Yellowstone Day 1

We had to go all the way up route 78 back to I90 and then down 89 to get into Yellowstone proper. The drive wasn't all that bad though. The views of the mountains and surrounding farm land were stunning. Once we got off I90 in Livingston it was only about an hour to the gate of Yellowstone.

We had barely made it through the Roosevelt Arch when we had our first wildlife encounter. A small herd of elk stood alongside the road, watching the cars go by. They were manky and mangy, but it was neat to see them. We continued up the road to the visitors center where we made plans for the rest of the day. We would drive to the far eastern corner of the park. There we would stop the car at the gate where the road was closed and walk in to Tower Falls. The walk would be two and a half miles both ways, but the sun was out and it was only one in the afternoon.

Around the first corner outside of the visitors center we noticed a few buffalo off in the distance. I wanted to stop and check them out, but Kristen advised me that we would be seeing a lot more of them. She was right. Around the next bend was a herd of about fifteen or so crossing the road slowly. They were right there, not ten feet away from the van. Their giant heads swaying back and forth, keeping an eye on the park guests while grazing. It was amazing to me that they cared so little about the cars and people in the park. They just go about their business. We pulled off and about a mile down the road we stopped behind a line of cars. Looking to our right we noticed that a black bear was swimming across a nearby pond. Dozens of spectators had thousand dollar cameras pointed in that direction, clicking away randomly. The bear floundered for something in the water for a few minutes then began coming towards us. He crossed the pond, came ashore and started running directly at the would be paparazzi. Some scattered, some tensed but did not move and some just continued taking pictures as if they didn't notice. The bear came to within thirty feet of our van, ran down the bank until it was in front of the rest of the cars and then crossed the road. If that bear had wanted a quick meal it would have done well to take down any of the people on the road. It could have eaten any one of the numerous idiots that just stood there with their cameras. Instead it crossed the road and disappeared into the grasslands.

We parked the van and began our walk into Tower Falls. Kris and I were a little more aware after the bear sighting so we passed the time yelling "hey bear" and clapping. I yelled my "hey bears" in my best french canadian accent. Knowing that everybody hates the french canadians I figured the bear would avoid us at all costs (We love you Justine!). We came around a bend in the road that skirted a small pond and noticed a larger than normal boulder on the other side. The boulder was a strange brown and black color. Just as Kris was questioning wether it was a boulder it started to move. A huge buffalo stood up and swaggered a couple of steps, obviously still half asleep. The beast took us in with one huge eye from across the small pond and began sauntering in our general direction. As he came around one side of the pond we made our way around the other, keeping our distance. It's one thing to see them while your in your car, but another to see them on foot with nobody around for miles. We quickened our pace and soon we were making our way down into the base of the falls. I can't say enough about the falls. They were amazing, and the pics don't do them justice. I'm glad we went when we did to avoid the crowds. We had them all to ourselves.

On the walk back from the falls we were heading downhill and notice the same huge buffalo standing alongside the road. There was no avoiding him this time. The right side of the road was a steep hill and the left side a swamp. We were going to have to walk right by him. As we approached he noticed us and started walking up onto the road. We stopped and allowed him as much room as possible. When he crossed in front of us we was no more than twenty feet away. We could hear his breathing and see his eyes clearly. Once on the other side of the road he stopped and we skirted around his backside. The few times his head came up and his eyes were on us caused us to stop in our tracks. What was he thinking? I still wonder about that. We made it around him with no troubles and got back to the van in one piece.

After a quick bite at the campground we decided it was time to check out the "hot springs". Just down the road a bit was a natural area where a super heated stream drops into a river. Where the water meets it mixes to form natural hot springs that are supposed to be as warm as a hot tub. Perhaps they are that warm, but not in April. Standing directly under the heated water was your only chance of staying warm enough to avoid hypothermia. If you sat down in the water you quickly found out that the cold water rushes in under you and chills you to the bone. It was a neat experience, and I'm glad we did it, but I wouldn't go back in unless it was summer. Plus the walk in was a little under a mile, which when your trying to get back to your car and your chilled to the bone seems like ten.

Back at the campground we made a little fire, had some drinks and called it a night. Sometime in the night the scuttling began anew. The same as before but even more often. Up and down, back and forth, all night long. I tried finding the little bastard. I was on guard half the night. Right around dawn I awoke and I knew the wee beasty was behind us, down in the kitchen wares. I peered over the edge with my head lamp and saw a tail quickly disappear our of sight. Immediately I jumped up and out of the van. Still in my long underwear I opened the back hatch and began tearing items out of the hold. My search was in vain though, the bastard had gone back to hiding.

After my anger subsided I noticed how cold it was. Checking the temps I found it was 27 degrees and the overnight low was even colder. I tried to start the stove but it was too cold for that. Muttering I awoke Kristen and told that we needed to get a jump if we were going to make it down to Old Faithful before the traffic.