HAPPY TRAILS – still on the move

While you have been having a good rest we have continued on our trek and now we are at Lake Yellowstone.

All the white you see in the above photo is the frozen wasteland of Lake Yellowstone.  Some call is Yellowstone Lake but a lake is a lake is a lake especially when it is this big and situated in my favourite park.

I am not going to go into the geographical details except to say that it is the largest body of water in Yellowstone. The lake is 2,357 m above sea level and covers 350 km² with 180 km of shoreline. While the average depth of the lake is 42 m, its greatest depth is at least 120 m. It is also the largest freshwater lake above 2,100 m in North America.

In Winter, ice nearly 3 ft thick covers much of the lake except where shallow water covers hot springs. The lake freezes over by early December and can remain frozen until late May or early June.

It is an incredible site for sure.  To think in Summer people are swimming, boating and cavorting around having a wonderful time. Now it is frozen solid there is only the opportunity to take photos but I wonder if people do trek across it – mmmmmm sounds like a stupid thing to do if you ask me.

The photo above is a compilation of five photos stitched.  For a bit more details here are photos that were not used in the stitch –

The way the mist is just hanging near the trees – it is a very surreal place – not a soul to be seen except for us.  I am so glad that the weather has cleared so that we can just stand and look without having to worry about finding shelter for us and our gear.

Due to the fact that Yellowstone is such a big park and we still have a lot to see – we must move on. It is very hard to drag ourselves back into the coach and leave let me tell you.

Of course, our trek would not be complete without the bison photos. Lordy, they have it tough out here.

They are everywhere – but seem to be travelling by themselves or with a mate.  There is no end to bison encounters but they don’t worry about us, they just get on with surviving.

We have not seen the bigger herds that congregate in the warmer months.

Next stop or rather point of interest is Fishing Bridge.

The original bridge, built in 1902, was a rough-hewn corduroy log bridge with a slightly different alignment than the current bridge. The existing bridge was built in 1937.

The Fishing Bridge was historically a tremendously popular place to fish as angling from the bridge was quite good, due to the fact that it was a major spawning area for cutthroat trout. However, because of the decline of the cutthroat population, the bridge was closed to fishing in 1973. Since that time, it has become a popular place to observe fish, in other words see – don’t touch!

We stop at Lake Village for lunch in the Visitor’s Centre which is staffed by Rangers who are only too pleased to show all the items of interest – furs, teeth etc.  Of course these items have not been obtained by some shooter on a rampage.  The different types of fur are incredible.  One good point is that there are also ‘modern’ amenities – nice and warm and hot water – and it is a comfortable spot to rest and enjoy our lunch.  Jenna has gone to get petrol for our coach while we sit and talk about what we have seen.  I would thoroughly recommend a private tour not just because we can do what we want but it is so relaxing.  OK – Jenna is back – time to hit the road again.

Jenna stops so that we can take some more ‘tree’ photos and also to have a chat with a man who is clearing the roof of the monumental snow build up.

He does this every year and we all agree that he must be fit to do this all by himself and hopefully he will not have to avail himself of his amenities building pictured above right.

We head through Hayden Valley – and although it is covered in snow it still is a wonderful expanse of land AND we get to see not only a solitary bison having a hard time but we are also see a herd of bison trudging through the snow.  Time to get out and take some more photos and even though they are a distance away I could stand here and watch them all day.

As we look further up the hill we discover that even bison have a sense of humour!

This does look like a bison head complete with horns eh?  Maybe they came down the hill, trudged around a bit and then left the same way – or maybe some Rangers or visitors thought they would have a bit of fun.

Personally, I think it was the bison drawing on the hill and no-one is going to change my mind.

Here is another fox – just out walking by him or herself.  We stay watching him for ages, he walks and stops and walks and stops then he lies down.

We are hoping he will do the famous fox leap for food but no – he must have a full tummy already as he doesn’t seem to be interested in anything.  Oh well, time for us at least to move so back on the coach – – towards the Falls.

Spying a few coaches up ahead and people out with cameras, of course we must stop and  see what is going on.  Trumpeter Swans and River Otters that is what is going on.

The swans just sit there as if to say ‘yes we know we are majestic and you can take as many photos as you want’.  Unfortunately they have left some swan droppings along the edge of the river but it is all within nature.

