Red-faced

We awoke in a cocoon of blankets in our tipi and emerged into a frosty wonderland, with a chill in the air and a clear snowline demarcated on the mountains. 

Yellowstone used to lie under 4,000 feet of ice, and we’re grateful that’s no longer the case. That would have necessitated much more than a couple of thin layers and a hat. But we did learn that you can ski here during nearly every month of the year. The rain showers we endured yesterday resulted in two feet of snowfall on some of the taller peaks in the park. 

After a hearty breakfast, we all hopped in the van for a day of eagle-eyed wildlife spotting. Of course, many of the wildlife are abundant. Elk lounged in nearly everyone’s yards and bison were – well, we saw plenty of bison. And that’s a great thing. The bison population dipped as low as about 20 at one point, but through conservation efforts has rebounded to about 6,000 in Yellowstone National Park (with another few thousand around the country).

So, yes, we saw a lot of bison. And we learned a lot about them. The first herd we came across was females and calves. 

The females each weigh in between 1200 and 1500 pounds, while males can weigh around 2000. Males are seen in small bunches (for young bachelors) or alone (for older males). The females stick together. Overall, they have a matriarchal society, can run about 30 mph, and can clear fences despite their size. 

Still, they’re not always agile. They have to rock back and forth several times to get up from the ground (which we got to witness) and they can’t roll all the way over when they wallow because of their humps. Their wallow spots are muddy pits dotting the otherwise green landscape, and they also kick up dust for dust baths. Other key tip: when they have their tail up, they’re getting ready to poop or to charge you. As our guide likes to say, they’re getting ready to charge or discharge.

Our next stop was to see one of Yellowstone’s petrified trees. There used to be four standing together here, but the others were chipped away at to create souvenirs. The late one at this site now stands behind a fence. Petrified trees such as these can be millions of years old and form when silica slowly replaces the tree matter. There are apparently a bunch of other petrified trees on Specimen Ridge, which we sadly didn’t get to see. 

We continued to drive through the park, venturing from Blacktail Plateau into the Lamar Valley as we continued to seek wildlife. Orange-tinged willow bushes bordered the Pelican River (yes, white pelicans flock here in the summer), which wound beside the road. As the morning fog burned off, the tips of the snow-capped mountains came into view and were breathtaking. We passed other rocky monuments, including Soda Butte, a formation of travertine that no longer spouts steam but does leak stinky sulfur gas.

The most breathtaking scene, however, was the wildlife. We watched a coyote pick its way through the sage bush 30 feet above a bison herd. (Can you spot the coyote in the photo? It was incredibly well camouflaged). 

We also saw two black bears – one a brownish color and one a cinnamon color – foraging for plants by the side of the road.

Apparently, they’re big fans of glacier lilies. Finally, we saw a huge crowd of cars pulled over and learned there was a grizzly bear tearing into a carcass. Ravens swirled overhead and hopped close to the bear, only to have it charge and force them to fly off every 10 minutes or so. The bear was just close enough to be seen clearly through our binoculars. We watched it flip over the carcass several times, and several times it raised its bloody face to stare at the assembled crowd (zoom in on the dark spot to appreciate the red face).

Finally, we went on a few short hikes. These brought more wildlife sightings, including a marmot who was incredibly expressive and also showed us his stretching routine. We also saw another ground squirrel. Our hike wound up to a nearby waterfall, which was lovely.

We were then delayed by a bison traffic jam...

Our final stop of the day was an old tipi ring from when Yellowstone was home to Native Americans. This particular tribe was known as the sheep-eaters, since they had no horses and their main food source was sheep. You can still see the circle of stones in the ground that marked the outline of their tipi. 

As we hiked back from the tipi ring, our guide also pointed out the conglomerate rocks, which were made when volcanic eruptions triggered mudslides and the mud, ash, and small rocks mixed together to form large rock-like structures. 

And now a few more photos... first some female bighorn sheep

And then a very pretty pronghorn

The confluence of the Gardiner and Yellowstone Rivers

And a pregnant mule deer who squeezed into a fenced area of flourishing vegetation

Spotted: bison hair. They shed their winter coats in May of each year, rock a short ‘do until August, and then start regrowing their shaggy winter locks. Because they’re all patchy right now as they shed, chunks of hair can be found dangling from tree bark or just about anywhere. We happened upon a couple such tufts during our travels today, and we put them to good use.