Yellowstone Day 3 and 4

Day 3 was our second day of touring with the Yellowstone Tour Company and driver Jay. The itinerary included the lower loop - which was most of the same territory we had covered on our first day here and I thought was the "inner loop". But this time we both were free to watch and enjoy. The driven tour may not have stopped at all the places we would have or even stayed as long but it did hit some places we probably would have missed. It was a great investment and we had fun with the fellow passengers.
As we were driving by Firehole River, we spotted a cow elk (with radio collar) and her calf alongside the road. The calf still had it spots and seemed curious about this big yellow bus. Mom kept it away from the road and safe from traffic.



Firehole Falls is quite attractive, especially with the volume of water that is still flowing over it at this time of year. The Firehole River is one of the popular fly fishing spots and there were several human fisherman on the river. In addition, an osprey was "working the river" looking for fish. We were able to watch it for a while as it flew upriver alongside our bus and when we turned it also turned to go downriver. It was joined by a second bird but by the time we were back on the main road, it still had not found lunch. Ospreys catch fish by diving into the water and it would have been a sight to see but not today.

















We visited Fountain Paint Pot, which we had seen on our solo tour on Thursday. But this time our guide narrated the walk and we learned more. This mud hole was popping big bubbles, which we found interesting. The mud is pretty thick now but as summer progresses, it will thin and the giant bubbles will not be visible.













We lunched at Old Faithful Inn, which is, of course, at Old Faithful. The dining room had not opened and the posted menu looked quite expensive so we opted for the deli. Well that wasn't much better. Two dagwood sandwiches with chips, one soda and a container of melon to share and we exceeded $25. The service was horrible - we really don't like feeling that we are bothering the clerk! And there were not tables or chairs provided so we walked to the benches at Old Faithful and ate lunch. A much better lunch was enjoyed by several on the bus who went to the grill and had delicious pulled pork sandwiches. Live and learn. The Inn is an interesting structure that we had not seen on our previous visit so not all was lost.





We drove by Yellowstone Lake again and then onto the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. this is the first lodging that was offered in the park and the building is huge. If anyone wants a brochure to book a room for a trip, I have the information. Suites are available for $569 per night but the rooms are only $216. The hotels in the park, as well as the food services and old yellow buses are all run by Xanterra and all carry a premium price tag. The hotel does have very nice bathrooms!







A notebook for wildlife sightings at Lake Yellowstone Hotel had an entry indicating 3 grizzlies had been spotted near the hotel on the day we visited. Encouraging...we still had not seen grizzlies. Sure enough, a short drive from the hotel we encountered a "bear jam". Cars, motorhomes, buses, people had clogged the road. Somehow the driver managed to park the bus and we got off to walk across the road and see what was happening. Several rangers/park employees in orange vests were containing the crowd as they watched two grizzlies on the hillside above us. It looked like a mother and cub but we didn't get close enough to verify that. When the ambulance arrived and parked in the area, we thought that was enough gawking at grizzlies so we boarded the bus and left. People out here are fearless - or maybe just plain stupid - when it comes to viewing wildlife. They forget this is not a zoo and these are wild animals.


Our last scheduled stop was at Artists Point to view the Lower Falls. We had seen the falls the previous day from a different vantage point but this was better. The canyon view from this side was so colorful we understood the name Artists Point.





















At this last stop we also saw the definition of tenacity. These environs are tough for all - animals, plants, and people. But we enjoyed spending 3 days in this park. Being the weekend, the campground has filled with a lot of families with kids and dogs. The children ave not been a problem but it is unsettling to watch the dog owners let their animals loose to roam to neighbors campsites. We were warned that bears to go through the campground but I guess these people figure their dogs and outrun the bears.








Sunday is our day to catch up on some laundry, cleaning the motorhome and visit the and Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. I'm not going into details about the first three things - you all know how they go. But the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center was very interesting. This place houses orphaned or problem bears and presently has 6 adult bears. The oldest bear is 27 yrs old and was an annoyance bear near Yellowstone. The others are all between 11 and 14 and there are several sets of twins that were orphaned after their mothers were killed. This is a zoo but stresses the educational part of wildlife. The bears are let out several times a day - 2 or 3 at a time. This gives them the opportunity to explore, look for food and interact with each other.







These two larger males were interacting quite a bit. The one bear manager said they have several that can not be together because they don't get along. But some that have been fine when younger are becoming more aggressive lately. It's hard to tell, but we think these two may have just been playing. When the hour is up, the manager rings a bell and the bears return to their individual enclosures. Of course, food is the key and they are like Pavlov's dog - ring a bell, food appears. After the bears return to their cages, the habitat managers enter the compound and hide food and items (bones, hides, etc).






While we were there they put two live rats in the enclosure, one in each pile of branches, stumps and logs. This "live" bait is intended to encourage the bears to hunt and use their senses like the did when in the wild. When the released the next two bears, they went to the log piles almost immediately. One hunted the rat a bit more seriously and at one point, we were sure it would catch it. The bear and rat were almost nose to nose! But the rat ran under the pile again and the bear continued to look for it. So much for the killer instinct.






The other part of the center is the wolf discovery center. They have two wolf packs on display now. One is composed of 4 gray wolves and the other only has two males (not much of a pack there). They came from a farm that raises wolves for use in movies and these were their overage. Rats are too small for wolves to hunt and elk are too large so the managers feed raw meat donated by hunters, butchers and cattlemen in area. Then they add scents (vanilla, cinnamon, peanut butter) to bones and pelts and hide them in the compound (when the wolves are inside being fed, of course). Today two of the four would not go in so they didn't add any "enhancements". After eating, the wolves came back out and stretched out to sleep again.

Clouds have not disappeared and we are enjoying clear skies and sunshine. We just returned from a fantastic dinner in town and will be turning in early. Tomorrow, we're heading down to the Tetons and that will be a long day.