Yellowstone National Park

So, we have left Cooke City and traversed the 4 miles to the northeast entrance to Yellowstone Natl. Park.  It would have been much closed had we entered through the east entrance but we had already made the drive from Cody to the east entrance so we wanted to see something different.  As of that time, not all the entrances were open due to snow.    

It did not take long before we passed a herd of buffalo…we saw so many that day.  You reach the point where you have to say “Oh yeah, more buffalo” and keep driving.

A lovely little stream. I love the water, especially rivers and creeks.

Anytime you come upon a group of cars parked along the roadside you just know there is a bear in the area…usually there is at least one park ranger in the group.  We were not disappointed…we got to see this mom with her two yearlings.  They will stay with their mom until next spring.  Black bears only keep their young with them for 2 years but grizzlies keep theirs for 3 years.  We watched them graze for quite a while.  The rangers made sure everyone stayed about 100 yds. back.

Bob spotted a grizzly that was running across the road in front of us but by the time I looked up from my map all I saw was his rear end going through the bushes.  He was moving very fast.

We made our way up to the Mammoth Hot Springs area of the park.  This is where the park headquarters is located.  The last time we were at Mammoth there were lots of elk there.  We were not disappointed.  These guys just walk and lounge around everywhere…they are not intimated by the people at all.

We wound around inside the park on our way out the east entrance that would take up back to Cody when we spotted this wolf. There was so much snow on the way out and Yellowstone Lake was still mostly frozen over.  The prettiest part of the trip was between Fishing Bridge and the east entrance but by that time my tummy had enough of roundy round and up and down so the puppies and I were laying down in the back seat. 

So glad we got to see a lot of the park while there was still so much snow. 

Moving on.

May 13, 2010 Cooke City, Montana…on our way to Yellowstone.

Yea, we have 2 days off so we decided to do some sightseeing.  We left the coach about 11:00 with Buddy and Cissy in tow.  We headed northeast out of Cody to make the drive along the Chief Joseph highway.  Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce people out of Oregon trying to flee the US troops who were attempting to place them all on reservations.  He and his people were able to elude the troops until October of 1877.

This was a beautiful drive.  I love the snow and we began to see deer very quickly.  

We had to stop for Bob to throw a few snowballs.  You can take the boy out of Indiana but you…

 

This little guy was scurrying along. It was so strange to see snow…and no snow.

As we went further, we entered the Shoshone National Forest.

The snow banks were so high in some areas it was hard to see over them to get some pictures.

While we are traveling northeast we are also climbing…our destination was Cooke City, Montana.  The northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park is located 4 miles south of  Cooke City.

Notice the top of the rail fence…what little you can see peeking out from underneath the snow.  We have now made it to Cooke City, MT.

So do you think this is a car under the snow?

Cooke City has a population of 97 people.  It swells to 120 during the summer.  We ate at a little place called the Bistro and had one of the best homemade hamburgers/fries that I have ever had. This was a shot from our table.

Doesn’t everyone have a snow blower on their roof?

More to come about Yellowstone.

Moving on.

May 07, 2010 Cody, Wyoming

We have just finished our first week of our summer employment.  We are working the front desk at Buffalo Bill Village here in Cody.  “The Village” as it is commonly referred to is owned by Blair Hotels…they also own The Comfort Inn and The Holiday Inn.  The Village is made up of 83 cabins in downtown Cody.  These cabins were built by Buffalo Bill Cody to house the workmen who came to Cody to build the town structures.  Cody is a lovely little town of about 9,000 people.  When it warms up a bit I will actually get out to take some pictures.  I look forward to visiting all of the cute shops we have here.

But, speaking of weather we have been having a bit of the white stuff. They were predicting 3-6 inches of snow night before last but we got barely a smattering.  It has been very cold…we have been in the mid 20’s the last few nights and it is not going to get much better for a while. 

We started today off by having breakfast with friends and fellow workampers, Brenda and Bill Alderman.  We then headed for a drive up Southfork Road.  Bob and I had done some sightseeing last week on Southfork but we stopped when the pavement ended and the road turned to dirt.  Today, Bill traveled to the very end of the road and I have to say that they last 11 miles on dirt where spectacular.

We must have seen at least a couple of hundred deer…they were everywhere.  And we saw lots of…okay, not it gets tricky.  Earlier I had called these animals mountain goats or highway goats, but today we saw a couple of them with the big horns…so…maybe they really are big horn sheep.  

    Then there was this little guy…Look close, he is kind of hard to see…that white stripe down his back blended right in with the snow.  We did not want to spend too much time trying to get a great shot.

The further we went, the prettier it became.  We were in the Shoshone National Forest.  It was hard to believe that people really lived in this remote area but there were some beautiful homes.  We later found out that the small school building we went by…sorry no picture…has an enrollment of 5 students.    

And finally,  as we were making our way back to Cody,  these guys appeared on the ridge above us…elk.  Still no bear but we know they are out there as others have pictures of them that have been taken in the last couple of weeks.  We will keep looking.

Moving on.

Sunday May 2, 2010

We left the campground around 7:00 am headed west on Yellowstone Highway.  This road takes you to the east entrance of Yellowstone Park which is about 60 miles from Cody.  We knew the entrance was not yet open due to road conditions but we were hoping to see some wildlife.  The warmer the weather gets the higher up some of the animals go so we did not want to wait any longer.  As you will see, it was a beautiful drive.  The temp was 47 when we left Cody and by the time we got to the Yellowstone gate it had dropped to 26…we were definitely climbing.  So here goes…hope you enjoy.

This is Buffalo Bill Reservoir just outside of Cody.  

This is the Pagoda House, or Smith Mansion, in Wapiti, WY.  It sits above the Campground/Motel where are friends Carolyn and Roy Trout are working this summer.   

A nice little homestead.

Mountain goats…or highway goats.              

The only bison we saw.

The closer we get to Yellowstone, the more snow there is and the colder it gets.

Finally we get to see some elk.

Some cabin roofs peeking through the trees.  This area was not yet open for the season…it is still just outside the park.

Looks like these guys did not call to see if the park entrance was open yet…long drive for nothing.

So we started back and now I got to look on the other side of the road and saw this ski lift that I missed on the way up.

 

We saw lots and lots of mule deer.

Too bad I only caught the eagle as he took flight…look for the little white dot in the middle, just above the rocks.  You might be able to see his wings.

You know, the water is never too cold for some anglers…boy, was I jealous!  What do you think Mark Didelot?  This doesn’t look like the combat fishing we did in Alaska last summer.

Do you think this guy is an avid hunter…or just very lucky at finding discarded antlers.  He could give the guys in Jackson Hole, WY a run for their money.

It was a great morning…home for a nap before heading to work.

Moving on.