On The Road to Fort Yellowstone and a Lot of Wildlife
/We wanted to get an early start this morning in hopes of seeing more wildlife at the opposite end of the park. The cooler morning temperatures made the rising steam from the geysers more visible as we drove past the Norris Geyser Basin.
I never get tired of the scenic winding roads through the mountains. Even though this is our fourth day here, no two drives have been the same!
It didn’t take long for our first wildlife sighting - bison wandering away from the herd come pretty close to the road, but we were absolutely thrilled when we finally saw a family of elk, including a bull! So statuesque, with antlers at least 3-feet tall. I felt bad when all the car doors slamming startled him, yet he stood his ground, protecting his famiy.
We continued north, and once again came upon several herds of majestic bison. We saw several bison calves, nicknamed “red dogs” because of the orange-red color at birth. Within a few months the color will begin to change to dark brown. Glenn’s keen eye also spotted some pronghorn off in the distance - I barely had enough zoom on my camera to get a clear shot!
By the time we made it back to Lamar Valley and Slough Creek (where someone told us there was a wolf’s den) it was almost noon and too late in the day to see any activity. We had lunch, turned around and headed toward Mammoth Hot Springs to explore Fort Yellowstone!
The dozen or so building that make up the Fort Yellowstone National Historic Landmark describe life in Fort Yellowstone when the U.S. Army was in charge of the park from 1886 to 1918. The Visitor Center (currently closed due to Covid) was one of the original stone buildings of Fort Yellowstone. Other buildings include Field Officer’s Quarters, a Guardhouse, Chapel, Cavalry Barracks, and Post Exchange.
The biggest problem in the early years of the park was poachers, whose activities threatened to wipe out animals such as bison. In 1894 Congress passed the Yellowstone Game Protection Act, prohibiting hunting, killing or wounding any animals or birds in the park. In 1910 the New Guardhouse was built, and still serves as a prison today!
i continued to be amazed by how few people were visiting this historic attraction - trust me, I wasn’t complaining!
On the way back, curiosity had us check out Sheepeater Cliff - a lava cliff formed in columns a half million years ago! The name honors the Shoshone Indians of the region.
Our final stop was at Artists Paintpots - an unusual hydrothermal basin made up of dozens of springs, geysers, vents and bubbling mud pots!
Not quite as stinky as Mud Volcano, but just as acidic, dangerous, and fascinating, we followed the rules and stayed on the boardwalk for the one-mile loop around the basin. The view from the top was outstanding!
Courtesy Sara Janz
We have one more day to explore the park - we’ll be focusing on geysers, Upper Basin, Norris Basin and Giantess Geyser that recently erupted after being silent for six years - and that’s no bull!
Until tomorrow…