Yellowstone’s Final Gift

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Over the course of two visits to Yellowstone, we’d seen black bears, moose, elk, bison, mule deer, coyote, fox, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and wolves, with one spectacular sighting in which we watched two wolves chase a young black bear up a tree. What we hadn’t yet seen was a grizzly bear.

Bear-spotting is best at dawn and dusk, but our chances of getting up at 4 or 5 a.m. were zero. We were too tired for that, so our only real possibility of seeing a grizzly was dusk on our final evening. We were visiting at the wrong time of year for the best chance to see one, and it was unrealistic to make the journey to Lamar Valley again for late evening viewing, since the drive back would be more treacherous in the dark. Hayden was our only chance, and this wasn’t Walt Disney World. The wildlife doesn’t care if you leave happy.

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As usual, we spent next to no time at our campsite, using it mainly as a place to sleep rather than a destination itself. With so much on our doorstep, this was especially true at Yellowstone, and it was only the first-thing-in-the-morning and last-thing-at-night walks for Ruthie that gave us a view of the campground. Signs everywhere indicate you should be Bear Aware, so we always kept our wits about us during these outings.

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The plan was to head down the southern end of the loop road heading for Old Faithful, then circle around and end the day at Hayden. We’d check out some of the little side roads off the loop, and have lunch at Geyser Basin. But the road had other plans.

We’re sure you all remember the terrible damage caused by the historic 2022 flooding in Yellowstone, which washed out several roads and caused the park to close. Recovery has been swift in some places, while others are still undergoing repairs, and such was the case along the loop road near the park’s southern entry from Jackson.

Simon doesn’t love dirt roads, especially with construction, and will avoid them if at all possible. Our decision to turn around at West Thumb and head north, skipping Old Faithful and the geysers (which we’d spent a lot of time enjoying during our previous visit) was solidified when we stopped in at a visitor center and the ranger pointed out the current conditions and long construction delays. He also mentioned we might want to avoid the pass that led to Old Faithful along that route if Dunraven Pass had felt like a soul-destroyer.

Back to Hayden we headed, with a detour down a side road that led to Yellowstone Lake and a stunning view of the Absaroka mountains beyond the park.

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We hadn’t spent any time along the southeastern side of the park the first time we visited Yellowstone, so we were surprised to discover a small thermal basin, which helped make up for skipping Old Faithful.

A ranger was pounding loose nails back into the boardwalk as we walked toward the thermal features, and we stopped to chat with him. Using his four-foot-long nail pounder must work out a lot of aggression, we said, and he admitted he enjoyed thinking of tourists who behaved like idiots every time he hammers one in. Coming from Orlando, we understood the love/hate relationship; we love our visitors and want them to have a fabulous time. We also feel…frustration…at those who leave all their common sense at home.

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The boardwalk path gave us up-close views of some of the features, which aren’t quite as dramatic as geyser basin, but were vibrant and interesting in the morning sunlight.

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Back on the loop road, we happened upon this mighty fellow, and had him to ourselves for a short time, before the hordes descended, all jumping out of their cars to get the closest selfie they could, in spite of a billion warnings throughout the park to keep your distance from large animals. We often felt we’d have a front-row view of some terrible tragedy…and it would turn out we almost did.

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We had a packed lunch, but the lure of a bison bratwurst was too strong for Simon when we paid a visit to Lake Yellowstone Lodge.

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On the way in, we saw three bison in the field between the lodge and the lake, one of which was laying down in the grass and could hardly be seen. We watched them from our lunch spot on the porch, with the mountains in the background.

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Sadly, this spot would make the news the next day, when two women were out walking and unexpectedly came upon a bison. While they backed away, the bison charged, and gored one of the women, causing serious injury that necessitated a life-flight to the nearest big-city hospital. We hold her in our thoughts for a quick recovery.

Further along we found a pretty falls, and while Rainbow Trout wasn’t on that day’s Bingo card, we spotted one hovering just along the edge of the falls. Other visitors were tossing dead mayflies to try to tempt it to rise, but it seemed to have had its fill, and just hung out waggling its tail for all to enjoy.

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We’d passed Mud Volcano several times over the past two days, and finally stopped in to see what all the fuss was about. Along with two startling – if stinky! – thermal features, we were treated to an unexpected up-close wildlife sighting. A ranger was there, too, making sure no one did anything stupid.

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With the temperature up in the high 80s (30+ Celsius), you wouldn’t think a bison wearing a fur coat would want a spa day, but there she was, getting some “me time” next to a boiling hot mud pot.

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Just to the right, we could hear the thudding sounds of gasses exploding in the water as it rose through some deep, hidden tunnel in the earth as it reached ground level. This was the mighty Dragon’s Mouth Spring, so named by a visitor to the park in 1912, who thought the resulting sulfurous steam looked like a dragon’s tongue.

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With the slow wander we’d been taking, passing solitary bison and another thermal feature, it was late afternoon by the time we reached Hayden Valley, with the Yellowstone River as our companion most of the way. Perfect timing for our evening wildlife viewing.

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The bison were roaming Hayden when we arrived, so we found a turn-out to stop and watch them while having our packed-lunch for dinner.

Ruthie had a roadside meal along with us.

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We’d grown used to seeing a small crowd gather on a hill on the western side of the road, waiting for sunset over the mountains. But a smaller group on a hill to its left caught our attention, and we made our way up to see what was going on.

A grizzly bear had been spotted further down in the valley, and was heading further into the hills. Probably that mama and her two cubs we’d heard about the night before. But bears are wild, and they don’t choose paths based on good viewing for tourists, so it was likely she wouldn’t be spotted again. We were just too late.

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Bears also like familiar stomping grounds, so it was equally possible she’d return to the spot where she’d been sighted an hour ago. We jumped in the car and headed back to lower ground. Sure enough, she was there! At least, she was there before we arrived. We’d just missed her.

Back to the hill again, with such high hopes of seeing her and her babies. After half an hour, everyone still on the hill gave up. It was only because there were a few others coming up the hill that we even stayed, not wanting to be the only prey out there in the open if she did turn up.

And that’s when our luck changed. We both caught sight of a big rock below a dead tree with a raptor perched in it, fairly far in the distance. A smaller rock next to the big rock appeared to be moving, and that’s when we realized it was the mama grizzly, and her two cubs were nearby.

They were much too far away to photograph, but oh, the excitement we felt as we watched them through our binoculars! What unbelievable luck! After a good 10 or 15 joy-filled minutes, she wandered back into the tree line, and our encounter was over.

But Simon’s not one to give up that easily. We returned to the valley where she’d been seen an hour ago, hoping against hope that she’d wander back.

We won’t leave you hanging for as long as we did, and after what seemed like forever, she and her cubs ambled back down the hill. We quickly got out our spotting scope to help make up for the distance, and for the fading light.

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We could easily see her and her babies through our binoculars, too, and as a crowd gathered, we all took turns looking through our spotting scope. It was extremely difficult to get a good photo through the scope (and impossible without the scope), so while we took plenty, only a few offer a really clear view. The cubs are in some of them, but you probably can’t quite make them out.

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We bid a fond farewell to Yellowstone National Park the next morning, knowing it’s unlikely we’ll ever return, having made the decision to cancel our September reservation at Fishing Bridge due to the challenges of driving that far into the park in Fati. It only served to make our grizzly encounter even more special

Next stop: Glacier National Park!