Winter in spring in Yellowstone

The alarm went off at 2:30 and I rolled down from my overcab bunk, wondering exactly why..... but then I remembered, it was off to see wildlife. I was ready by 3:30, but I reserved drinking coffee until I was sure we were going through with the adventure. We had agreed that if Steve found out the roads were closed, he should not drive to the RV park. He would be here by 3:45 or he was not coming.

At 4 am, I put the coffee to the side and crawled back into bed.

I had two mornings that day. We got dressed again and Linda and Steve came to pick us up at 11:00. They said they had sack lunches and we were going north. The desk at the hotel said the road was closed, but the guide had said fooey, it was not! We missed incredible wildlife. We drove up to Mammoth and then to the Lamar Valley. We alternated snow and rain the whole day, depending on our elevation. But we never saw wolves or bears or moose. We did see the less elusive bison, coyote and elk.

At Mammoth, we stopped to pick up our UPS package of RV parts, and found out that the desk had refused the package minutes before. We had watched the UPS driver leave the Mammoth area with our package. This began the adventure of Carl chasing down our parts back to Bozeman and throughout the park.

That evening we had fancy company for dinner. Linda and Steve came for steaks on the grill. It was so cold that it took extra long to cook them, but we succeeded. I was acutely aware that a bear might want them while I was grilling, and I had decided if he asked, I would say yes, of course, help yourself. For desert we had the hotel's "I'm sorry" gift to Steve and Linda for turning our package away. The gift bag included a bottle of nice Pinot Noir and several versions of Huckleberry candies. Tasted like grape chocolate.....

We bid Linda and Steve goodbye for several months, and I realized as I said goodbye I would not be seeing anyone I know, except Carl, for a long time.

The next morning the sun came out brilliantly. We drove to Old Faithful Lodge, where cell service was good, and Carl began to talk to Bozeman UPS Central and drivers across the park. I took the Upper Geyser walk, a three mile round trip through geyser fairyland. Yellowstone is the most amazing place on the entire earth, I am convinced. Geological features, geysers, mountains, canyons, meadows, wildlife, lakes, rivers....it has it all, unspoiled but accessible.

By the end of my walk, Carl and UPS had come up with a plan. We would meet the driver at the Madison Ranger station. Finally, we were united with our package of parts, and off to the north entrance. We left the park through the Yellowstone River Valley, where lush meadows rose up into the base of the northern Rockies. This river corridor acts a migratory funnel for elk, deer, pronghorn, bighorn, and bison between winter and summer feeding grounds. The hills crimp down into Yankee Jim Canyon and then expand again into Paradise Valley. Above the river rise black cliffs. As we wound north to White Sulphur Springs, we passed many ranges including the Gallatin, the Absaroka, the Bridger Range, the Crazy Mountains, the Castle Mountains, the Big Belt Mountains. Always the valley widened then narrowed always the scenery the same but changing, breathtaking and big.

Crossing Wyoming: Bighorns to Yellowstone

In my opinion, the Bighorns deserve a lot more credit than they get. I suppose the Rockies are bigger, and the Tetons more dramatic, but the Cloud Peak Skyway on route 16 from Buffalo to Greybull was spectacular. In late May, there was still plenty of snow in the higher elevations and Powder River Pass. Route 14 is supposedly more winding and scenic, but either way, you can't lose. Daisy got her first snow (she blogged about this, of course) and so did we.

After crossing the Bighorns, we headed north to Greybull, thinking our lunch stop would be the air museum there. By the time we reached Greybull, winds were gusting to 40 mph. Walking across the parking lot at the rest area outside the museum, Daisy was almost blown away. We could not visualize walking about the airfield in that bluster.

Once again, we found ourselves driving West with crosswinds pushing Teregram all the way into Cody, where we stopped for a quick walk through of Sierra Trading Post's Outlet Store. How can an outlet store have an outlet store? Since I started ordering from them online, they have tracked my savings. Do you know I have saved over $4,000?

After Cody, the skies darkened, and by the time we entered Yellowstone, it was snowing hard. We took it really slow up Sylvan Pass. Our day grew longer and longer, and we reached Fishing Bridge RV Park near Lake Yellowstone only 15 minutes before we were to be picked up for dinner by our friends. One RV driver told Carl he had let air out of the tires to get more traction crossing the pass.

As we neared the RV park, we saw many cars stopped and guys with big lenses photographing a mama bear and her cubs in the meadow. Linda and Steve picked us up and treated us to dinner at the lovely Lake Yellowstone Hotel dining room. The lake was still frozen and the view out the big lake-front windows with the snowflakes coming down was just exquisite.

We turned in rather early, because we were going on a photographic expedition with a wildlife guide in the morning. Because of the weather, Steve and Linda would be picking us up at 3:30 am so we could meet the guide at Mammoth at 5. I felt a bit apprehensive as I set the alarm for 2:30 am. What on earth am I thinking?