MichelleThe day I left Cody, WY to drive to Cooke City MT, it was 95 degrees by 2pm and very smokey. I was really glad to be headed to higher elevation where it would be cooler by 10 degrees (it ended up being more like 40 degrees cooler!). After all my exultations about how fantastic the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway was, the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway rivaled the beauty of that drive. Chief Joseph was a completely different geology. This really isn’t the best highway to do with an RV as I could only go about 30 mph up and down the steep passes on this drive. It didn’t bother me but I’m sure I had a few upset people behind me. From Cody at 5500 ft to Dead Indian Pass at 8000 ft, you drive through many different eco systems. Grasslands, Sagebrush, Meadows, Forests, Red Rock Buttes and deep granite Canyons with rivers running through. At the highest point there is no sign but you know you’re on top of the world! If it wasn’t for the smoke you would see forever. There were so many beautiful spots for pictures but I only took a few since the smoke obscured most of the distant vistas. Lots of switchbacks and ups and downs on this highway. My favorite point was at an overlook of the Clarks Fork Canyon. There is a bridge spanning the very deep canyon with the Clarks Fork River running through. The walls of the canyon being beautiful time worn granite rock. I am definitely going to do this drive again when the air is clear and I have only the car.
After a very long day I arrived at Colter Campground just 1 mile from Cooke City, MT and about 6 miles from Yellowstone’s northeast entrance. My site was pretty with lots of alpine trees and wildflowers, and across the road was an open meadow area. Sites were nicely spread out here. The next morning the campground host, Barb, (and her husband Mike) came around and introduced herself. She was very helpful in providing information of where to go to see the most wildlife in Lamar Valley. Because of my long drive I didn’t get an early start. The day was nice but still very smokey. I spent the entire day driving through the northern part of Yellowstone. I knew that the weather was going to deteriorate so I needed to make the most of the dry day. Due to my late start I only saw Bison, which are always out, but they are so much fun to watch. The host had told me that there was a Bison carcass near one of the campgrounds. It had died 3 days earlier in a fight with another bison. There had been sightings of wolves and other animals feeding on the carcass, but it was midday when I got there and there was no activity. Most people said you had to be there before 6am to see the wolves as it started to get light. Whether you get to see anything but Bison, the beauty of this park always astounds me. After 2 days of driving all day I was exhausted when I arrived back at the RV.
At midnight I woke to a massive thunder and lightning storm, and the start of rain that would last 3.5 days. The next day was spent going to the one Trading Post gift store and Visitor Center in Cooke City, MT while it poured rain. This is an old mining town and it was neat to see the pictures from earlier in the 1900’s. The rest of the day was spent in the RV trying to stay warm and dry. The following morning the rain was intermittent and I desperately needed a walk. I donned my waterproof jacket and started toward the front of the campground. The air was fresh and clean smelling. I thought I heard a low rumbling sound and kept looking around me but saw nothing. Coming around the corner in the road I heard the rumble again and swiveled my head to the left, up and then right. Whoa! Snoring Bison! He was laying down next to the road with his back to me. I snapped a quick pic then turned around to go back the way I’d come. At that point he heard me and got up. We kept a wary eye on each other while I retreated. He relaxed and started grazing in the meadow which I watched from the safety of my RV! Seriously, where did this guy come from? That definitely woke me up! As a result, I dubbed the meadow ‘Snoring Bison Meadow’. As I said in my previous post, always try to be aware of what’s going on around you in this area.
It stopped raining and the clouds were lifting some so I thought I would drive into Yellowstone again just for a couple of hours. I noticed this same thing in Grand Tetons, but there seems to be more wildlife out and about after a rainstorm. First I was able to see some Mountain Goats way up on some rocky ledge. They weren’t much more than specs even with the binoculars but I can say I saw them! I saw deer and of course the ever present Bison. This time I decided to spend more time watching them and found a group that was right by the road. It is such a kick to listen to all the grunting, moaning, and bellowing that goes on. There were calves of all ages but most had shed their newborn rust colored coats. I filmed some great video of a bull Bison wallowing and rolling around in the mud and dirt. After awhile I continued on and saw some Pronghorn laying down in a field. There were quite a few flocks of Canadian geese and numerous ducks in ponds. My end destination was Slough Creek because for some odd reason there is cell coverage there. That’s how my last blog was posted. And I was able to have a phone call with my friend Christine. It was really nice to hear a friend’s voice! Uh, we won’t talk about the fact that I was sitting in the car and left my lights on for several hours while I did my blog and talked on the phone. Yep, dead battery! Thank goodness I had a lithium battery pack to start the car with. One of the smartest purchases I’ve made!
