Waking up to alarm clocks can be a real bummer, but when the alarm comes from a bugling elk at 5:17 a.m. while staying in a cabin at Mammoth, in Yellowstone National Park, it can be quite exhilarating.
As I listened closely, I could hear three other bulls answering the wake-up call. I slipped out of bed, grabbed a jacket, sat on the porch and watched cow and calf elk as they stealthily worked around nearby cabins.
The evening before, a lone bull had entered Mammoth and tried bugling up some cows, but none of them showed up. Because of the hot dry temperatures, most of the elk stayed out in the forest around the town, only coming in during the night and leaving before daylight.
A grizzly bear eats berries near Mount Washburn in Yellowstone National Park. | Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com
This was the beginning of our second day in Yellowstone on a two-day trip that had been planned for my wife and I joining a daughter, son-in-law and grandson who were out for potato harvest. It had been planned several months before as we wanted to spend an evening and an early morning during the fall to catch the animals in cool weather.
The first day started for us at the Norris geyser basin as it had been years since we had joined the rest of the tourists walking the boardwalks admiring the sights, sounds and smells of these hot pots. Then it was on to Hayden Valley, one of my favorite places to see grizzly bears and bison and we would not be disappointed. The two grizz that we saw were about a mile away, but the bison were close. We did not check out La Hardy Rapids as we planned on coming back that way on the second day.
A bull elk rests on the lawn at Mammoth after trying to bugle some cows into the town. | Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com
The forecasted rain just spit and sputtered a little but did not hinder us at all as we headed to Tower, another favorite stop for us. At Tower we made the short hike to Tower Falls, which is a must-see if you go to Yellowstone.
I found a chipmunk to photograph as it was eating rosehips and then rolling in some dust when my wife came and told me that a woman had seen “two baby sheep.”
A coyote near Lake Village hunts rodents in the tall grass in Yellowstone National Park. | Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com
We looked for them but didn’t find them until we were leaving. A kid and its mom walked out on the road and were eating weeds as drove slowly by them.
We saw lots of bison from Tower to Mammoth and also some Mule deer and Pronghorns. After checking into our cabin and having dinner, we had the Bull elk walk into town and after getting some pictures of him, we decided to drive to Gardiner to see the Roosevelt Arch. It was much more impressive than McDonald’s Golden Arches. On the way to Gardiner, we also saw an impressive bull elk with a small herd of cows as the sun was setting.
A chipmunk at Tower Falls dusts itself after eating some rose hips. | Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com
After breakfast the next morning we headed back south through a steady drizzle of rain as we wanted to visit Old Faithful by lunch. Bison appeared to be migrating in large herds but most off the roads. Just south of Mount Washburn near Dunraven Pass, we encountered a bear-jam. A medium sized Grizzly was munching on berries and ripping open logs to harvest ants and grubs. It was the closest bear that I have seen this year.
At Hayden Valley we saw a sow Grizzly with her cub digging up hibernating Ground squirrels about a half of a mile away. But it was still fun to watch them as the mom was busy digging then rising up on her hind legs to keep watch. Sometimes she would run from one knoll to another to survey the surrounding area, she was one very busy mom.
Two bighorn sheep gather at Tower Falls in Yellowstone National Park. | Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com
We were hoping to see and wolf and a moose to give us a grand slam of large animals, but it wasn’t to be. We did stop at La Hardy Rapids and saw four female or immature Harlequin ducks and three American dippers. Near Lake Village on the shore of Yellowstone Lake we were able to see a beautiful coyote, hunting rodents in the tall grass.
Old Faithful was late blowing off its steam, in fact, some were wondering if it was going to go off at all. This day was the first day of the government shutdown and some suggested that it had also been shut down. After being 45 minutes late, it finally blew and it continued for almost 15 minutes, the longest eruption that I have ever seen. It was well worth the wait.
It was a fantastic fall visit to YNP and if the weather stays good, it may not be the last for me this year.
Find more from Bill Schiess here.
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