The News From Here

For the second time this year there has been a suicide in Canyon. Last night a man committed suicide in the Canyon Village parking lot. I heard the sirens last night but it wasn't until today that I was informed what had taken place. Yellowstone is a beautiful place and for some it is a place that they have decided they should die. I will make no judgement about his decision but I do hope he has found peace and that his family and friends find some comfort in knowing that the people of Yellowstone are thinking about them at this time.

There was also a head-on collision between Hayden Valley and Fishing Bridge last night. One of my co-workers, Dave, had to wait a couple hours until the ambulances, fire trucks and wreckers could clear the scene. No one I have talked to know the condition of the car occupants but we hope they are doing well.

Our company newsletter, Geyser Gazette, has small article put out by the NPS. It is about how tourism in the park skyrocketed this year. July set an all time record for tourists, 900,515. January to July total is 1,901,395. No one knew for sure how tourism in the park would be this year so 20% less employees were hired. We worked our butts off this summer.

I worked my entire shift at a register in groceries. This Sunday the campground in Canyon will close, as will the cabins, so we are expecting the grocery department to slow down. It was quite steady today. This weekend will be the last hurrah of the season for many.

After work Carl took me out to dinner at Roosevelt Lodge. I had a great dinner of prime rib while he had barbecued chicken. What a fabulous meal!! As we ate we could look out over the mountains and we watched some of the horses pull a wagon in. Great food and conversation. Thanks Carl!

It's interesting how life can change when you live in YNP. I am a news and weather buff, it was always the first thing I checked out in the morning. In the past 4 months I have rarely seen the tv. I am in a news black hole. My weather report comes from me opening my shades in the morning. In Yellowstone the only news needed is what I see from a pullout in Hayden Valley, or the thunderstorm I can see and hear coming across from the west, and the bears and wolves I see out my car window or the bison standing behind the dorm. And that's the news from here, Yellowstone National Park.

Bison Hood Ornament

Here is a story relayed to me this morning. Cars were lined up bumper to bumper as the bison were trying to navigate across the road. Unfortunately for one car who left no room between themselves and the car ahead of them found out what a mama bison will do when their baby is on the other side. She will jump onto the hood of a car to try and get across to her baby. I bet that was a surprise (an expensive one at that) to have a bison sprawled across the hood of your car.

At this very moment the Dorm Bison is grazing behind the dorms. And the night air has been filled with the sounds of bugling elk. I sat outside last night because the moon was full (or nearly full) and listened to them bugle from the west of us. I am able to hear them in the mornings also. Fall is the season of sounds.

I decided to head to the Grand Tetons today. First stop was Hayden Valley to try and capture the foggy goodness of the valley. The fog was rolling down the river as if on a current. It was a beautiful scene. After being dazzled by that I continued on toward the Tetons. There is some pretty heavy road construction going on starting at Flagg Ranch and heading south for about 8 miles. The road is completely torn up and heavy machinery is moving earth as everyone creeps along on the one lane open. I stopped at Colter Bay to look around and then proceeded on to Moose Jct. I decided to stop in at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center and when I crossed over the Snake River I saw a mama moose and her baby. Moose are much more numerous in the Tetons than in Yellowstone so it had been quite awhile since I had seen a moose. Some people I work with are still waiting to see their first moose.

In John D. Rockefeller Jr. Parkway there are a series of signs that are reminiscent of the old Burma Shave signs:

I saw wildlife
From afar
Until I hit them
With my car
Slow Down!

1/8 of a mile from the last sign there was a guy pulled over. Pieces of his bumper were scattered on the road and in my lane was a dead deer. I've hit a couple deer myself so I really know how they jump out in front of vehicles. Sometimes it is totally unpreventable. I just thought about the irony of the location.

I had to stop at the intersection of Fishing Bridge when a painting crew painting the yellow lines had spilled paint on the road. The fire dept. was called in to spray the road clean. I was the 4th car in line and I ended up waiting 45 minutes until we could proceed. I did get to watch quite a show as the ranger stopping traffic had to deal with line jumpers from behind me. They decided that they didn't need to wait so they would drive north in the southbound lane so they could turn east at Fishing Bridge. Unfortunately for them, the ranger had opened the east bound lane to the west bound traffic who were going to turn south. The ranger was furious for the jumpers for nearly causing accidents and preventing the fire trucks from moving to fill their tanks with more water.

