Vacation Adventure - Part 2

As we arrived back at the parking lot, we noticed found our snow covered car and started the process of unpacking and repacking on the go. We grabbed some food from our food cache in the car and immediately hit the road. Our plan for today was to drive the big loop around Yellowstone (something like 100 miles) and then find another backcountry campsite that we 4-5 miles in that we would call home for the evening.



We had camped in the Old Faithful region the previous evening, and our ultimate destination tonight would be the Canyon area. The ranger at the back country permit office had told us the wildlife was abundant in the Canyon area, including wolves & bears two things we were interesting in catching a glimpse of while in the park. That meant our route for the day would be Old Faithful area to Madison to Norris to Mammoth Springs to Tower Falls and finally to Canyon. Yellowstone is a big park, and we were doing the accelerated tour per the usual for our vacations.



We stopped at the big attractions in the area, checking out what we could see. The big problem we were having is that due to the chilly temps and the super hot thermal features most of the large geyser pools couldn't be seen very clearly as the steam arising from them made viewing very difficult. We did our best to try and catch a bit of wind to carry the steam off briefly so that we could get a closer look, but it was pretty clear that we wouldn't be seeing Yellowstone in the best conditions this time around.







We made our way to the Norris area, taking in the views and hitting a couple scenic driving detours along the way. I've heard horror stories about Yellowstone roads becoming gridlock in the peak tourists months, but we had little problem zooming in and out of parking lots and side roads.





As we blazed through the park we got to witness lots of animal activity. We saw tons of elk, buffalo, deer and a couple moose on the first day. We kept our eyes open in all the open fields and valleys looking for the elusive bear and wolves, but no luck so far.

I've seen hundreds, probably thousands, of buffalo in my life but something about seeing these creatures in the wild made them feel very different this time. On our first back country hike to our campsite Jill had walked to within about 30 feet of one without even noticing it. We had been warned multiple times that buffalo were by far the most unpredictable animals in the park and to steer very clear of them. When you see one in the back country and realize how enormous they really are, that warning about running 35mph and goring people becomes very prevalent in your mind.



We continued north reaching the area surrounding Mammoth Springs just after lunch time. There are a lot of things to see between the Norris and Mammoth area. A lot of Yellowstone isn't what I'd called "pretty", its almost a scorched Earth looking place at times, but the landscape is certainly interesting and worth checking out. Finally we got a glimpse at some of the amazing and unusual colors the thermal features offered, but as you can see the weather was still pretty nasty.







As we started to leave Mammoth Springs township, we got to see a big herd of elk grazing on the lush grass near the establishments. One big bull elk was king of this heard, bugling to let all know this group was all his.

What happened next was not only quite unexpected but VERY eye-opening. As an older gentlemen in a PT Cruiser drove up to the curb to get a close shot of the elk. Without much provocation, the bull elk came sternly charging towards the PT Cruiser. Jill & I were literally about 15 feet behind the PT Cruiser waiting to turn left as traffic passed. The elk put his enormous antlers down and starting crushing the passenger side of the PT Cruiser. Confused, and I'm sure a bit scared, the older gentlemen started to get out of his car. Everyone in the area shouted at him to get back in the car, and thankfully he did. The elk proceeded to just gouge the side of his car before the guy finally figured out to get the heck out of there. Picture that guy on the right of the picture below smashing the side of your car. Not fun I'm sure.



As we witnessed this event, I was thinking "We're next in line if this guy drives off". I was anxious to get the heck out of the way of that elk, and luckily I caught a break in traffic and zoomed away from the scene. After that incident though, Jill & I were both much more cautious. Its easy to get lulled into thinking wildlife see enough people/cars to not be threatened, but these are still wild animals and mating season can be a tense time for these guys.

After grabbing some lunch at Mammoth Springs, we turned east and headed toward the Tower Falls area. The drive between these two areas was easily the most scenic views of the park, and this area really has some beautiful countryside. One thing you can be assured of in National Parks is that when you see a bunch of cars stopped on the side of the road, there is some wildlife that is causing the stoppage and Yellowstone is certainly no exception.

We came upon a huge herd of buffalo near a pond toward Tower Falls. We stopped and snapped some pics as we watched the herd amble along.





We hopped back in the car leaving the traffic behind and headed off towards Tower Falls. As we left Mammoth Springs I thought I had noticed a sign mentioning a road closure between Tower Falls and Canyon, but I wasn't 100% sure so we pressed on. Jill double checked the park map, which simply said the road between the two areas was "Closed until at least 2005". Interesting development, but we kept going as we were determined to cover the park as best we could. Besides we were in a rental car, so if we needed to jump a bridge or off-road to get to our destination we could right? Maybe I should have gotten that insurance....Hmmm...







As we got to Tower Falls, our fears we confirmed. The road between Tower Falls and Canyon was closed, due to some unknown reason. Not so good as daylight was fading fast. We were only about 10 miles from the Canyon area, but since we would have to backtrack around, it would likely take us at least 2 hours. Back country camping this evening was not looking like a reality.

And if you can believe it, despite all the pictures and endless babble this only gets us to about 3pm. I'll add the conclusion to the story in Part 3, followed shortly by Part 4 (The Grand Teton Experience).

Tune in then, same bat time, same bat channel.