Some days you just have to eat ice cream for lunch!
We all awoke to Gene Autrey singing “Oh Give Me a Home Where
the Buffalo Roam”--- Jerry’s new discovery to replace an alarm clock.
We said goodbye to Skyline Guest Ranch and headed out of
Cooke City and into Yellowstone National Park, officially beginning our tour of
this country’s first national park.
You say Bison: we
saw thousands of those big boys (and girls) and calves and stories of gorings
galore (actually four by the time we got there). There is no accounting for the
stupidity of people with cameras and iPhones. At first it was the wandering
herds along the Lamar and Hayden valleys then a few just wandering down the
road. Wherever they were, tourists like us pulled over to get a better look.
Petrified trees:
Say a 5 million year-old one that is a Redwood, yes, just like the ones in
California. Lots of changes over the years.
Why is it called
Yellowstone you may ask: The expanse of those valleys that just humble the
soul made way for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This is where you figure out
why it’s called Yellowstone---stone canyons carved and eroded and turned into ochre-hued
cliffs. The meandering Yellowstone River narrows into two of the park’s
signature waterfalls. Our ¾ mile downward hike to the brink of the Lower Falls
that gush and crash and make your heart stop…especially with four kids looking
over the chain link and stone fence. Only Papa got queasy. Then up to the Upper
Falls for more of the same but a shorter hike and fewer people.
Explain Ice Cream for
Lunch: By then there was way too much to see and do to stop for a picnic,
so, hence the idea of ice cream for lunch. Maya treated and we were off.
Bull Elk: Are
huge. Really huge and when that baby is about 25 yards away, it looks, well,
really huge. And we all saw it!
Is that a Grizzly
Bear or just hundreds of people? The Rangers call this a Bear Jam. But why
not, this is why to come to the park! This was our first Grizzly, and I never
would have seen it if not for the kindness of someone with a spotter lens. There
in the distance of Hayden Valley amidst meadows and the meandering Yellowstone
River was a Grizzly. Our first.
Lake Hotel and Lake
Lodge: We got our reservations at the historic Lake Hotel that had just
gone through a 28.5 million dollar renovation. In addition to structural work,
Xanterra in cooperation with the park service has redone the main hotel public
spaces, dining room, bar, etc. and really spiffed up guestrooms to be more of a
“couples” hotel. We are definitely not in the couple mode, so we got two rooms
in the non-renovated Sandpiper Annex that worked out just fine. By the way,
that annex will be updated next year (and there are cabins too). Let me say
that the interior of the hotel has been tastefully updated, opened up and since
it had been updated numerous times (including by the architect Robert Reamer,
it was a challenge to decide just what era to go with. (Make sure to catch the
5:30 tour by Michelle Trapper who is writing a history of the hotel.) PS I will
write more about Lake Hotel renovation when I get back to Bend.
I mention Lake Lodge because for families this is THE place
to eat. The wonderful cafeteria caters to families, and they really helped with
our crew. Also, I love the rustic, log main Lake Lodge that is going through
some preservation work right now. The huge great hall has a couple of wood
burning fireplaces and enough atmosphere to make anyone hankering for the Wild
West to be happy. There are cabins available here and the lake views from both
the Hotel and Lodge are spectacular.
Back to Wild Life: And
I don’t necessarily mean traveling with four kids. After breakfast at the
aforementioned Lake Lodge Cafeteria, we headed to our first Ranger program Mud
Pot Ramble that took us through more stinky ,bubbling, mudpots than I knew were
in the park. (Remember, I spent all of my time in archives and lodges when
researching my books.) The 1-½ hour program was a bit too long for our crew,
but Maya stuck it out because she is the official Nana & Papa Photographer
and loves this stuff.
OK. Here is it the ultimate
Bear Jam. Papa decided we should go back to the Hayden Valley and we hit
the jackpot!!!!! The day before a wolf had killed an elk just 25 yards from the
road. I don’t know, but I think it was in his contract. So, this gigantic
Grizzly chased off the wolf, buried the elk and was feeding on the carcass.
This made for some amazing viewing. We had two sets of binos and Maya’s lens.
Once again, the kindness of another ogler with a spotter lens gave each of us a
really up close and personal look at this. You think a thousand people, an NPS
ambulance (just in case), traffic NPS “police” would be a zoo with hundreds of
cars and motorcycles and RVs but NO! It was a blast. Everyone was having such a
great experience and we were sharing it with people from all over the world.
Just amazing. Yes, the national parks were indeed “America’s Best Idea”.
After all of the excitement, we chilled out along the Nez
Perce Ford tributary of the Yellowstone, picnicked, waded, skipped rocks and
unwound from a fabulous day.
Oh, yes dinner: As I write this blog, the
kids (all dressed up and killing time with Papa) are listening to Chamber Music
in the Solarium as we await our 7:45 fancy-dinner-of-the-trip reservations. I know
it will be great. How can it be anything else?
Off to Old Faithful and the Upper Geyer Basin in the
morning!