After the spill was cleared and we could all continue north I ended up in a couple bison jams. Once again I watched line jumpers maneuver around vehicles in both lanes of traffic (using pull outs on the opposite side of the road). This came to stop as one final car tried it and nearly stuck the bison in the road. I was mortified at their actions, as was the person in front of me who yelled out a few choice words at the driver. The moral of all this is line jumping is bad.

Oh yes, the Tetons were gorgeous because it was a clear blue day and the sun shone brilliantly on them.

The Road to Cody

I made my weekly sojourn to Cody today. I had an appointment for an oil change. I left with extra time to spare in case I ran into any jams on way through the Park. Lucky for me I gave myself extra time because it was one jam after another. Bison herds are everywhere. My first hangup was in Hayden Valley, then just south of Devil's Cauldron, another just east of Fishing Bridge, and then yet another by Yellowstone Lake. I made it to my oil change in time but I had to go through each of those jams on way back. Rangers were posted by the herd by Devil's Cauldron because they kept come on the road. The rangers would drive back and forth with their lights, blow their sirens and play the bison sounds while lines of cars waited until it was all clear. On my way back I pulled into the road to Nez Perce Ford and watched and filmed the action for awhile. I decided the situation wasn't improving and I might as well get in line with all the other vehicles and make my way through it. Besides it's a great time to roll down the windows and watch the bulls with their big blue tongues pushed out and listen to them bellow. Sometimes the bulls start pushing each other around and a huge cloud of dust will rise up.

The road from Yellowstone to Cody is one of the most spectacular drives I have ever been on. It has it all: history, geology, wildlife, scenery. I will never get sick of the sights on that road. I highly recommend taking the East Entrance into or out of Yellowstone on your next visit. On my way back to the Park I came across 4 mules on the road. Someone was using them in their logging operation and the 4 had escaped still wearing some of their tack. When the cars came upon them they figured it was safer back at the logging location and they trotted back up the dirt road. I sure didn't expect to see mules on my trip to Cody.

I only had two pictures of The Magnificent One so I went on the prowl tonight looking for him. He was not too hard to find, he was grazing off the side of the road north of Roaring Mountain. And just my luck, there was a pull off right across the road from him. With my 35mm camera perched on my handy new monopod and my digital in hand I came up through the sunroof and waited patiently until I had a profile of him. I could actually hear him snapping the grass away from the ground and chew on it while behind me a thermal creek bubbled away. It was quite a moment. I was eventually joined by a couple other vehicles who sat and watched him. So here it is, the picture of The Magnificent One for you to enjoy until you too can come to Yellowstone and see him.

On my way to Norris this evening I saw yet another coyote. This one was mousing in the field to the west of the junction. It was a perfect opportunity to grab my 35mm. That was when I realized that it's not so easy to grab it and shoot with a monopod attatched to it. One smack to the car window and I decided to just keep on going.

In Memory of Sammy

This is not Yellowstone related but I wanted to take a moment to remember my dog Sammy. She was a 4 year old basset hound who lost her life to lymes disease today. People who know me know that I have a great deal of love and respect for animals. My first stint in college was for animal health, I've worked as a veterinary technician, raised orphaned fawns brought to me by the DNR, and raised and worked with numerous types of large animals. I am not an extreme activist or anything, I just appreciate how it feels to go to the store for 1 hour and come home to have a dog run up to me, wagging its tail and acting like it hadn't seen me in weeks. Animals don't have to love you, they just want to love you. I love you Sammy.

Bison Superhero

At work today I found myself back in Confections as a barista. It has been quite some time since I have worked in Confections and I had a good time making coffee though I did experience technical difficulties in my foaming abilities for the cappuccinos. During my shift I was called to the loading dock. The Dorm Bison was making an appearance in the back of the store and had stopped to get a drink from a puddle. He then wandered up to the dorm. We moved from the loading dock to the back windows of the store to watch him. We were eventually joined by guests who figured we had to be standing there watching something interesting. The Dorm Bison finally moved off and around to the back of the dorm. It's always great to see him.

I went to Mammoth after work where I saw a huge herd of elk on Swan Lake Flat. The herd was being carefully guarded by a big bull that spent his entire time trotting around making sure all his ladies stayed in the group. He was one busy fellow.

On my way back to Canyon I drove south toward Norris. As I came around a bend in the road there he was.....The Magnificent One! Walking down the road in my lane with a car stopped in the other lane. Oh Crud! Which is not actually what I said but this is a family-friendly blog. I slammed on the brakes and if his eyes weren't on the side of his head I would of looked straight into them. Every mention of him in the pages of this blog flashed before my eyes. The other car moved forward which gave me time to swerve into the other lane and prevent a collision with my huge, hairy friend. I don't think I even have to mention how I would of felt if I had hit a bison, especially The Magnificent One. He is kind of like a bison superhero to me.

