A Griz and Some Large Rocks

This morning we woke up around 6:30am, and left the Absaroka Mountain Lodge by 7:15. On our way back into the park, we were able to see some of the wildfire damage from the night before. Since it was now light outside, all you could actually see was smoke. So we kept moving and headed for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

We finally reached the Canyon area by about 8:30am. First we went to Artist Point at the end of the South Rim Drive. Artist Point provides a stunning and picturesque view of the Lower Falls and is one of the most famously photographed/painted spots in the park. Then, we backtracked about a ½ mile to another spot along South Rim Dr. to see some additional views. We did a short trail called Uncle Tom’s Trail down to a closer view of the Lower Falls. It involved 328 steps each way, so on the way down not so bad…but on the way back up, it was a beating on the quads. We continued for a short time on the South Rim Trail until we reached a viewing point of the Upper Falls (slightly upstream on the Yellowstone River from the Lower Falls). Although they are both striking the Lower Falls is the larger and more impressive of the two. After finishing in this area, we drove a short ways along the main park rode and took a short trail down to the brink of the Upper Falls. This viewing point allows you to look directly over the top of the waterfall as it crashes to the canyon below. It is pretty amazing to witness the force of the water as it tumbles over the edge.

By the time we finished in the canyon area, it was nearing 11am. So, we moved onward to the Northeast part of the park. Since it was still a bit early for lunch, we decided to do the Yellowstone River Picnic Trail loop. It was a 4 mile trail that skirted the edge of the canyon and worked its way through somewhat untamed grassy meadows. At one point during the route, we came upon a half dozen ospreys gliding throughout the canyon. The hike itself was not very challenging because it only had about a 300 foot elevation gain. However, the entire trail was very exposed to the elements: the blazing sun and the gusty winds. Winds occasionally gusted to 40 mph, causing us to feel a bit unbalanced at times. But luckily, it was blowing us away from the canyon as opposed to towards it. After about 3 miles the trail finally looped back around to the main road. But, we still had to hike over a half mile on the side of the road to get back to our car. By this time, it was 1:30pm, and we were both very hungry.

We quickly made some sandwiches and ate those at a picnic table. Then, we decided to continue east towards the Lamar Valley. Just about a mile from where we had been hiking, we noticed a massive number of cars pulled over. So, assuming it was something interesting, we stopped. Supposedly, there was a grizzly bear that had been hanging out in this meadow for a few days. We waited for about 5 minutes or so, and didn’t see a sign of anything happening. So, we got back in the car. As soon as we started to pull out, Justin spotted the bear, so we quickly pulled over again. We watched the bear from a safe distance for about 15 minutes, and Justin took several pictures. It was definitely one the coolest things we’ve seen so far on this trip. It’s just not very often that a bear just hangs out in an open field. The special thing about this particular field (at least to the bear variety) was the presence of a bison carcass. I'm sure the bear would nibble on it occasionally, but more than anything, he was hanging around because he had established ownership over the carcass. And from the mutterings we heard from the other people around us, he would continue to stay there and guard the carcass until he lost interest, which could take several days.

We finally decided to move on as opposed to camping out for the rest of the afternoon like many of the other people that spend weeks in the park just scoping for wildlife. Once in the Lamar Valley, we of course, were hoping to see a wolf. But you have to be extremely lucky and be in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to happen for us on this trip. We did, however, see many more herds of bison scattered throughout the valley. Then, as we were retracing the route back, we passed a happy little coyote trotting along the side of the road. Because we were both traveling in opposite directions, we weren’t able to snap a picture. But, we’ve seen coyotes before, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.

We had just a bit more time to kill before heading to our hotel, but we were too tired to try another trail. So, we decided to check out the Petrified Tree which was a complete waste of time. Then, we took a drive on this one-way gravel road called Blacktail Plateau Drive. Supposedly, there were some good chances of seeing wildlife. Unfortunately, all we got were several false alarms. There were lots of big rocks that resembled animals. We joked about if the rocks had been planted there on purpose.

After these two disappointing ventures, we drove back south towards Canyon Village. There were a couple of spots where lots of cars were stopped along the road, but we honestly couldn’t see anything so we kept moving. At Canyon Village, we cut west onto Norris Canyon Road. Then from there, we briefly went south on the main loop before continuing towards the west entrance on Madison Junction Rd. We stopped a couple of times on the way out of the park to see some mule deer resting and feeding along the Madison River.

Once we got to West Yellowstone, we kind of had a hard time finding the Moose Creek Inn that we were supposed to stay at. However, once we found it, it just didn’t quite fit the description and pictures we had seen on the website. So, we drove down the road and checked into a more typical hotel called Yellowstone Lodge with a similar price point and cancelled our other reservation. It was definitely a successful switchover because we now have some of those luxuries that we have not had for a few days such as a TV, an ironing board, a mini-fridge and free wi-fi.

For dinner we drove a few blocks to the main area of town, and we managed to find the one Chinese restaurant in town. We were both pretty thrilled for the change of cuisine because Chinese food is like our comfort food. So, Justin had some pork dumplings and Mongolian beef, and I had egg drop soup and almond chicken. It was definitely a satisfying meal. Afterwards, we went to some of the souvenir shops to browse around and buy some magnets for our fridge at home. Then, we went back to the hotel and caught up on some Olympic watching.

Tomorrow’s focus will be on the Northwest side of the park with almost a full day of thermal features.