Back in the USA - Yellowstone National Park

It has been a little while since my last update so firstly let me catch you up on what has happened since Calgary. After Calgary we made our way back to Vancouver via the southern route along the US border. we drove through some neat little towns and of course the scenery was beautiful again. I missed the opportunity to have some grilled corn on the cob in one of those small towns as I remembered too late. I had my very first corn on the cob in Canada about 30 years ago so I thought it would be nice to "relive" the moment and close the cycle, but alas it did not happen.

Speaking of food, here are some sample photos from what we had. Starting with breakfast at EOB in Calgary on our last day. I had the eggs "Benny" with fruit and Simone had a scrambled egg omelet.

In Hope we ducked into the Home Restaurant for lunch (they were very busy) and Simone had the chicken Cesar whilst I had a Schnitzel with mushroom sauce, mash and veggies. As dessert we bought three different slices of pie to go because they looked awesome in the display. We had those that evening and they were delicious.

Back in Vancouver we went to the Savary Island Pie Company, a truly family run business that specialises in all things pastry, especially pie as the name suggests. We sat down at the "bar" since all tables were taken and we got to watch the kitchen where bread was baked, pies were made and warm meals were prepared. Very interesting and as a bonus we got some "offcuts" of strawberry & rhubarb pie for free :)

Simone had an apple pie with vanilla icecream and a porridge.

From Vancouver we departed by Greyhound bus to Seattle and arrived there at about 7pm. After going though the anal retentive border crossing again (makes you feel sooo welcome to the US) where the custom's guy didn't seem to grasp the concept of anything that is out of the tourist norm ("we are staying for 4 months" - "how??") we had 4.5 hours to spend at the Seattle bus station.

For anyone who has not traveled via Greyhound or other long distance bus: you get to see the weirdos of society. Some people look like they belong in a mental institution, some look like they are on crack (and possibly are), some are just the dregs of society. Which is why the Greyhound employee at the counter there seemed so surprised when he saw us, "you look so normal" was the quote I believe. Best memory of Seattle bus station: Greyhound guy dancing behind the counter when "Call Me Maybe" played on the radio :)

We left Seattle at 11.30pm on a night bus to Spokane.

Our bus at one of the night stops. This was at 1.30am. At this stage I'd like to point out that some people seem to have no sense of common decency whatsoever. You think on a bus, especially a bus that drives through the night, you would be quiet. You know, people may want to sleep. But apparently some people are either completely rude or socially retarded, because we had some guys in the back talking almost the entire time. Talking in a volume you would use on the street with traffic nearby. Fuckers.

After arriving in Spokane at 5am, we had three hours to kill before we could pick up our rental car at 8am. Thankfully the office was only a couple of blocks away and the station guy was very helpful and arranged to store our luggage for us whilst we pick up the car.

As we need to pick up Nicole on our way I booked a full size car, and we got a Chevy Impala, much to Simone's excitement. It looks similar to the photo below. It's a nice ride, all three suitcases fit in the boot, but the driver's compartment is a bit crammed according to the expert. It's got good zip in it thanks to the V6 engine.

So we left Spokane that day and drove to Missoula, Montana where we stayed for the night.

After Missoula we drive all the way to Gardiner, which is located just outside the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. With some luck we were able to book a room for us in a motel there (even though it later turned out Simone had already booked accommodation for one night in a different place at the west entrance, but forgot). So we have two nights here and today just extended for another night. That evening we drove into the park to try and catch some wolves in Lamar Valley, which I read was a good spot.

Our first wildlife encounter in the park was a bison, just leisurely walking on the side of the road. 

Turns out they are very common in the park and we had to stop multiple times to let herds cross the road.

And whilst I don't have a photo, I can say that that night I saw my very first wild wolf in its natural habitat. The first stop we made in Lamar Valley was a bust, nothing happened there and some people had been there for hours. But then some women came along and told me about a bunch of people just 4 minutes down the road that had seen a wolf just a few minutes before, so we drove there. There were quite a few cars there and some guys with scopes, including people from the wolf watchers group. The guy let me have a look through his scope so I could see the alpha male wolf across the valley close to the treeline. Even though he was so far away it was still an exciting event for me.

At around 9pm we arrived back in Gardiner and went to a place called Rosie's for dinner. Simone had the dry rub steak and I had buffalo meatloaf, both dishes as well as the appetizer of spinach and artichoke dip were great. The dip was the best of its kind we've had so far.

Today (12th) it was an early start for us as I wanted to check out another valley called Hayden Valley for wolf activity. So we got up at 6am and arrived in the valley at about 7.45am. The fog was still out in force and made for some awesome scenery when the sun came up. In fact most of the rivers and lakes had mist rising up from them as the water was warm from the hot springs and thermal activity, against the cold air of below 0C. We stopped to take some shots. 

We arrived at a spot where a number of cars were already present, and it turns out some people had been there for two hours already. But the valley was completely covered in fog so nobody could see anything. After about 30 mins the fog began to lift and we saw some bison across the valley, including a dying male that had been there for a couple of days and which people hoped would attract bears or wolves. Once again all the action was quite far away so my lens didn't have enough zoom to get close enough t make out details. I took some sample shots of some cranes (birds), which were about halfway to the treeline where the wolves usually are. The photo below gives you an idea of how far away we are talking about. The two black dots in the middle are the two cranes.

