Day 13 ~ Wildlife Day

(I forgot to add the Three Bears Lodge photos yesterday, so if you wanted to see that, head back a day and check it out!)

Gardiner was nice, but not our favorite town; it is a little too small and old.   There are a few really cool, old buildings, but mostly it just felt too run down.  Absaroka was a decent hotel, gave us a good night sleep, and it was nice having the window open to listen to the river rapids as we relaxed, but again, not our favorite.   We slept in til 8 or 9 and then found a restaurant that served breakfast since this hotel didn't have anything.  On our way back from breakfast, we spotted an elk and her fawn walking down the sidewalk.  They turned into a yard and the mama proceeded to eat the potted flowers on a table outside.  She knocked the pot over, and then went and ate the second pot!

Today we traveled along the northern route of the park... from Mammoth Hot Springs toward Tower-Roosevelt, and ended up near the Northeast entrance.  There is a humungous rock formation in Mammoth that looks like marble ice with some orange-red streaks.  We saw it on our way in last night with some elk grazing out by it.  There is a hike that starts at the top of the mountain and winds down along the icy looking rocks to the town.  The trick is to drop half your group at the top to hike down, while the driver goes down to the bottom to pick up the hikers and then they trade.  So we did that... Kevin and Tiger went first, since Panda's leg was hurting her.  We drove slowly around the top of the drop off and then back to the parking lot and enjoyed the views on our way down.  Panda is a great side-kick - taking photos as I drove!  I can't wait to share her surprise with everyone in another week... she has been working hard on a project!!

The drive today was mainly to find wildlife and we sure did!!!  As we drove along, we kept an eye out for the tell tale sign of cars stopped along the shoulders with people out looking with binoculars!  There were quite a lot in this area.  Once we passed the Tower-Roosevelt area, the landscape was expansive and beautiful.  There were valleys and rivers everywhere!  Rolling hills on the mountain side and trees everywhere.  Lamar Valley is well known for animal sightings, and I'm sure I will post a bunch of photos of those we saw.... but some were just too quick moving to get a good shot.  

We drove almost to the end of the park.  We could see the ranger station, but turned around before we exited the park.  

We stopped at a picnic area near a stream so Kevin could get a nap.  It was off the beaten path and down in a valley.  It was so quiet and peaceful.  The kids and I ate lunch while Kevin slept.  I was little nervous being in the woods without others around.  I made sure my bear spray can was on me at all times.

We drove west back to the hotel gate and then turned around to go east again and take the same road to see if there was any other animals out.  

Here is a list of what we saw today:  

*mountain goats--this was a tough find!  You can only spot them if you stop on the road and spend time scouring the far away mountains with binoculars.  Kevin found two spots of goats!  One single goat, and then a mama with a baby.  Seeing them so high up on the cliff, and seemingly no room to walk around was incredible!

*cinnamon black bear--these unusual colored black bears are mistaken for grizzlies, but it was not shaped like one

*fox--this fox was so conditioned to being fed, it walked right along the roadside and was going up to each car looking for handouts. One time we were standing at the road side looking for goats and it walked right up to our tripod where Kevin was standing.  

*bison--they were all over the valley!  Hundreds of them.  Once in a while we would see a single one or two near each other, but seeing the gigantic herds together was great.  One time a bison was right on the right shoulder as we drove down the road.  He walked along the shoulder grazing and came right up by our van and looked at us!!!  It was a little unsettling as he could have charged at us at any moment!  But he walked behind our van and went to the other side of the road.  

*elk--again, lots of them everywhere

*pronghorn--Panda spotted these and was so excited to see a mama with two babies!  We had to stop and watch them.  The two little ones were playing and chasing each other all around a field area.  She loved watching them gallop around and around.  They were adorable!  Did you know pronghorn are the second fastest land animal?

*black bear--I spotted this one on a side hill behind some bushy flowers.  It was moving along at a great speed, but I got a few good photos

*coyote--we think there were a bunch of them by the roadside.  This was one of those times people were gathered in one area and as we drove by, we rolled down the window to ask what they saw and it was coyotes.  I saw one up on a hill by himself and it was so neat!  I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild.  Then later, we saw one sitting on a rock by himself, but I wasn't fast enough with the camera.  He just blended in and didn't see him in time.  

We stopped in the Mammoth area before we left the park and went into the Mammoth Springs Hotel.  It was beautiful, and they have this huge US map on the wall made of different types of wood from all over the world!

When we got back to our hotel town, we bought some pizza and ate it in our room.  It was small and pricey, but good.  We were so hungry!

Kevin and I left the kids in the room, and we went to the grocery store tonight... the only one in town, or anywhere close by.  Everything was like twice the price I normally pay and the selection was slim.  Bananas were $1.19 a pound!  It was smaller in size than the smallest Food Lion we have.  We purchased some breakfast items since the town didn't really have many options for early morning nourishment.