Then there was the coyote on Blacktail Plateau who darted in front of my car last night. I seem to really be seeing the coyotes lately. I even saw another one this morning. Anyway, I was just driving along when he just popped out of the brush and across the road. I braked and fumbled for my camera. This summer I really realized just how long it takes to it turn on and get focused on something (something to keep in mind next time I buy a camera) so I only managed to get a great shot of his backside as he wandered off into the brush. To top off the evening I saw a large herd of elk on Dunraven Pass.

"For the benefit and enjoyment of the people..."

This is the arch at the North Entrance. It was dedicated in 1903 when Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone. It was designed by Hiram Chittenden (who also designed the original Fishing Bridge and the Chittenden Bridge - which was replaced in 1962 and named the Chittenden Memorial Bridge). It was built for the cost of $10,000. Besides the Old Faithful Inn this is probably the most well known man made structure associated with Yellowstone.

Marie's Headstone

This is a headstone in the Gardiner Cemetery for Marie Douglass from Nebraska. She died when she was 9 years old as she traveled through Yellowstone in a covered wagon. It would be interesting to know more about her and her family.

Gardiner Cemetery

North Entrance

A view of Gardiner, MT and the North Entrance with Roosevelt Arch. This picture was taken from the Gardiner Cemetery.

Steamy Bison

With it being BLT night in the EDR I didn't really expect the evening to get much better. But life is full of little surprises and I found out that BLT night can get better. Just north of Roaring Mountain I saw The Magnificent One standing off from the road. With the rain this evening all the thermal features were showing off their gassy vapors and the stream that was flowing in front of him was steaming, making the sight very majestic. Just beyond him I spotted a huge bull elk grazing on the hillside. I can't imagine having to maneuver through the trees and underbrush with those huge antlers.

Another great sight I have been seeing lately is the herds of bison in the morning in Hayden Valley with steam rising off of their backs as they stand in the sunshine. I have wanted to take a picture of all the steamy bison but I'm just not sure if a picture would actually capture the true look of it. I guess the next time I'll just have to get the camera out and give it a try.

A dorm mate has reported hearing elk bugling throughout the night from her dorm room. She also simultaneously heard wolves last night. I must of slept through it but that would be a great sound to hear at night.

Jackson Hole's Elk Antler Arch

This is for the benefit of anyone who has not made it to Jackson Hole. The city park entrances

have these huge elk antler arches.

Last evening on my way back from Fishing Bridge I did get to see another coyote in Hayden Valley. This one was right off the road heading toward the river. Some of the coyotes I have seen in past years seem a little ragged but so far the ones this year look sleek and healthy. It was getting dark so I just watched him for a few moments and I didn't even bother to try and get a picture of him.

Lone bison bulls seem to enjoy being right next to the roads and create quite a traffic slowdown. Between Hayden and Fishing Bridge I came to a two mile crawl as everyone slowed down to see a bull standing on the edge of the road chewing his cud. I've noticed lately that ambulances and the drivers are stationed by them as the driver waves those orange sticks to keep traffic moving. I have no answer as to why they have the ambulances there.....maybe in anticipation of a wreck with the traffic.

Elk Herd in the Yellowstone River

An incredible scene this morning. I was coming back from Hayden Valley when I saw a herd of elk in the Yellowstone River. It was right across the river from a picnic area so I pulled in and grabbed both of my cameras. When I got out of my car I could hear one of them bugling so I stayed amongst the trees and used my zoom. Unfortunately, two other guys pulled in and hurried right up to the rivers edge and scared the herd away. When I turned around I noticed that the entire parking area had filled up and even a couple of NPS employees had pulled in. Too bad that the rest of the people missed most of the sights and sounds of the herd.

Road to Canyon Village

This is the view coming up to the Canyon Junction from the south. Sometimes the road is filled with cars and people from the junction to nearly this spot when the bison or the Boys of Summer are in the area. Black bears, grizzly bears and wolves can also be seen in this area. And with a keen eye a person can also spot the elusive Yellowstone General Store employee.

Grizzly Jam from June

This is a picture I took of a grizzly jam I was in by the Grizzly Lake trailhead earlier this year. I used my side mirror to catch the cars behind me, there were many more in the front of my car. I was in it so long that by the time I moved up to the area that the grizzly was in it was gone. I did use my time wisely, I cleaned and organized my car.