By the time I started the car it was raining again and was time to head back to camp. That sounded like a good idea but the Bison, once again, had a different idea as they walked down the middle of the road or crossed the road, or stood in the road. Looking at the bright side, the delays were perfect timing. As I moved down the road I came upon a very large gathering of cars & people. I knew it wasn’t for the Bison as there were hardly any there. I got very excited, pulled over, and asked what they saw. WOLVES! Yes, there were 5 wolves across the other side of the valley. Without binoculars they were little specs, so I was happy I’d brought my bino’s with me. I could see them running, leaping, and playing with each other. 3 black and 2 gray. These 5 were just part of the pack which has a total of 20 wolves. This pack had 8 new pups this year bringing the pack to 28 if they all survive!. I know there are cons to the reintroduction of wolves here, but I think it’s fantastic to have the chance to see something like this in my life! It started raining very hard at that point obscuring the view of the Wolves, and again I started toward camp. What a blessing that I arrived when I did and saw these majestic creatures in their natural habitat!
It rained all night and into the next morning. Again the rain stopped late morning. I went into Silver Gate, MT to have a bite of lunch at the Log Cabin Café! This place was so cute! It really was made out of all logs and had bear rugs hanging high on the walls with a few mounted deer heads! The food was good and I was glad to help support these small towns. I also helped my waistline to a huge ice cream cone! It was called Buffalo Chip… chocolate ice cream with caramel ribbons and chunks of ‘Snickers’. Oh yummy!! By that time the clouds had really started clearing off and ‘there were the mountains’! Luckily I had brought my camera with me, and I got the photography itch. Off I went down the highway in search of beautiful scenery! And I found some. It pays to have an adventurous soul… if you don’t go down that gravel road how do you know what you’re missing? The best find I had was going down to the Clarks Fork Trailhead and Picnic area. I had no idea there would be trail to a large waterfall on the river. This was a huge mining area in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s (Gold, Copper, Silver) and there was a large mining company that built a dam at this place on the Clarks Fork River. The dam was just above the waterfall and much of the water was directed by pipe into a Power Station that created power for the mining operation several miles away. The water bypassed the waterfall and the waterfall was nearly dry for about 10 years (until the dam was removed). This was such a fun find. I will be posting a video I took of the falls. At this trailhead there was a map of all the trails in the Absaroka – Beartooth wilderness and I was astonished at the number of trails criss-crossing the area. (Absaroka is pronounced Ab-sore-ka).
Ah, my last day in Yellowstone this trip. I decided to get up early this one day and get into the park at dawn. Hopefully to see more wolves. My camp hosts, Barb & Mike, just happened to be at the first major stop. This was the most awesome thing of the day. A bison had died a day or two earlier and there was a grizzly bear feeding on it. I could barely see this with my binoculars and it was just light which made it harder. Barb & Mike had huge scopes which allowed us to see the happenings much better. The bear was moving around quite a bit, then tried to cover the bison by pawing at the dirt. Soon he moved away up into the trees and was gone. It was awesome! Luckily with the distance we were at you couldn’t see any gory stuff. I drove on and surprisingly there were very few bison in the valley. I don’t blame them for heading to the trees. It was cold and rainy with hail mixed in! Brrr!
I did get to see some Pronghorn, a couple of Wolves, another Grizzly bear on the hillside, a small black bear, a bald eagle, and mama deer with two fawns. Quite a good last day! Although the weather was not stellar for this visit, it showed me a whole different kind of beauty!
