Yellowstone 2012

Pooles, Recksieks, and the Milligans May 2012

Over Memorial Day weekend we took a trip with our good friends the Recksiek family and the Poole family. Good times indeed.

We left Saturday morning, surprisingly we left within 10 minutes of our goal time of 8:30. We had just bought our "new to us" mini van, dubbed Big Blue. I think we will change that name to Wild Blue Yonder. Anyways besides a stop for a potty break we made sure that our schedule afforded an opportunity to get some pictures of the Rexburg, ID Temple.
I was worried that the rain might make it a bad day for pictures, but it turned out to be a great day to take pictures. Not such a great day for mud, but a great day for pictures. The clouds just made the pictures that much more interesting. So, after tromping out in the muddy field to get pictures of the front of the Temple, Matt and I walked around the back side of the Temple for some more pictures. Matt, was my faithful assistant carrying my case for me and wearing my hat. ;)
After our stop at the Temple we ate lunch at the Jack in the Box and did a little shopping...Thinking next time we better do a little more shopping in Rexburg, because prices in West Yellowstone were crazy high.

The rain started to come down hard as we were getting ready to leave Rexburg and we thought we might not be able to get to Mesa Falls because of the weather, but the skies opened up just enough to give us some hope of seeing the falls before it started raining again. I think we were all glad we did, because the falls were absolutely beautiful. On our way down to the upper falls we got pounded with hail stones about the size of a pea, but we would not be denied as we found refuge with several others under the awning in front of the bathrooms. The rain I think added to the beauty of the greenery around us. The visitors center was pretty awesome as well. DeeAnn stacked up on pamphlets and we got to see pelts from several animals that could be found in the area.
We weren't there terribly long as we really wanted to get to our Condo and get settled in.
When we got to West Yellowstone we unpacked and when decided to eat out. We decided to take the gang out to Buckaroo Bills. It was really fun, kind of darker than I usually like, but the booths were set up like a covered wagon. In the  middle of the room was a floor display with a small bison and a coyote with a campfire dividing them. Kind of a cool western ambiance. Dinner was good, but probably a bit rowdy for those who were not with our party...come to think of it it might have been a little rowdy for our party as well.
After a day of driving we were all tired and decided to turn in somewhat early.
Sunday morning, following breakfast, it was time for church. We thought it rather interesting that we had to step over a pile of feathers to get into the church... the stark reality of just how dangerous it is in West Yellowstone. (spoken tongue in cheek...kinda ;) ) We could tell that the ward was much larger than normal and it was expected as they must be used to the influx of visitors over the memorial day weekend. The boys thought that it was really cool to see the staff from Buckaroo Bills were all in attendance.

Following the sacrament portion of our meetings we decided not to subject the primary workers to our overly excitable children and we would start our adventures into the park.

The weather was cool and intermittent showers would roll over us often. It didn't take long before we began to see Bison, we apparently we got broken in slowly, because despite the fact that the bison think they own the place, our first view of them was out in a field at a little bit of a distance. Believe me, later they let us know exactly who was boss later on when they decided exactly where they wanted to go. They may have looked docile, but you could tell they were some mighty powerful creatures.

We first took a trip up a road to see the fire box falls. The boys had a blast watching the chipmunk that was playing just bellow them in the rocks. There wasn't much room for parking on this road, but next to the falls there a small parking lot for maybe 6 or 7 vehicles, as I remember. So, after taking a few pictures we decided to keep moving forward on our day. There was lots to see and little time to see it in.

Our next stop was at the Fountain Paint Pot trail. When we got there is was a bit cool, but not too bad. No need for a coat although some of us did bring a jacket. I did not. However, when we got half way around the wind picked up and the temperatures dropped rapidly, then came the snow... It gave me a little scare just because it got so cold so fast. The hail and sleet came so hard at one point that we couldn't see in front of us well enough to finish the circle around the board walk. We actually had to turn around and go back the way we came. We ran back to the cars and got them warmed up before we headed for Old Faithful where we ate lunch and enjoyed the nicer temperatures again. It certainly was frightening just how quickly the temperatures could fluctuate.

Fountain Paint Pots from the backsi

bacterial mats at Fountain Paint Pots

Growing up I was always taught Red is symbolic of heat, while blue is symbolic of cooler temperatures. Well, that can get you in big trouble when it comes to thermal pools. You see the color of the water is determined by what kind of bacteria can live in the water. Red indicates lower temps and more bacteria can live in it. While blue means less bacteria because the temperatures are too hot. If it is clear then nothing can live in the water. I found this interesting.

