More Yellowstone

There are so many and varied thermal features in Yellowstone we got tired while looking at all of them but not bored. Here are a few that didn't erupt.

Yellowstone also has lots of wildlife--some easier to spot than others.

We saw elk a couple of times. These were near Yellowstone Lake.

Buffalo are more plentiful and often cause buffalo jams, either by slowly crossing the road or causing motorists to stop on the road for a better look.  Notice the calves in these two photos.

There are also wolves in Yellowstone, or so these people told us. Whenever you see people looking out from the road, especially if they have spotting scopes, you have to stop and see what they are looking at. They told us there was a pack of wolves in the valley below. We could hardly make out the black dots, much less tell what they were. We did believe them, however.

Thankfully, not every visitor to the park drives their own vehicle. The roads were crowded as it was. These neat old buses and tour buses take many visitors from place to place.

The Great Northern Railroad built at least one of the beautiful lodges in Yellowstone. This is the interior of the Old Faithful Lodge. If we didn't have an RV, it would be neat to stay there.

Looking Up

Our son Doug grew up in Colorado and really loves the mountains. He has spent most of his adult life on Marine Corps bases in deserts, Okinawa and Iraq. He wanted to take his girls to the mountains he misses. We took a drive west to Evergreen. First, we looked for the herd of bison (aka buffalo) that can sometimes be seen in that area. All we found were empty pastures behind strong, high fences.

So we drove to Evergreen Lake. There we had a special treat--a group of cow elk with a couple of calves hanging out in the water!

I was concerned that the cows might get aggressive to keep us away from their young, but we didn't seem to cause them a problem. We did see on Facebook that the day before a man had passed them with his dogs, which really barked at the elk. One cow came out of the water and chased the man and his dogs down the path. Glad that didn't happen to us.

John, Doug and Sami walked on along the lake shore. Rachal wanted to go wading, so I stayed with her. As a child, that is what I wanted to do every time we went to the mountains and found a stream. The water at the edge was very shallow and she liked watching how it flowed over and around her feet. She left distinct footprints in the sand.

The others returned to our location.

Then we were off to High Country Pizza in Evergreen. They make great food.

Mountains, family and good pizza. Could it get any better?

Elk in the Yard

I have included photos in the earlier blogs that I posted without pictures.

One morning in Jasper NP, John was heading out the door of the RV a little before 6, just as I woke up. He quickly said, "Get down here quick. You have to see this." I hurried down, looked out the back window, and immediately got the camera. Our yard had elk calves! Look at the adorable calf



When we checked in we were told to be careful around the elk. It is calving season and the mothers can be aggressive in protection of the babies. That morning, when John walked back toward the trailer, a cow had moved in front of our RV. He had to wait several minutes before he could come back home. Eight years ago when we were in the same campground, a cow elk gave birth to her calf right behind our trailer. This is one of the cow elk we saw this year. At one point that day we had five cows and three calves in sight.



We saw a mom grooming her calf. You can see a collar on this elk. We were told that means she has been aggressive toward humans in the past. We saw a car slowly driving down the road behind our RV, passing a calf, and the mother stopped in front of the car and looked very threatening. The driver put the car in reverse and backed up.



Here is one momma and two babies.



We hoped we would see this baby nurse, but mom walked away.



It was so much fun to watch the young elk scamper around, kick up their heels, and browse on the bushes. These two young ones were checking each other out.



What a privilege to be so close to these magnificent animals! We are so glad we got to see them.

North Dakota Wonders

We are finally able to put North Dakota on our map, showing we have traveled here and spent at least one night here. Actually, we will end up spending three nights here. For many miles as we drove west on I-94, this is the scenery we saw.



Now, there are probably lots of people who find this landscape boring. But we are westerners and since about mid-April we have been surrounded by thick green trees everywhere we went as we traveled through the South, Middle Atlantic States, and Northeast. And the air was full of humidity so the sky was a pale blue, at best. Just look at how far you can see in North Dakota and how blue the sky is. We enjoyed this roadside sculpture, too.



But there is even more to this state. This is the backdrop for the RV park where we are staying in Medora.



Today we visited the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Known as the badlands of North Dakota, the landscape here is anything but boring.



We had read that the we might see White-Tailed and Mule deer, elk, buffalo and wild horses as we drove the 36-mile loop road. First we came on some of the horses.



We had never seen wild horses before, so it was a big thrill. About 85 feral horses, descendants from horses that escaped from local ranches decades ago, live here. They travel in bands of 5-15 individuals led by a dominant stallion. We especially enjoyed seeing this colt (or filly?) having some lunch.



We stopped at the Scoria Overlook. Scoria is a light-weight rock formed when a volcano erupts. The lava fills with gas bubbles and produces a rock similar to pumice, but heavier.



We followed the Ridgeline Nature Trail, a 6/10-mile trail providing good views like this.



It was good to get out of the truck and get a little exercise before it started raining, but the real thrills of the day came when we saw wildlife. At one parking area, we saw a lone buffalo above the road. We stopped and I took a picture. We got back into our truck and were getting ready to drive off when a woman returning to her car walked over and told us there were about 150 buffalo near the Little Missouri River, visible from the nearby ridge. Despite the mist, we walked up to the ridge to see this:



Here you see another part of the herd. Approximately 300 bison occupy the south unit of the park.



The herd was scattered across the fields, moving slowly toward our right. We could hear them snorting.



We watched the pair of young ones hone their head-butting skills for later years, as an older buffalo strolls by.



We finally tore ourselves away and drove on down the road, only to come on another small group of bison. This one seemed to pose for us.



And we weren't done yet. Shortly before we finished the loop drive, we came on a small herd of elk. Aren't their antlers magnificent? About 900 elk call the south unit home. They are supposed to be hard to spot except near dusk or dawn. Not today!



It was certainly a North Dakota day full of wonders.