I am in absolute awe of this place and it's beauty. I have see plenty of other national parks but none come close to Yellowstone in combining both natural wildlife and rare geologic features like geysers, hot springs, and canyons. I need to come back when the weather is warmer and spend more time because there is just WAY too much to see. I haven't even done any hiking yet! The tour I did today was fabulous!! The guide whose name was Rob was a guy from Chicago who ran a pizza place for 35 years and when he retired decided that he and his wife would come work at Yellowstone every summer. They spent most of their marriage going to national parks for every vacation, anniversary, etc. It amazed me how knowledgeable this man was about EVERYTHING, it made me want to work in Yellowstone. Today on our tour "Yellowstone in a Day" we were able to see a ton of wildlife. As many of you know I have gotten very used to seeing bison/buffalo on this trip and there was a ton on this tour. Since it snowed last night the bison migrated towards the thermal features where the ground was warmer and they could graze. Aside from the multiple herds of bison, we saw elk and mule deer. It is believed that about 150 grizzly bears live within Yellowstone NP and up-where to 800 live within the greater Yellowstone region (which includes Grand Teton NP and Glacier NP). Today, I was able to see a mother grizzly with her cub in their natural environment. Now obviously we were probably 300 yards away so we watched them through binoculars but still it was so cool! After the grizzly sighting we approached another herd of bison. From a distance we saw a small pack of wolves, three, quickly approaching the bison herd. Two of the wolves were smaller tan in color and one was big and dark black. This time we were far from the action probably about 500-700 yards out. The wolves got nowhere with the herd of bison. They were quickly turned away and ran into the hills, bison weigh close to 2 tons and have no true predators, so I am not sure what the wolves thought they were going to get away with. Wolves were reintroduced into the ecosystem in 1995 and have been a critical part of the stability of Yellowstone ever since. There are only about 80 wolves currently in Yellowstone today and I was able to see three of them, which was absolutely amazing. I had a great time exploring the wonders of natures today. The tour was only myself and one couple, so it was super intimate, truly hands on. I can't help but feel a little sad that Chris isn't here to share this with me. For a couple different reasons. 1. My first experience with the wonders of a national park was when Chris and I drove cross-country after college so I can't help but reminisce about that time. 2. Chris was so super smart and would have loved to hear all about what this tour guide Rob talked about for this 10 hour trip; geology, ecosystems, evolution, continental divides, it was fascinating! 3. Rob, the tour guide, talked a lot about his wife and how when they first got together they went to national parks together and hiked and they feel in love with it and then they got married and now some 40 years later they are working at Yellowstone together as best friends, living the dream. It sounded really nice. Maybe that could have been us one day.
I am definitely booking a backpacking trip here next summer no doubt about it, who's in??
Song of the day "Umbilical Moonrise" Lotus. Lotus is a great band from Philly that I have listened to for a long time. I picked this song today because I woke up super early and drove on icy, snowy roads to take this beautiful nature filled tour that I felt needed to have just ambient music, no words.
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