A friend of mine was in the Park and I met up with her in Mammoth this morning. I took her to Lamar to watch the bison as we ate a sandwich on an overlook. Even from quite a distance we could hear the huffing and puffing of the males and they tried to keep their lady away from the others. We stopped in Gardiner and I brought her to the old cemetery there. Old cemeteries hold a fascination to me. They can tell you a lot about the community and the people from times past. After picking up her car she followed me back to Canyon via Dunraven. It's always nice to visit with old friends.
The elk herd in Mammoth has been getting a lot of attention from the visitors lately. They have been hanging around the area (as usual) and keeping the rangers busy. They had to put up orange cones and yellow tape around wherever the elk find a good napping and grazing area. People are lining the streets with cameras aimed at them as they munch away at the grass.
A few days ago on one of my travels over Dunraven I came across a tow truck backed up to the edge of an overlook. It seems someone had gone over the edge. From my understanding it wasn't too serious of a situation but I'm sure whoever was in that car had quite a scare. Also, a few days ago, it was reported to me, that a car launched over the edge of the Shoshone Overlook. It unknown to me how that ended up but with the word 'launched' it couldn't be good.
Right before the weekend a car hit a bison on the road between Fishing Bridge and Hayden Valley during the evening. The bison is dead and the car totalled. Traffic was held up for over 45 minutes and they were finally able to pass by the bison still in the road. One guy thought it was so interesting on his first pass that he turned around to go back for a second look and he actually hit the dead bison with his car and flattened (and possibly more) both front tires. Since bison have eyes on the side of their heads there is no reflection that can be seen from car headlights so it is extremely important to drive slowly and pay attention when driving in the Park at night.
The big news from here is that President Obama is scheduled to be at Old Faithful on Saturday. A few of us employees are in 'just in case' mode and will be bringing our cameras to work that day......just in case he swings on in to Canyon to see the falls........and take in our sidewalk sale that we are having.
Both the Dorm Bison and one of the Boys of Summer have been hanging around the dorm the past few days. It's quite a feeling to be sitting outside enjoying the afternoon when suddenly a 2,000 pound bison rounds the corner. Or a huge bull elk with a rack comes wandering by.
Wildlife Sightings:
Grizzly Bears: 38
Black Bears: 17
Wolves: 13
Moose: 4
Coyotes: 6
