and wildfauna
photo, we were all ready to head off for more adventures. First stop, Mt. Washburn summit via a steady climb from the Chittendon spur road off the Dunraven Pass area.
But first, we spotted a beautiful black bear in the same area that Kevin and Colin had seen one the week before. We all clambered up the bank to try to get photos, but I think I may have lucked out to get this picture with my 10x zoom. We were probably almost 100 yds. from this bear when it stood up and acted a bit annoyed at being followed.
The photo below was taken toward Mt. Washburn from one of the roadside pullouts.
The hike up Mt. Washburn traversed open meadows and burned over forest (from the '88 fires). As elsewhere in the park, the heavy snows were watering heavily flowering fields that must have been at peak color. Here is just one flower from this hike.
Silky Phacelia. Check out those stamens!
Marmot (i.e., golden eagle food!)
Many hike this trail to see the 'elusive' bighorn sheep. Upon arrival near the summit, we realize that they weren't so elusive and in fact, the ewe and lamb herd seemed to gravitate to the trail, where probably they sensed the 'protection' they were receiving from Yellowstone's abundant predators (grizz, wolf, mountain lion). The lambs, like so many baby animals, were adorable.
Mt. Washburn provides a great vantage point for much of the park and the visitor's building at the top explains the panorama. We were surprised at the number of people who had made the trip, and encouraged by it, since the 1500 ft. vertical climb over 2.8 miles was not trivial. Here is proof that I was still smiling after making the ascent!
Colin, Kevin and I decided to descend to Dunraven Pass via a different route, while Chelsea and Laurie returned to the car. They would later pick us up. Our total hike was 6 miles, and lots of switchbacks and large snowbanks to traverse made the hike interesting. We also happened upon this spruce grouse on the side of the trail, who occasionally puffed up and made deep beating mating sounds, as if, when he saw us, he was not quite sure what a female grouse looked like, so to be sure, he held forth! Apparently this bird's brain was undersized relative to the body...
More wildflowers on the descent. Gorgeous!
After the hike, we moved on to Canyon Village, where we ate a late lunch and enjoyed the Visitor's Center. Then it was on to Hayden valley, land of many bison, pelicans, grizzlies, and the wild Yellowstone River. We stopped to see some thermal features and smell the sulfur (mmm...reminds me of Moffitt Rd. where we had sulfur water). We were going to head toward the shore of Yellowstone Lake, but ran into a traffic jam near Fishing Bridge, found out that it was a motorcycle accident, and that our turn was temporarily blocked, so we pulled a u-turn and headed back north. We spied a bald eagle pair hanging out near the river, a sight that, jaded as we now are, did not keep us transfixed for long. But one sight that did get us very excited was a herd of bison running. They had jammed up traffic because the entire herd was crossing the road toward the Yellowstone. Then they plunged into the swiftly moving river, Moms, Dads, calves and all, swimming desperately to get to the other side. We were sure a pack of wolves was going to appear behind the panicking herd, but if they were there, they never showed. It was quite a sight to see these huge beasts being swept downriver as they swim across. Glad I wasn't fishing on the bank right then!
We also came upon a single car stopped by the side of the road, trying to wave us out of the way. We knew they must be onto something - looked back and saw this handsome brown black bear (black bears come in many color phases). We were much closer to this bear, and once again, he wanted nothing to do with the stopped cars and flashing cameras.
We ate dinner at Canyon Village, and headed out for an evening drive in Lamar Valley again. Can't get enough! Wildlife drive.
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