves before we saw them.  A distinctive howl floated through the still morning air.  I had been hoping to hear a howl.  When we were at Lamar, I could see that pup howling, but I couldn´t hear him because of the distance and the wind.  Finally I had heard a wolf!

The wolves were on a hillside that would be on the far right, if the picture extended that far.   We were able to watch them through the scopes, but also through the binoculars.  This pup was very healthy looking, and the adult was beautiful. 

The pup sniffed at everything and played for a while before it went over a hill and disappeared.  The female wolf, however, stayed for a much longer time.  At one point it looked like she was watching for the other members of the pack.   Sage grew here, too, and she rested in that for a while.  Then she began working her way to the right. It looked like she might be checking out brush for small game, but if so, she didn´t find any.  We were able to watch her for quite a long time before she trotted out of sight.  

She was beautiful, and the wolf that I was able to see the best.  I will always remember her.

The Yellowstone River cuts through the Park, reaches Yellowstone Lake, and continues down to the southeast boundary. We went as far as Yellowstone Lake, staying a night at Lake Yellowstone Hotel.    

A very early morning picture of the river. 

The Canyon Pack would be the last wolves we would see.  We saw other animals, including Big Horn Sheep, a Jack Rabbit that dashed across the road in front of the Adventure bus, a small herd of female elk, a couple of coyotes, and maybe a few mountain goats.  I never could see the goats, but some of our group might have.  We went looking for a badger that had been spotted by another group, but we never found him.  But Yellowstone is so beautiful, that just being there was enough (after seeing the wolves, of course).
We had been scheduled to go into West Yellowstone and to Old Faithful.  The fire, however, continues to grow.  Nathan and Linda are keeping tabs on road closures and hoping that we won´t have to be evacuated.     Camping out in the Adventure bus might be more adventure than any of us want!