For one beautiful, clear day we entered Yellowstone from the West entrance in this bombardier coach, below. Under the expert guidance of our Irish coachman and guide, Mike, we drove south into the park around 10am. We passed elk grazing on the banks of rivers. We followed eagles - mostly bald - as they dove after swans, geese and Canadian ducks in the rivers, and waited until they’d perched on a nearby lodgepole to take a closer look. We passed by a few other bombadiers, everyone standing on their seats and peering out the sunroof for a closer look at a wild creature. We also visited a number of Yellowstone’s more permanent features - namely hot springs and geysers - throughout the park. Steam wafted off the boiling water, sometimes misting in our faces and making it difficult to see. What we did see of the algae and bacteria was a more wintry and cool color scheme - deep blues and greens - as opposed to the reds and yellows we’d seen on our previous trip. And of course we stopped by Old Faithful and spent those explosive 5 minutes watching the water spurt high up into the air.
Around the side of Old Faithful, Mike showed us the bones of a buffalo calf who had been knocked into one of the springs by a mother buffalo who was protecting her own calf. Next to it was Chinese Spring, where Japanese launderers from the nearby hotel used to wash the clothes with a wooden paddle.
As we exited the park around 6, the sun was slowly setting behind the hills, the lodgepole pines sticking up like stubbly beards on their ridges. We watched a herd of buffalo, like looming statues against the neighboring hills as their made their slow, circular process looking for grasses in the snow. We also stopped for a coyote as it padded slowly down the road and slipped into a snowbank.
The whole time Mike told us stories of life in Montana, his family and old tales of Yellowstone. We learned about the dumping grounds and old cabins from when the military ran the park. We also learned about the interplay between park employees and visitors - how the die-hard fans of springs and geysers help to inform the employees, who spend much less time with these features. He told us about the importance of bear spray when you’re in the backyard of grizzly bears (it saved his life!).
The coach itself made for an old-world feel as we tracked along, sometimes skidding and sometimes bumping on our front skis and rear metal treads. While we think the black-and-white photos below suit her shiny metal nicely, you can picture Kitty as she was, a nice candied apple red. Mike liked comparing her to his wife, also a fiery redhead.
It was as good a day as any, tracking wild creatures through Yellowstone in our bombardier under the big, winter sky.
Kitty.
Mike.
These poles are made for walking.
Looking at birdies.
Immature bald eagle. The eagles usually hunt fowl on the rivers, gradually moving upstream over the course of a day.
When we parked for a pit stop, a bunch of snowmobilers and other guides came up to take a peek inside our bombardier. They were so jealous, they slammed the door without saying hi!
Two important things when snow braving Yellowstone in winter: binoculars and blankets.
The blue shadow of winter light.
These white-footed trees were one of our favorites on our last visit. The white comes from silica being soaked up into the tree from the rhyolite lava flow, which is also responsible for forming geysers like Old Faithful. The silica replaces the wood, slowly petrifying it.
Steam coming off of a hot spring. Mike warned us about not getting our feet wet by telling a story of a group of guys who visited the spring. Their dog bounded out of the car and jumped in, so one of guys ran after it and jumped in. Then a second guy in the troupe followed suit to save his friend, but as he went to touch him, the first guy’s skin melted off. Both dog and first rescuer died, and the second was left with only one arm and no legs. Watch out! The bones of both guys were removed, but the dog’s remain.
Ice crystals over silica.
Hot spring. The bison like to come here to keep warm in the winter.
These pines sometimes can have males cones, female cones and female fire cones (pyro germinating ones). Needless to say, they’re pretty prevalent.
Partially melted and refrozen snow.
Algae awesome. In summer this algae turns brighter reds, oranges and yellows.
Old Faith—what?!
Fallen trees. Nature does not always pick up after herself.
Dusk.
Cruising on the way back, towards the West entrance.
So many things to see!
Coyote - in Wyoming, you don’t pronounce the ‘e.’ This little guy is preyed upon by the many wolves that have been reintroduced into Yellowstone. Researchers had projected that of the reintroduced wolf pack, only the Alpha dogs would breed in Yellowstone, based on the a reintroduction program they’d studied in another state. But within 5 years in Yellowstone, A-E dogs in the pack have been breeding. Due to the large sizeof the pack, they’ve killed off all but 130 of the elk herd (originally numbering around 16k). Their original projections didn’t expect these kinds of numbers for another 45 years. Thanks, science.
Buffalo tracks at dusk.
Aus, with iPhone game in hand. Whatchu playing?