There are 3 otters but it is nigh impossible to get them all in the one photo. One is always under the water while the other two frolic about on the surface.  They are having a wonderful time while the swans watch on with an unimpressed look upon their faces.

We stay watching the otters for what seems like ages – until they are out of sight somewhere further down the river and then we are herded back onto the coach as it is getting late in the afternoon and we still have not reached the falls.

When we pull into the parking area we are the only ones here.  I have always wanted to see The Falls in Winter so with all the cameras slung over my body I am  on my way.  It is not a very hard, physical walk down to the viewing area.  Last time I was here it was close to 40 degrees celsius and blowing a gale.

Today is still and wonderful for taking photos.  The sun is starting to get lower in the sky so let’s go.  There are two Yellowstone Falls.  The Upper falls is opposite the viewing area and the much better known Lower Falls are further away up the river.

I have always wanted to see these Falls in person when there is loads of snow and ice and now I am finally here – another item crossed off the bucket list.

This photo on the right is of the Upper Falls – as I stand on the platform at the brink of the Upper Falls, the Winter version of the usual Spring / Summer 50 m cascade of surging water has frozen in parts but it still looks powerful.  The sounds it makes as it tumbles towards the Canyon floor is clear as there is no tourist noise – just Mother Nature at her best.

The more famous of the two falls The Lower Falls is quite a distance away.  In 1870, a member of the Washburn party, Mr. N.P. Langford described the Lower Falls as : “A grander scene than the lower cataract of the Yellowstone was never witnessed by mortal eyes.”

That’s a more poetic way to say that the Lower Falls are a must-stop spot on any tour of Yellowstone National Park.

At nearly 100m, the Lower Falls is the tallest waterfall in the park.  In terms of height alone, it’s more than twice the size of Niagara Falls. The amount of water flowing over the falls varies greatly depending on the season. At peak runoff times in the spring, 63,500 gal/sec flow over the falls, whereas at lower runoff times in the fall, the flow diminishes to 5,000 gal/sec – thank you Wikipedia.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is another incredible sight.  The colours of the trees, the rocks and the snow all blend together to give a picture perfect feel to Yellowstone.

This is such an impressive place – if it was Spring or Summer I would be surrounded by howling tourists – but it is just us 4, the snow and the sounds.  Yep, truly magic.

The afternoon is getting away and we must start heading back.  Jenna asks if we have enjoyed our time and the answer of course is a resounding YES.

Driving back I think that we are feeling very relaxed and just a little bit tired – though hopefully Jenna does not feel so tired that we will make an unplanned stop in 8 metres of snow!  It has been an incredible day.

But Yellowstone is not finished with us yet.  As we drive past a huge open area – we see wolves off in the distance.  The brakes go on – this is so exciting so all of a sudden it has become a 3 dog day – if we count the pet beagle at Madison Warming Hut it is a 4 dog day – but back to the wolves.

One of them is the famous White Lady, the alpha female of the Canyon Pack.  At 12 years old, she is more than twice the average lifespan of a wolf in Yellowstone.   The light is fading fast – the tripods have been packed away – so photography is not so easy but we do our best – I am happy!  We even manage to hear them howling their little hearts out.

We do not want to leave – Jenna is not planning to go while the wolves are around so we stay until we cannot see them anymore.  If we get charged for going over our time limit – so be it – this is worth every cent.

We arrive back at The Lodge and it is pitch black but we are so excited and thoroughly pleased with our Private Tour.  The amount of sights and animals we saw has made our final day in Yellowstone one to remember for all time.  This could not have been a better way to end our stay.

Tomorrow we start our journey back to Bozeman and St Helens and then we have our excursion to Whitehorse – just one exciting day after another.

A rather sad footnote – disturbing news has come to hand since we visited with the White Lady – she was shot by a hunter’s rifle and left for dead.   Found by hikers on 11th April, officials were unable to save her life and she was put down due to the serious nature of her injuries.  A reward has been offered for any information but it his highly unlikely that the cowardly culprit will be found.  This is so sad and I will not go into the heated discussion of hunters – I will only say that we have all lost a part of nature – and that is not a good thing.

Rest peacefully precious Lady – your long journey is now over.  Thank you for allowing us to be with you if only for a short time.