Stories in Snow

Coyote by Canyon

First things first:  Hello to Earl and Mary!!  I hope you had a great dinner at the Proud Cut in Cody with Patrick!  And yes, you horse people probably know the meaning of 'proud cut' and yes, there is a restaurant actually named that (and it has delicious food so don't let the name put you off).

The past few days have been a continuance of the blowing and snowing.  Friday it was particularly bad in Mammoth.  The morning was filled with blizzard-like conditions but that didn't put anyone out as there was quite a few visitors in the Park.  I watched from the comfort of the store as the wind whipped up the snow and blew it around.  I have never lost my excitement about snow and winter weather.  Besides the subzero temps that I have experienced in the past (once again I will mention the -58 degrees I endured 16 years ago in Minnesota) I still love a good snowing and I was not disappointed this past week.    

The fresh snow always has a story to tell as I look at the prints of animals, large and small ,that leave their trails in either a parking lot or a valley.  The story tells me who passed through a particular area and sometimes the story will tell me what they were doing and the outcome.  Today's story was of a coyote wandering through the parking lot behind the store, probably on the lookout for the snowshoe hares that have been frequenting the area.  Sometimes I will see a lone bison track wandering through an area and sometimes I will see the tracks of a mere mouse or pine marten.  The story is rarely complete with a beginning and an end but I always take notice to the story in snow in any particular area that I am in.

This past week Patrick and I made a trip to Lake to gather up some items from his Lake office to move to his new office in Mammoth.  We packed up the vehicle with some warm clothes and a lunch and headed out into the interior of the Park.  With Patrick behind the wheel I could actually look out the window without spending all of my time watching the road.  I am still amazed at how much I see for the first time even though I have passed by an area hundreds of times.  It is old scenery that I see it anew.   There are lakes and thermal features that I have seen so many times but sometimes I will see a tree bent a certain way or a boulder that I never bothered to really pay attention to.  Actually being a passenger lets me see Yellowstone in a different perspective. 

Besides a few bison on Swan Lake Flat and meandering coyote by Canyon our first sight of something different was in Hayden Valley.  In the recent past I have watched the swans on Swan Lake but now we could see the numerous swans on the Yellowstone River.  We had to pass at least 50 swans on the river as we passed through Hayden Valley.  They are beautiful birds.

We came across a couple herds of bison between Hayden Valley and Lake that had taken to the road to travel to other areas.  One herd was heading north while the other herd headed south with one lone bison contemplating which herd to join.  He eventually headed south at full gallop as we approached.

Our next stop was Old Faithful.  In the summer the benches are lined with hundreds of people but at that time there was no one in sight.  Patrick and I had our picnic lunch while we watched Old Faithful erupt.

Patrick shows off his Annapolis 'hat toss'.  This is not to be confused with any famous Minnesota hat toss (such as the Mary Tyler Moore hat toss that yours truly may have had come to mind).

With evening approaching we headed back to Mammoth.  We did have the opportunity to see some beautiful scenery with the sun setting and some storm clouds heading in.

It was a glorious day in the Park and we were lucky to experience it.  Though part of our day was hauling printers and copiers we did have some moments when we could experience the sights of Yellowstone in solitude.  If someone was to study the tracks in the snow around Old Faithful they would see a story of two people watching one of the most famous icons of Yellowstone.  It is our story in snow.