Simone had picked a higher vantage point :)

The treeline in the center of the photo below is where we saw two wolves going for a stroll, and once again one of the guys with a big scope let people have a look through. This one was actually closer than the one the night before so we could very clearly see the wolf's features this time. The ranger at the scene told us that the day before the pack brought out the two pups for a play.

This is the kind of scope some people had (not the exact model but you get an idea of size). That kind of scope will set you back a cool $3000 US.

 After the wolves we went to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone to see the two waterfalls and of course the canyon they're in. The photo below is of the lower fall.

This one is the upper fall.

On the way to our next destination we saw several cars pulled up and after examination of the scene we saw a coyote, trying its luck to catch a mouse or other small critter in the grass. He/she was watching the ground very intensely but didn't catch anything while we were there. The distance this time allowed for some photos!

Our final planned destination in the park for the day was the Old Faithful geyser. 

Today the 13th we got up early again. The day before we had missed a few photo opportunities in the early morning due to going looking for wolves, so this morning we made up for it and stopped at all the places we drove by yesterday. Today was to be a special day in which luck (and maybe Karma?) played a big role. But more on that later. Sunrise over Yellowstone.

The rivers and lakes give off steam in the morning as they are warm from the thermal activity. Makes for a great spooky scenery in the morning!

This morning it was -6C and there was frost on the plants.

Crystal clear water, the steam makes it look a bit foggy.

Simone stuck her hand in to warm up :)

So: as we were driving we noticed three cars pulled over and we slowed down to have a look what those people stopped for - they were standing on the side of the road with serious photo gear. And then I spotted what they were looking at: a grey wolf was strolling on the side of the hill close to the road! One of my dreams had come true today: to see a wild wolf in its natural habitat close up. She was about 15m away from us and didn't take much notice of us, or the guys jumping back in their cars as she walked past. It was a matter of keeping up with her to take photos! At the second stop she had actually crossed the road behind us and was on the other side, and gave us a bit of a look!

Then she crossed over again and walked into a clearing in the forest and behind a hill. We frantically drove to the next clearing to wait for her. But she must have gone a different way, we never saw her again. Afterwards we stopped at the Canyon visitor center and I asked if they could ID the wolf for me. After I showed them the photo (which they quite liked) the ranger said without hesitation: "that's the alpha female of the canyon pack". So not only had I seen my first wild wolf close up, but it was an alpha too! Amazing. Words really cannot describe how I felt after that experience.

As you can imagine I have taken heaps of photos as quickly as I could, some are below.

That look.

Through the fog.

Into the clearing.

Simone waiting at the next clearing - unfortunately in vain.

So after that experience and getting some breakfast at the Canyon Village we made our way to the first planned stop, the Yellowstone Lake. Whilst driving there we noticed some cars again, parked close to a river. So we pulled over and we saw a coyote on the river bank in the distance, walking towards us. So we simply sat down on the side of the road and waited with our cameras poised.

Not only did he come our way, but he also came towards us from the river, allowing for great close shots. I'd say he was about 15m away (and seemingly ignoring the douchebag photographer who had walked towards him with his big setup and who had parked himself about 10m away from the coyote, way in breach of the official distance of 100 yards (~90m) you need to keep if you are approaching the animal. If the animal comes towards you as was the case here with us, you can remain in your spot as long as you do not block the animal's path or make it change direction due to your presence.

After my day had already been made by the wolf, it was getting better and better it seems! So we drove on to our destination, but we stopped again as we saw some geysers and we walked around  and saw heaps of colourful geysers and pools.

Then we finally made it to Yellowstone Lake, which is massive!

Some bison enjoying the morning sun.

At the upper geyser basin, our second planned stop, we spent a good amount of time walking around and taking in all the beautiful geysers and pools. Some had crystal clear water in them and looked just amazing!

Old faithful again, this time from a different angle which actually showed the water and not just steam. Plus all the crowd was on the other side, bonus!

Animated gif of Old Faithful blowing.

 

This is grand geyser blowing, it blows once every 2 hours (roughly), and we waited for a little while but moved on, then we saw it blowing in the distance. Doh! But at least we saw it at all. It's the largest predictable pool geyser in the world.

Our final planned stop as the middle geyser basin which is home to the grand prismatic spring.  An osprey was our first shot on site.

There are several springs on site, all marvelous in colour and/or clarity.

The grand prismatic spring. Can't fit it in one frame. The colours are amazing, so vibrant!

The hot water takes its toll.

A stream flowing from the springs into the river below.

On the way out, through what Simone and I call "giant's playground". It looks like some giants had a tanty and just threw some rocks onto the landscape. Very cool.

So this was it. Yellowstone National Park has amazed us, made us appreciate the fragility and power of nature, has made a dream come true, has simply blown us away. What an extraordinary place, and we still have only seen a small part of it after three days. How anyone can be here for a single day and claim to have seen Yellowstone is beyond me. A very special place for sure.