July 13 - Yellowstone Camping Trip Day 1

Vowing to leave Big Sky by 8:00 AM, we roused ourselves fairly early Sunday in order to get to one of the first-come, first-served campgrounds in Yellowstone. We managed to leave only a couple of minutes behind schedule, which is amazing since Chelsea is notoriously slow to get up in the mornings. The five of us (Kevin, Laurie, Colin, Chelsea, and I) with all of our camping equipment, squeezed into K&L's hybrid SUV, and we were reasonably comfortable. It is always difficult to make a beeline to a campground past the many scenic wonders of Yellowstone, but in order to secure a site, it was necessary. Thus it was that we did not stop as our sharp-eyed contingent of kids spotted elk, and eagles, and osprey, and deer, and bison, and gorgeous wildflowers. We reached Canyon, where the campground had the luxury of showers, but they couldn't guarantee a site for 2 days, so we opted to move on to Tower Falls Campground, where my friends Jamie Shumway and Bill Peterjohn had camped last year on our fishing expedition. There were several empty sites, and at the very end of the 30-tent campground was a beautiful site nestled in the huge conifers. We claimed the site, pitched our tents, and jumped back in the SUV to head toward Trout Lake, where Kevin and Colin had observed the otter family, on the off chance that we might be so lucky again.

On the way up the path, we passed famed nature videographer Bob Landis, hauling 50+ pounds of video equipment (including a $50,000+ camera!) up the 1/2 mile grade. Kevin and Colin had met him previously at Trout Lake with their photography mentor Tom Murphy (http://www.tmurphywild.com/). Tom is an amazing nature photographer in his own right, and has several books for sale at Yellowstone visitors centers. Kevin and Colin (Colin especially) continually talked about Tom's pronouncements about wildlife until the rest of us accorded him the status of a minor deity. Both Tom and Bob were so enamored of the otters that they exclaimed it was truly a unique viewing experience. Bob Landis' willingness to haul his equipment up to Trout Lake was proof of that!

Trout Lake was a gem. Surrounded by sage and conifers and wildflowers, the lake reflected these, along with the brilliant blue sky and clouds, blurred only occasionally by light breezes over the shimmering surface. As we walked around the lake, we kept a sharp eye out for the otters. Most visitors were fishing, or watching fish, for Trout Lake was stocked long ago with rainbow and cutthroat trout. These fish have grown huge by being wily enough to spot hooks. At the upper end of the lake, they were massing to spawn in great numbers, attempting to leap a small waterfall in order reach their spawing grounds...er...waters.

But after only 20 minutes, a couple of tourists were pointing at a log, and a photographer with a very long lens was peering intently at that same log. We scurried along the trail to take up positions to see if the otters had returned. Amazingly, they had. This time, two adults (presumably females, since males are driven away - they may cannabilize the young) and ONE young otter were there. All afternoon we wondered where the second baby otter was, and of course hoped that it was simply in the den napping. But these three were after dinner. It wasn't long before one of the adults popped up on the log with a fish in its mouth. She devoured that fish quickly, sharing bits with the other two. For the next hour (plus), we, along with a gathering group of hikers, watched with delight as these playful animals swam, dove, and generally frolicked in the lake; first on the log, then later out in the lake, then later down the shore, then back to the original log. All this time we (and 20 - 40 others!) were only 30 ft. - 50 ft. away! They did keep a watchful eye on us. The delight of everyone in seeing this spectacle really warmed my heart - biophilia at its best. I found myself taking a picture of the people watching, so I could show my Ecology and Evolution class first hand what biophilia looks like. I've included a picture or two for your viewing pleasure, though I don't think the quality quite matches Colin's original posted earlier.






We left the lake very reluctantly in late afternoon. On the way back to Theodore Roosevelt Lodge for dinner, we saw another incidence of biophilia; a group of gawkers in the Lamar Valley staring intently through their scopes at a distant object. A gentleman was kind enough to let us peer through the spotting scope and we caught a short glimpse of a black wolf, probably nearly a mile away. It wasn't much, but there it was, and all of these people were so excited to watch...a dot...running.

Oh, and Chelsea spotted my 'totem' animal - pretty sure it is 'my' animal now - a golden eagle, soaring above the Lamar Valley, majestic.


Oh, and before dinner, we took a ca. 1 mile hike to Lost Lake from near the Petrified Tree. A horse train rode by as we started out on our hike.


Laurie and I looped around to the Lodge, while Kev and the kids returned via car to the lodge. I thought this pond lily shot came out pretty well with my little Canon SX100 IS!


After a nice dinner at the Lodge, we ventured back out into the Lamar at the magic hour, sun setting, watching the hills turn golden and clouds catching the setting sun. A very full first day in Yellowstone, wouldn't you say? What would tomorrow hold?