After warming up we headed to the Old Faithful Lodge where we ate lunch then gathered around Old Faithful and watched her blow. Old Faithful was awesome. Even though from a photography point of view the cloud cover made the contrast a little less than optimal. Nevertheless, it was still an incredible sight. Following the first eruption we went into the visitors center and enjoyed the rangers presentations. It was interesting to find out that Rangers used to be military and that it was the protection of Bison that brought attention to the region.
Following the visitors center the Pooles decided to head back to the condo for some rest. That is another story in and of itself, as we ended up beating them back to the condo. We, on the other hand, wanted to hike around the geyser field. So, we gathered up the kiddos and went for one more viewing of Old Faithful from a different angle then a walk around geyser fields. By that time we were ready to head towards West Yellowstone and back to the condo for dinner. However, we did make one more stop so that Joe could see what mischief he could get himself into. ;)

Where the heck did Sam go??? 

On our way back to the condo we received word that the Pooles had taken an unexpected scenic route back to the condo and ended up behind us. So seeing they had the key to the condo we did a little exploring down a couple of roads just down the street from our temporary abode. We went until DeeAnn said we could go no more. I was a little disappointed, but after our four wheeling experience in Capitol Reef National Park, I was a little less adventuresome.

Monday was the day of the Bison blocks and Bears.

After finishing up our breakfast we headed off. Shortly after entering the park we ran into a line of cars. There in the road ahead of them was a herd of bison.This was our first Bison road block. The bison went where they wanted to go and at the pace they wanted to go.  We were kinda thinking that the Recksieks were hogging all the excitement because, every time the bison would get close they would cut right in front of them. They would walk by us occasionally, but would never cross in front of us. We were kinda sad, but we got close enough for comfort... Anyways, this was the first of many bison blocks throughout the day.


After making it through these bad boys, we set course for Gibbons Falls, which was just off the main road heading in the general direction of Mammoth Hot Springs. Which was one of the main destinations we wanted to hit before the day was over. The boys had lots of fun throwing rocks trying to hit the river. Joe, I think, was the only one of the boys that actually came close, but Sam gave him a run for his money....

  

Nice save!

Don't even think it!

Following Gibbons Falls, we stopped in at the Artists Paint Pots. These pools were beautiful and the hike was not a terribly long one, the stairs gave us a challenge with the stroller, but nothing that couldn't be overcome with a little help from some friends. :) With the rain snow we had received, there was a couple of puddles in the walk way before we reached the thermal features. As boys will be boys, Hyrum thought it might be fun to attempt a jump over a puddle. Had it been one of my sons, I do believe they and everyone around them would have been wet. But to Hyrum's credit, as well as to Joe and Amy's teaching of their children, when Joe said don't... I am not sure exactly how Hyrum caught himself, as he was all but off the ground when Joe gave the command, but he did.

It was just off the Norris Canyon Rd that we planned on eating lunch and talking about our next move. However, on our way to the picnic area, we were side tracked by several cars pulled over to the side of the road and taking pictures of something. In Yellowstone this means the possibility of something exciting. Joe and I decided to exit the vehicles and investigate. After asking a couple of people we found out it was a bear. We saw its backside as it was crossing through the trees over a small hill. So we ran down the road to where we could peek around the other side of the hill. Sure enough it was there and it was a grizzly. What a thrill that was. We kept our distance but tried to catch a good picture of it as it wondered over top the hill that led back to a large clearing and a river. It did not seem to excited, but was not eager to cause anyone any harm either. I think by the time it got close to the road it was a little agitated, but just wanted to get where it wanted to go. Before all was said and done the bear came about 15 feet from our van. I was grateful to be inside the van at that point.


After all that excitement, we decided that where we were going to eat lunch was not such a good idea with the bear headed in that general direction so we headed back to Steam Boat Geyser in hopes of seeing it blow. I might interject here that Spencer was not going to let us get away without stopping by Steam Boat, because he heard that it was the grand daddy of all geysers. When it does go off in full glory it can reach as high as 350 feet. It has been a few years since it has erupted and we were within the right time frame to see it possibly go off, give or take a few years. We took a short hike through the area after lunch and after the rain had cleared up. We could have spent a day hiking that whole area and probably still would not have seen everything.
  
