Well this was a day to head out and explore. The only decision was what direction I would go. I decided to head east and to the town of Cody Wyoming for a little trip to a Wal-Mart. I intended on stopping at several places on the way out of the park. Now for all those that think this is a short trip, well it takes around an hour to get out of the park and another hour to get to Cody. The trip took me around Lake Yellowstone and over Sylvan Pass to get to the east entrance of Yellowstone. The two hour trip took me four and half hours because I stopped and saw the beauty of the park along the way. My first stop was just down the road at Kepler Cascades. Now I do not know what the difference is between a water fall and a cascade as they are both impressive and boy was the water running fast. There is still much snow up here and it is melting gradually. So the streams, rivers, falls and cascades are running very fast. When I stepped out of the car at the cascades the temperature was 41 degrees but the sun was out and it was a very clear day. I also found out by leaving after breakfast that I would not have much traffic to contend with and not many tourists would be at the stopping spots along my route.
After leaving the falls I headed toward West Thumb, which is a thermal area on the banks of Lake Yellowstone. Climbing in altitude as I drove along I got a glimpse of Lake Yellowstone and how it was ringed with mountains. It was a very beautiful site and I decide to stop by Duck Lake for a few pictures. I can tell you this, pictures cannot do the view justice. You have to experience the scenes for yourself to understand this. While I stopped to take pictures I decided to look down at a meadow that was close to Duck Lake and low and behold two bears came out of the forest closest to the lake and wandered through the meadow. I ran back to the car and retrieved the binoculars that were lent to me by Frank Gennicks so I could get a closer look at the bears. I promised Frank that if I got eaten by a bear that I would will his binoculars back to him. The bears by that time had crossed the meadow and were heading deeper into the forest. So I decided to continue my travels toward West Thumb. West Thumb is a thermal basin that borders the lake and several of the thermals are actually on the lake edge in the water. The park set up a great walking path for tourists and I took the long route that would take me to the lake’s edge. The view of the lake and the mountains were unbelievable at the lake’s edge. The thermals and geysers were pretty active in the area and the smell of sulfur was pretty strong there. The water was pretty cold but the lake was not frozen over. The otters that live in the lake enjoy staying close to the hot thermal areas as they find plenty to eat there.
After enjoying West Thumb I headed around the lake, which is around 20 miles long and headed to the very fancy Lake Yellowstone Hotel. Turning off the main loop road I headed for the hotel. The hotel faces the lake and the mountains so as you approach the hotel by the road you are approaching the back of the hotel. I took the long way around the hotel so I could park on the lake shore and see the hotel on its good side. I parked the car and stepped out to another breathtaking view of the lake and the mountains. Turning around I see the historic hotel front and by the looks of it I figure I could not afford to stay there, but until they threw me out I would go in and explore. I stepped into the hotel lobby and was taken aback by the furnishings inside. I was completely wrong expecting to see a lodge type hotel as the hotel was furnished with modern furniture, but not so modern as to take it out of the period of the hotel. I walked around acting as if I belonged there. I went into the dining area and the gift shop. But it was the sitting area that I truly loved. This area was set up so guests could face the windows and see the lake and the mountains all the while sitting in some very comfortable leather chairs. How do I know they were comfortable, well I sat down at one of the chairs with the best view and proceeded to text Cathy. It was all I could do to pull myself out of the chair and head back to the lake and the car. A very nice place for sure and I am sure a hard reservation to get at the last minute. I think during the height of the tourist season they are pretty well booked.
Leaving the lake area I headed for the Bridge Bay area and saw where a person could put a boat in and have it docked on the lake. The boats would pass under the bridge and head out onto the lake. It was around this area that another bison was walking down the middle of the road. I mean he was walking the yellow line like he was trying to prove he was not drunk. I stopped the car and waited for him to pass. The road being narrow I did not have much room to move over and just had to wait for him or her to pass. When it came up to the car I had my window down and took a picture. Folks I could have reached out and pulled on its horn. I could even smell the hide of the beast as it passed by my window. Ah the smells of Yellowstone, sulfur and bison hide. J
Turning off the grand loop around Yellowstone I turned onto the highway that would take me out of the park through Sylvan Pass and toward Cody. I climbed steadily in altitude reaching around 8,300 feet. The pass had more snow around it and some of the lakes still had ice on them. After going through several S curves I came around a bend to a most spectacular site. Ahead of me to my right on the other side of the guard rail was around 15 Bighorn Sheep. I slowed my car to a stop right next to the herd and they were about three feet away from my passenger’s side window. After taking several pictures I decided it was time to move as there were a couple of cars behind me, but the lead bighorn made a most spectacular move. With one motion he leaped over the guard rail and right in front of my car. I decide if they were going to play follow the leader I best not move or else I will have bighorn sheep dancing on the hood of my car. So I took a few more pictures and videos of the herd. After a few minutes I decided that the herd was not going to play follow the leader just yet and the lead sheep moved over enough for me to pass. I carefully moved out and said goodbye to the lead sheep next to my window. I can tell you this when I showed the pictures and videos to the folks I work with they were amazed at how close I was able to get to them, as they said mostly the bighorn sheep are pretty skittish.
I decide to eat lunch when I came down out of the pass and I ate lunch by a roaring stream that I think eventually became the Shoshone River. After lunch I headed out of the park. About a half mile after exiting the East Entrance I just about hit a bear. It came up out of the side of the river and crossed in front of me. I put on my breaks and eased the car over to the side so I could take a picture. I looked to my left and the bear stopped just past the edge of the road behind a boulder and lifted itself up on its back two legs. Standing up it looked pretty neat and I hoped it would stay that way until I got my cell phone for a picture, but when I got out of the car it had gone back down on all fours and was making its way up the hill. I managed to get some pictures of it climbing the hill but boy I would have loved pictures of it standing up. I showed the pictures to the folks here and it was too far away for them to tell if it was a black bear or a grizzly, but one woman said the fact that it stood up makes her think it was a grizzly.
After that encounter it was a pretty uneventful trip to Cody Wyoming. The one thing I can say about the drive to Cody is that you can definitely tell when you leave the park as the terrain changes from woods and water to a drier terrain of sage brush and rock. Cody has not changed much since the last time Cathy and I visited it and all I really wanted was to get a lamp at Wal-Mart and to get to a local McDonalds to upload some pictures and videos using their Wi-Fi. Thank you McDonalds for having free Wi-Fi.
The day was pretty beautiful when I left at breakfast but leaving Cody I could see that a front was coming over the mountains. So I decided to not stop anywhere on my way back to the dorm. Sure enough it started to rain on me shortly after Cody and by the time I reached Sylvan Pass it was a mix of rain and snow. The strange thing was when I reached the area where the bighorn sheep were I had three more come down the road at me. I took a nice video of them and then headed back to dorm for dinner. The drive was a little slower than I liked but with the rain and snow I needed to be more cautious. I made it back to the dorm around 5:30 and was in time for dinner. I showed my videos and pictures around to the rest and they wanted to know where I saw the bighorn at as most have never seen one before up close.
Well that is about it for today. Another day off tomorrow and I still have not decided what to do yet. Will see what the weather looks like. I still have not walked around the Old Faithful geyser basin yet and I might just do that. Well you all take care and I will leave you with a line from one of my favorite movies. “Watch your Top Knot”.
p.s. On a personal note I saw on Facebook where Marie Bogard passed away. She was a great lady who cared and prayed for LFCC and all those in the church. She lived to over 100 years old and I know she lived a great life and loved God through it all. Please pray for her family as she will be missed but I know where she is now.
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