Yellowstone National Park/Grand Teton National Park, 9.26.21 - 10.6.21, Part 5 of 11
Going to Yellowstone is sort of like buying a lottery ticket. For a small investment, you are hoping to get a humongous return but you really don’t truly believe your investment will amount to anything. Yellowstone has a healthy population of grizzly bears and wolves but it is a very large place. The thought of actually seeing a top predator in the wild is an anticipated thrill I can’t even describe. No matter what else you are seeing or doing, your brain is on ultra high alert for that odd chance that fate brings one of these amazing creatures into your line of vision.
After our long spectacular day in the southwest sector of the park, I thought we could have another relatively easy day before another long day. It felt like it would be more of a rest day without a huge amount of anything going on. We planned to take a leisurely drive, see a couple of features and get back early enough so Kent could go on a run.
We left just before sunrise and slowly cruised down through Hayden Valley. This was our third time (my sixth) driving through this absolutely stunning scenery. By the time the sun broke the horizon we had turned east from Fishing Bridge and stopped to gawk at the amazing early morning light in beautiful Pelican Valley. I don’t hear much about this valley, but every time I’ve driven through, the beauty of this area blows my mind.
Early morning light in Pelican Valley
Pelican Valley
Pelican Valley Sunrise
As you drive through Pelican Valley, Yellowstone Lake is on your right. It is an extremely large lake, the largest freshwater lake above seven thousand feet in America. Our route passed through Pelican Valley and then climbed above Yellowstone Lake towards Sylvan Pass and the east entrance of the park. Not too far above the lake we came to a side road that led to Lake Butte Overlook. We had a commanding view of the lake from this vantage point. We could see steam vents along the shore, nary a boat to be seen and off to the south the Tetons rose dramatically above the lake. Above the lookout, strange twisted trees cut into the blue morning sky.
Trees above Lake Butte Lookout
Tetons rising off to the south of Yellowstone Lake
Zoom of the Tetons over Yellowstone Lake
Steam vents along the road from Pelican Valley
Leaving the lookout, we began to retrace our route towards Fishing Bridge. As we came around a corner, still high above the lake, we came upon a group of people parked on the side of the road. There were maybe fifteen people or so and some had big spotting scopes. My heart immediately started racing. Kent wondered aloud if they were looking at elk or possibly bison which was a clearly a case of L.D.S. (Lottery Denial Syndrome). As I pulled over and parked I assured him that with this many people and this many scopes it could only be one of two things - bears or wolves.
Scope people and bear and wolf watchers in particular seem to be a nice bunch. Most are happy to let you have a peek at whatever they happen to be looking at. We would typically pull into anywhere people were using spotting scopes and ask what they were looking at. On this curve in the road above Yellowstone Lake the answer came. Grizzly bears. For unexplained reasons, we had left Bridgit’s spotting scope back at the lodge but we had two pair of binoculars and my 300mm zoom lens (soon to be upgraded to 600mm!). At first we couldn’t see where the bear was. In a brown carpet of grasses covered with brown and black fallen trees, a grizzly bear can easily blend in to the surroundings. But after pointing it out again we finally saw two grizzlies, a sow and her cub down below us and maybe a hundred yards away. Even though we were in no danger (the bears paid zero attention to us), all four of us were almost breathless with excitement and awe. We watched the bears for several minutes before I noticed that there was another parking pullout just a little ways down below where we had parked. Not wanting to peel their eyes away, I had to almost drag the the others back to the car and we quickly re-parked in the lower lot. This turned out to be a great move. We were still the same hundred yards away but now we were level with the two bears. Because we were looking to the east, the sun was high enough not to be glaring. An added bonus was that with the sun behind the bears, the early rays were lighting up the hairs along the backs which really added definition to the scene.
We stayed there for at least forty minutes watching the two grizzly bears digging up roots and rolling heavy stumps and rocks out of their way with their powerful forelegs. Bridgit and Candice shot great videos with their iPhones while I simply shot dozens of photos with my DSLR.
Mama grizzly bear
Mama grizzly bear
Mama and cub (Raspberry and Jam)
In talking with a guy in the parking lot that seemed to be a wealth of information, these bears are not tagged but do have names. The sow is named Raspberry and the cub is Jam. Jam is from Raspberry’s second litter. At one and a half years old, Jam will spend the winter with Raspberry and then most likely at two years next spring Jam will be sent out to fend for himself (herself?).
As it soaked in that we had actually seen grizzly bears from about as close as you should get to stay safe, we were like little kids. Hugs all around, high fives, fist bumps, kisses, we were about as excited as we had ever been in our lives. Back in the car, our minds were swimming. It was hard to focus after such an amazing experience. But there was plenty of things we still wanted to see besides a couple of little furry animals so we drove back to Fishing Bridge and headed further south along the lake shore to West Thumb Geyser Basin. Bridgit and I had been here before last year with Bob and Dana and really liked all the geysers and springs situated right on the edge of Yellowstone Lake.
Walking through West Thumb Geyser Basin, it seemed to not be as exciting as the first time we had been there. I think there was less water in the basin and it just seemed drier. Even the Abyss Pool was underwhelming and that was really stunning last year. It’s totally normal that all these hydrothermal areas are in a constant state of change. This whole thing is sitting right on top of a giant magma chamber after all.
Microbial mats on Yellowstone Lake with the Absaroka Mountains behind
Fishing Cone, West Thumb Geyser Basin
In all honesty, after seeing two grizzly bears, West Thumb Geyser Basin was doomed for failure. Our brains weren’t there, they were trying to process our grizzly experience. The drive back to our lodge was uneventful and we were all fairly quiet, deep in thought. Kent had plenty of time for a run, we took a quick nap and relaxed before an early dinner. Afterwards, Kent and I drove back down to the North Rim and checked out the evening views from Lookout Point, Grandview Point and Inspiration Point. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was lit up in the late afternoon sun and it was a great way to wrap up what had turned out to be an amazing day.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Artist Point is on the bare ridge near the right side of the photo just in front of the trees
Only two days in Yellowstone National Park remained. For the next day’s adventure, Part 6 awaits.