3rd Time's the Charm!!!

12 Jul 2010--Went back to Yellowstone yesterday for the 3rd time and hit the jackpot as far as animal viewing is concerned! We saw elk and buffalo, although not as many elk as we expected. Most thrillingly though, we saw 2 coyotes, 3 black bear, and 2 momma grizzlies with their babies!!!

We pulled over to use the restrooms and to let Fluffy stretch her legs when this coyote showed up looking for lunch. Cathy thought she saw him catch something and eat it, but I didn't get a shot of that.

We stopped at these mounds on our way to Mammoth Hot Springs, a major stop in the park for both sightseeing and hotels. These are called thermophiles and are really beautiful when they are in full bloom. Basically volcanic water is seeping out of the top of these formations, filled with bacteria, algae and pulverized rock, which create the colors as it flows to the bottom.

From the Mounds we went to Mammoth Hot Springs, a major stop in Yellowstone and something we have been looking forward to seeing again. Unfortunately, it was a major letdown!!! Let me explain. 20 years ago when Cathy and I were here for the 1st few times, this entire area was a full-throated thermophile. Marie and Ellen, if they were to take a look at their pictures when they came to visit us back then, would see that this entire mountain area was an active thermophile, while now maybe only 40%, tops, is still active.

We talked to a Park Service Ranger and she told us that because the pulverized rock was spewing out of the holes at the top of the mounds, it eventually seals off the hole, stops the flow of water, and ultimately the thermophiles turn gray like you see here. I knew that this area was a continuously changing area, but I guess I was thinking more in terms of centuries, not decades. I wish I had my pictures from years ago so you could see how much this area has changed.

This is Palette Springs, which is a section of Mammoth Hot Springs, and then a short video showing a small section of Mammoth.

This "Liberty Cap" is right in front of Mammoth, was like this 20 years ago, and shows us what all of Mammoth will eventually, sorrowfully, look like.

Up to this point we had seen only one animal, so I set Cathy to scouting for us. I should have known we were going to be lucky...see the rainbow above her head.

All she found were these birds! haha Actually, I took these pictures because I have been seeing the black and white bird, a Magpie, since Colorado, and I just love the colors on the Bluebird. I think the Magpie must be, or should be, the state bird of Colorado...there seem to be millions of them there.

The last "Petrified Tree" in Yellowstone. Up close it looked more like a tree stripped of its bark.

This coyote was next on our viewing tour. He came out of the woods and went behind our car. Notice he has a tracking collar on.

Then came one of the three black bears we saw. This one was no more than 10 feet off the side of the road, in the woods, going along a stream. It had just stood up and scratched it's back against the tree when I started videoing...I missed it. There were all kinds of people out of their cars and watching, but he never let on he was aware of us at all. Unlike the Grizzlies, which we saw out in the open meadows, all 3 black bears were in the woods.

We saw 2 big herds of elk, but unfortunately haven't seen any up really close yet. Again, years ago, the elk were not only around the towns, they were literally sitting around the Mammoth Hot Springs. The Ranger said they think that because there has been more rain than usual in the oark, the elk don't need to come into town to eat the grass around the hotels. Our loss!

While we were waiting for the Grizzly to come out behind a bluff and back into our line of sight, there was a bit of rain, and 2 rainbows across the meadow. If you blow up the 1st picture you can see the double rainbow there.

And then came the momma grizzly...the very same grizzly we saw the other day, in the same area, but much closer to where we were standing. I talked to a guy with a camera on a tripod who had a distance measuring device, and he said that at its furthest, the grizzly was only 188 yards away from us. She kept getting closer and closer, until the Rangers made us all move when she was only 100 yards away. Her 2 babies are either back behind her or hidden in the sagebrush, except in th e picture on the bottom, right. We probably watched her for close to an hour...got some good videos and pics...I could have stayed there forever...it was cool!

Here is the Grizzly rolling it's back, I think to be able to feed one of the babies.

And here she is going back to get her babies. It seemed like she left them behind on purpose, maybe so they wouldn't be out in the open for as long as she was, feeding.

And here she is meeting up with one of the babies, suddenly cuddling, and then the baby looking for the other sibling.

The Ranger told us that there are 150 Grizzlies in Yellowstone, and 450 of them in the Greater Yellowstone area, which includes parts of Montana, and even where Cathy and I are staying 30 miles outside the park. We were leaving the park when we pulled over and saw a bunch of people pointing into another meadow, but I could only see that Grizzly using a guys hogh-powered scope. That Grizzly had 3 babies, but was too far away for me to get a picture. Even so, we were pleased with what we had seen for the day, so off we went.

The sun setting as we are leaving the park. Makes my heart sing!!!! haha