No Lions, No Tigers – But Bears – OH MY
Sunday - 6/29
Left the Cody KOA around 10:00 AM and made a stop at another Super Walmart. We wanted to get in and out in less than 30 minutes, but it seems that even if you are just stopping for bread and milk, it takes over an hour to navigate these stores.
It was about 60 miles to the east entrance of Yellowstone. Our plan is to head to the Bay Bridge info center to check on some hikes around the Canyon Village area and then do the north part of the southern loop. Yellowstone is broken into two driving loops – kind of like a figure 8. We will enter at the east entrance (on the bottom of the 8) drive north along the southern loop and head up through the middle, then down and exit at the west entrance (on the bottom of the 8). Driving this loop takes about 2 hours without stops.
On our way in, we stopped along the side of the road where there was still some snow. The kids wanted to hop out, but this was at the base of an avalanche area, and there were signs posted to watch for un-exploded arsenal. I could see the gun up to the left, and opted to look for some “safer snow”. I explained to the kids how they use these guns at ski resorts and along highways to create an avalanche so the snow doesn’t fall unpredictably.
A little further up the road we came upon some snow that was not in one of these areas, and the kids went running up the hill. Georgia lost her sandals and ended up running barefoot. A few snowballs were tossed and we all piled back in the RV to continue.
We decided to try to keep track of the wildlife we spot along the way. The rule will be that it must be spotted by 2 people to count. The kids said that my white-tail deer spotting did not count – too lame.
A little further up the road we saw a bunch of cars pulled off the side of the road. This is always a good indication at a National Park that there is some wildlife to be seen. Sure enough, there was a black bear about 100 yards up the hill feeding. We tried to take some pictures, but it really was a long way off.
After a short stop at the info center, we headed on up the road. Again, a short distance up the road we saw some rangers directing traffic. We had to go about a quarter mile on up to find a parking spot. Charlotte and Jackson decided it was too far to walk, so Wendy, Georgia and I walked back down the road to see what was there.
It was another black bear with her two yearling cubs. I stopped by a ranger who was explaining to some of the people about the different habitats, gestation periods, how long the cubs stay with the mother, etc. Usually the black bear will let the cubs go after the first season, but this one is kind of trapped in between some grizzly habitats and has not moved in a while. Because of this, she has stayed with her young for another season. She also talked about the population of bears in the park (over 600) and how they need to be moved from time to time when they get “too friendly” with the campers.
We spent about 20 minutes watching and snapping some pictures. This was much closer – about 50 yards.
We also saw many herds of bison along this route.
We stopped at Mud Volcano and the kids got to see their first thermal formations. We read the signs and talked about how these formations were created and how they change all the time. The sulfur smell was very strong, and the kids had fun with this once back in the RV.
On to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We had originally planned on taking a hike along the north rim of the canyon, but found out at the visitor center that the road to this hike is closed due to construction. We drove along the south rim to Artist Point, took some pictures and then decided to can the 600 step – strenuous walk along Uncle Tom’s Trail. It was now about 4 PM and we knew we had another hour of driving to get to the west entrance.
The drive reminded me of our last visit to Yellowstone. We followed the Madison River and saw much of the area that was burned out during the big fires here in 1988.
We pulled into the KOA just before 6. Our campsite is at the top of the hill with some nice views of the mountains in the distance. The sites are all very nice here, and I spent the next hour or so unpacking and setting up while Wendy prepared dinner for the kids. Jackson and Charlotte started a fire and then headed inside as the mosquitoes are pretty bad.
They headed down for some ice cream after dinner and Wendy and I discussed our plans for the next few days. She had picked up a brochure from a rafting outfit and talked to someone at the office who had just done the trip. We will check in the morning to see if it will work out for us.
Left the Cody KOA around 10:00 AM and made a stop at another Super Walmart. We wanted to get in and out in less than 30 minutes, but it seems that even if you are just stopping for bread and milk, it takes over an hour to navigate these stores.
It was about 60 miles to the east entrance of Yellowstone. Our plan is to head to the Bay Bridge info center to check on some hikes around the Canyon Village area and then do the north part of the southern loop. Yellowstone is broken into two driving loops – kind of like a figure 8. We will enter at the east entrance (on the bottom of the 8) drive north along the southern loop and head up through the middle, then down and exit at the west entrance (on the bottom of the 8). Driving this loop takes about 2 hours without stops.
On our way in, we stopped along the side of the road where there was still some snow. The kids wanted to hop out, but this was at the base of an avalanche area, and there were signs posted to watch for un-exploded arsenal. I could see the gun up to the left, and opted to look for some “safer snow”. I explained to the kids how they use these guns at ski resorts and along highways to create an avalanche so the snow doesn’t fall unpredictably.
A little further up the road we came upon some snow that was not in one of these areas, and the kids went running up the hill. Georgia lost her sandals and ended up running barefoot. A few snowballs were tossed and we all piled back in the RV to continue.
We decided to try to keep track of the wildlife we spot along the way. The rule will be that it must be spotted by 2 people to count. The kids said that my white-tail deer spotting did not count – too lame.
A little further up the road we saw a bunch of cars pulled off the side of the road. This is always a good indication at a National Park that there is some wildlife to be seen. Sure enough, there was a black bear about 100 yards up the hill feeding. We tried to take some pictures, but it really was a long way off.
After a short stop at the info center, we headed on up the road. Again, a short distance up the road we saw some rangers directing traffic. We had to go about a quarter mile on up to find a parking spot. Charlotte and Jackson decided it was too far to walk, so Wendy, Georgia and I walked back down the road to see what was there.
It was another black bear with her two yearling cubs. I stopped by a ranger who was explaining to some of the people about the different habitats, gestation periods, how long the cubs stay with the mother, etc. Usually the black bear will let the cubs go after the first season, but this one is kind of trapped in between some grizzly habitats and has not moved in a while. Because of this, she has stayed with her young for another season. She also talked about the population of bears in the park (over 600) and how they need to be moved from time to time when they get “too friendly” with the campers.
We spent about 20 minutes watching and snapping some pictures. This was much closer – about 50 yards.
We also saw many herds of bison along this route.
We stopped at Mud Volcano and the kids got to see their first thermal formations. We read the signs and talked about how these formations were created and how they change all the time. The sulfur smell was very strong, and the kids had fun with this once back in the RV.
On to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We had originally planned on taking a hike along the north rim of the canyon, but found out at the visitor center that the road to this hike is closed due to construction. We drove along the south rim to Artist Point, took some pictures and then decided to can the 600 step – strenuous walk along Uncle Tom’s Trail. It was now about 4 PM and we knew we had another hour of driving to get to the west entrance.
The drive reminded me of our last visit to Yellowstone. We followed the Madison River and saw much of the area that was burned out during the big fires here in 1988.
We pulled into the KOA just before 6. Our campsite is at the top of the hill with some nice views of the mountains in the distance. The sites are all very nice here, and I spent the next hour or so unpacking and setting up while Wendy prepared dinner for the kids. Jackson and Charlotte started a fire and then headed inside as the mosquitoes are pretty bad.
They headed down for some ice cream after dinner and Wendy and I discussed our plans for the next few days. She had picked up a brochure from a rafting outfit and talked to someone at the office who had just done the trip. We will check in the morning to see if it will work out for us.