If you dance with a grizzly bear, you better let him lead.

This morning I awoke to a great view (left with Google Earth virtual view right). The air was crisp and the oatmeal perfect. It was a great feeling to literally be able to look out upon where i would be going throughout the day. I headed back through the North Entrance to the Mammoth visitor center. One knows this is a special place where you often have to stop as elk and other animals often cross the road and people walking to class or work have to share the sidewalks with the same animals. I had to wait 20 minutes for the visitor center and backcountry office so I could get my respective stamp and hiking permit. I almost went back to the hot springs to gaze at the terraces again in hopes of some good light for photographs, however I realized I still had to much to see and do, so decided to continue my journey. After getting what I needed I headed east along Grand Loop Road until I found a small one way road heading my direction that left the main highway for about 6 miles before reconnecting. The topographical maps seemed to show it going through a more interesting area, so I decided to take the path least followed. The trip along BlackTrail Plateau Drive was a great side excursion. I also did a quick stop to check out the petrified trees that were just off the main road.

I made a quick stop at the Tower ranger station to get their unofficial park stamp before heading towards Lamar Valley. It was a decently long drive along the northeast entrance road, but for me it was worth the effort to see a new section of the park while picking up a NPS stamp that few people know exists. The Lamar Valley Ranger station (now just known as Buffalo Ranch) is a teaching facility now and used to house people that are working to increase the bison herds. It must be working since just after I was able to get my stamp a large bison was making his way along the buildings with little notice of us. I hung around for a while to get some pictures and to make sure that I did not unnecessarily disturb it (and of course get it ticked enough to charge and damage my uninsured rental car). It was neat to see many of the herds in the distance and imagine what the view would have been a couple of hundred years ago before they were decimated by the ignorant and uncaring. I made a stop a Tower Falls, however the trail to the bottom area was unfortunately closed, so I had to just be satisfied with a few shots of the falls from the upper decks.

My next experience was definitely a trip highlight. After 20 minutes after leaving tower Falls I made a quick stop at a meadow overlook that had an informational placard concerning the valley being prime bear country. Not 20 minutes later at the cusp of a large valley are there were many cars stopped along the roadside. Without even knowing what it was, but assuming it to be something significant I grabbed my camera, long lens, and magnifier/1.4x teleconverter and headed over to the side. It took me a while to locate the subject, but several hundred yards below us was a grizzly bear and her two cubs. I was there for at least 90 minutes just watching the cubs play, rest, play while mother relaxed in the shade and wandered along. Eventually they made their way up the valley, causing a ruckus as the rangers cleared their path of people and vehicles before the animals crossed the road. Even though I was using the highest setting on the camera, the pictures are not as sharp as usual due to the magnification and distance (I was over a tenth of a mile away shooting small moving objects). It was fun to watch the cubs wrestling, funning around, and exploring their environment and I was pleased to be able to witness the event. I was planning on hiking up to Mt. Washburn from the Chittendon Road parking area, but just after I started the wind really began to pick up and I realized how late it was getting and figured I wouldn't have time to see everything else and find a place to stay overnight. I reluctantly turned back and headed towards the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.



After stopping by the Canyon View Visitor Center and getting the park stamp and headed over the the vistas that had names like Inspiration Point, Lookout Point, and Grand View. The canyon was formed like any other, simple erosion over time by running water. The striking canyons are those that are quite deep and offer significant elevation relief. It is the local hot spring activity that really gives the area its color. Even though it was mid-afternoon, there were still plenty of crowds around. There were a lot of look-outs and trails on the north side of the river. It is something about Yellowstone that even a huge glacial rock (rock that was picked up elsewhere, dragged, and eventually left by melting ice packs) can seem interesting. It was my goal to do as much hiking as possible, so I went on pretty much every major path so I wouldn't miss anything. Yellowstone has a lot of volunteers and hobbyists (wildlife watchers, geyser gazers, etc) that hang around. Along one path someone had a nice spotting scope set up that was focused on an osprey nest that I was able to pick up with my telephoto lens.


I continued along the north side of the river and hit all the spots along the way and checked out the view of the Lower Falls. Here the Yellowstone river plunges 308 feet. There were hot springs visible just downstream and even one that seemed to be active spurting into the river. There was a great platform that was literally at the brink of the falls itself. This was an inspiring point as one could hear and feel the thousands of gallons per second rush of the passing water. The light angle was just about right to get a good shot of the downstream canyon that was seemingly enveloped in mist.

On the way over to the south side of the river, I was stuck behind a herd of buffalo that decided to cross the road to ... well; I suppose to get to the other side. Some folks seemed a little impatient, which make me wonder why they would come to a National Park wilderness in the first place. Oh well. I continued over to the Uncle Tom's Trail that headed down the canyon for a different view of Lower Falls. This was a really steep trail that consisted of 528 steps down several staircases to the bottom platform. With an altitude of 8,000 feet, it was easy to get winded when on the way back up. The view here wasn't much better than the north side, but I just didn't want to pass up a challenge. It was sad to hear a group of young people at the top debating whether they should go down the trail because it looked too hard. Unfortunately the trail and the drive to Artist's Point was down for repairs, so I did not get to visit that famous site.



After leaving the Lower Falls path I meandered over to the Upper Falls viewpoint. Though not nearly as tall, these falls can be just as impressive. The Upper Falls, about a half-mile upstream of Lower Falls (which have more of a drop), formed at a junction of a lava flow and glacial lake sediments. After leaving the falls, I headed through Hayden Valley towards another set of roadside springs and mud pots. I had two memorable moments here. Foremost was experiencing the Dragon's Mouth Spring. This felt like a scene from Tolkien's 'Hobbit' when dealing with the dragon. Based on decades of fiction and movies, it felt just as if a dragon was active inside the cave. I sat watching this thing for about 40 minutes just listening to the roar of the steam, the churning water, and agitated surface constantly splashing the shallow pool. I don't know why it was so enthralling for me, but it was. this place had the strongest sulfur smell in the park, but it was tolerable as long as one wasn't directly downwind. After leaving the spring I continued along the boardwalk and was startled by a bison scrounging just off the path. There are constant warnings every few feet in the park about wildlife, so I wasn't going to bother the animal. I got a few shots from a distance once I scooted past and watched for a while. However, it seems the animal was on the inside of the circular boardwalk and it was soon climbing up and walking down towards me. I tried to keep a decent distance without making sudden movements, however those things can definitely move if provoked. This thing definitely can move and I was soon walking quite briskly to stay out of its way. Apparently the loop part of the boardwalk was closed for repair, so this thing was in the way of escape, so we just had to wait it out. One guy thought he would just waltz past the animal when it was just a few feet from the boardwalk, but had to sprint by when the animal made a sudden snort and foot stomp. One would have thought the sharp pointy horns would be enough warning.

After finishing up here I headed out again. I got to Fishing Bridge Visitor Center just in enough time to get the park stamp and afterwards sat at the dock for a while overlooking Lake Yellowstone. I had an overnight permit to go around Shoshone Lake, however I didn't get near the trail head until it was just about dark and I was too tired to pack and try hiking unknown territory in bear country after dark. I continued on to my previous parking spot at the Old faithful Inn, cooked dinner, grabbed a shower, and charged my batteries before finally succumbing to exhaustion in the front seat of the car. This was one of the most packed days of my life, but it was well worth the energy spent.