However, we wanted to go to a couple of other areas before the day was over. So, we headed to Mammoth Hot Springs, which is where we saw some of the most beautiful formations and pools. Joe told us that they change every year depending on the amount of rain fall etc... it also happened to be the place where we had little incident with a tour guide/ranger dude, but we wont remind Joe of that ;).

After Mammoth we decided to head over to the original entrance to the park. Just outside of Mammoth we noticed a cow elk standing above the road and people were out of their cars taking pictures bellow it. Not of the cow, but of a bear that had just taken down her calf. Nature is harsh, but it gave us an opportunity to talk to our children about the value of life and the place of death in the circle of life. It was thrilling to see nature at work, but it was sad as well, because you could see the distress of the cow elk. Nature is not void of emotions, and it was obvious as we saw this mother in mourning, but because she mourned the bear will live and the circle of life is complete for this young elk.

The old entrance was cool, but not something to spend a lot of time at. Although several people were taking pictures of something out in a field. We couldn't see what it was it looked like maybe some birds or something we drove back into the park and saw a small scrappy looking antelope, but for some reason I think we may have missed a photo op. I am still scratching my head as to what they possibly could have been taking pictures of. Some people really get into little birds, I guess.


We wanted to head back over to the Towers. The pass is kind of hit and miss in the spring, but we wanted to try. We made it back to Mammoth okay, but just outside of town we pulled in behind the buffalo block from Hades. They led us what seemed about 2 miles crossing a bridge and then finally slipping off to the side of the road when they had to go around some vehicles coming the other direction. After getting out from behind the blockade we decided that our delay took the Towers off our list of possibilities. So we decided to take a short hike just off the road to see Wraith Falls before heading back for the night. On the way back we saw a beautiful bull elk from in the distance just up from the vehicles. We actually made another brief stop for another fall just a little way back down the road, before calling it a long day.

The sun was going down when we turned down the West Yellowstone Entrance Road. We hadn't gone far when Joe and Amy pulled to the side of the road along with couple of other vehicles. It was an obvious sighting of something and we were not going to miss this. Yep, it was another black bear just wandering through a pile of fallen trees looking for food. This was probably the prettiest bear we saw on the whole trip.

Our final day we got up, ate breakfast, packed up and said good-bye to the Poole's. They decided that they wanted to go to Bear Country just outside of Rexburg. We were a little short on funds and the fact that we had seen so many bears in the wild, we thought that it would be like stopping by the store to buy a fish. If we had been skunked it still wouldn't have tasted as good ;). Anyways, we decided we wanted to enjoy one more hoorah, in the Park. So, off we went...
  

We didn't have a real lot of time, but Joe and Amy suggested the Canyons, which happens to be the area of the park that gives Yellowstone its name due to the coloring of the rock formations that have been exposed by the river as it carved its way through the area. On our way we were greeted by a nice bull elk in his velvet. The animals were shedding their winter coats so they looked somewhat scruffy, but where their coats  had shed revealed a beautiful summer coat.


Our first priority was to get a photo op with the Yellowstone water falls in the background. It is truly one crown jewel of the park.

It is amazing to think how much water flows over these falls...Absolutely beautiful.

  

Most our time was spent around the Canyon rim, on the last day. After the photo op we drove to an overlook where we could look down on the upper portion of the falls. There was a playground for the kids and Joe found a trail which lead down about 3/4 of the way to the bottom of the canyon on a series of staircases which ended on a platform almost across from the lower falls. This little jaunt required descending some 300 plus stairs, which meant ascending some 300 plus stairs. By the time we had completed the staircases our legs were feeling it. Not to mention the nerves as several of us were dealing with varying degrees of phobia concerning heights. But it was absolutely worth it. It was an incredible hike. Highly recommend the hike, unless you have heart problems. ;)

  
A quick trip to the other side of the canyon for lunch and a view of the falls from the top, a stop at the souvenir shop and we were on our way home. But, just before we left the park, once again on the West Yellowstone Entrance road we saw a couple of cars pulled over and Amy and Joe were in the perfect spot to get a picture of a black bear right off the road. We couldn't get a shot from behind them so we thought we would slowly drive around the vehicles and try to get a picture, just as the bear was about to turn towards us, some party pooping driver in an RV honked his horn behind us and the bear shot out of their leaving us with no more than a picture of his southern exposure. We were kinda bummed, pun intended, but it was still a great way for the park to say, come again. We were sad to leave so quickly, but looking forward to our next trip to Yellowstone. So much to see so little time to do it in, but well worth the effort to get as much in as you can.