Hello Friends,
On June, 5, 2008 my wife and I made our way south from Livingstone, Montana to the famous Yellowstone National Park, the worlds first ever National Park. Most of the park is in Wyoming, but there is a tiny corner which does extend into Montana. The large snow-capped peaks in the distance were certainly a fantastic welcoming scene.
We entered using the Mammoth Hot Springs Gate near the small town of Gardiner, Montana. Soon after entering, we began seeing our first "Yellowstone" wildlife. The cute Uinta Ground-Squirrels were playing around at our feet and our first large herd of Bison was encountered. This powerful beast gores several visitors each year within the park, a good reason to give them ample space.
Yellowstone is not necessarily known for it's abundant birdlife, but we did manage to find several new birds for my wife. Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Gray Jay, Townsend's Solitaire and Cassin's Finch are just a few that come to mind. Mammals proved to be more prolific and within a few hours we had found Elk, Pronghorn Antelope, Mule Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Moose, Bison, Yellow-bellied Marmot and Coyote.
Certainly the biggest highlight of our entire trip was an enormous Grizzly Bear. This majestic creature was walking along the slope of a small hill near the Yellowstone River. We watched him ripping into the ground, probably trying to get at some small rodent or even a tasty bite-sized root. We were one of the first cars on the scene and had excellent views of this super huge and somewhat scary animal for about an hour. Magdalena was gobsmacked to say the least!
We returned to our lovely camping area and nearly froze to death in the brutal cold of night. I'm not sure what is worse, seeing a Grizzly before going to bed or not being able to feel your feet anymore! We could only thank God for the extra blankets my mom put in for us, way to go mamasita!
We woke up the next morning and found ice all over our tent. No wonder we were frozen to the bone! The temperature had changed considerably and we began wondering if we could handle another night in these new conditions. However, we still had lots to look for within the park.
Our plan for the day included taking in the interesting and historic Old Faithful Geyser and cruising along near Lake Yellowstone in route back to our campground. But while we were watching Old Faithful blow it's top it began to snow. We decided it might be best to return to the tent and find out how the weather was there. We returned to find our tent under 4-6 inches of snow. The tent poles could no longer hold up under the weight. We began to think of an exit plan.
After consulting some local officials, we decided it would be best to leave Yellowstone sooner than later. So instead of crossing one of the many high-pass exit routes, we back tracked thru the Mammoth Hot Springs Gate once again. After leaving the park and a very long drive, we found ourselves in the small town of Lovell, Wyoming. This small town is located just a few miles west of the Bighorn Mountains. Our next destination...
Good Birding, STEVEN EASLEY
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