Glacier National Park
This park is famous for its Going to the Sun highway which bisects the park east to west. We approached from the west so we headed for Logan Pass which crosses the Continental Divide. At the top we saw an animal that we had missed seeing up close and personal in the North Country - a mountain goat. Due to road construction the road was closed at Logan Pass, so after we completed a few hikes, we had to return to the west entrance and drive around the park to the east entrance. There we hiked to several waterfalls and drove the other half of the Going to the Sun highway. At our campground, we were startled by a strange noise nearby. It sounded something like this: it started with an eerie screech like opening a barn door with rusty hinges followed by the cough of a sick horse. It’s quite a disturbing sound the first time you hear it on a moonless night, but don’t know the source. It was the bugling of a bull elk! Good thing they have rangers to explain these things!
Yellowstone National Park
My first visit to Yellowstone was in 1972 during a 4 month cross-country trip. What I remember most about that trip were the bears. Bears were everywhere, at least everywhere people were present. They also congregated at the park dump. My next visit was in 1986 - by then the bear problem was being better managed, and roadside viewing of bears became less likely. Now the parks push “A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear” policy. They try to eliminate all human (and human food) contact with bears. Of course the real problem is ignorant tourists, not the bears. While the rangers may prefer to shoot these tourists, they instead have to use rubber bullets to shoot the bears that show little fear of humans. This is to train them to stay away from where people are present. If this doesn’t work, relocation and termination can also be used. It sounds harsh but has actually been quite effective. The proof is that, despite a healthy bear population, it is rare to see a bear near the road.
There are hundreds of elk and bison near the road that are just waiting for their picture to be taken; however, this time of year you have to keep a safe distance from the bull elk. At Mammoth Springs, one bull, with his harem of cows nearby, would stand outside the main hotel and ram cars when passengers took his picture. The rangers were busy with crowd control and filling out at least a dozen elk-damaged car accident reports daily. Other wildlife that you are not likely to see include the wolf which was introduced about 10 years ago and the mountain lion which reintroduced itself a few years ago (without any help from Congress). This has greatly enhanced the natural wildlife environment.
The other big event in recent Yellowstone history was the fire of 1988. Major portions of the park were burned in that famous forest fire. Recovery is progressing well. Most of the forest in Yellowstone is Lodgepole Pine, and the seeds from these trees need fire to open. So the natural reseeding of Yellowstone started before the fire was extinguished. In most areas the new growth is 3 to 15 feet tall. In some areas the growth is so thick and lush, it looks like a turf farm from a distance. A few areas burned a second time before the new growth could produce seed cones. These areas will take longer to recover. Most of the bushes enjoyed by moose were destroyed by the fire, so the moose moved south into the Tetons.
We spent three days visiting the geysers, fumaroles, mud pots, canyons and waterfalls of the park. We were heading in for a fourth day, but a snow storm and road closures convinced us to bypass the park and head south to Jackson, WY.
Teton National Park
Since we could not head south through Yellowstone NP, we had to cross Teton Pass (elev. 8431 feet). The only problem was it was snowing and there was a 10% grade up and a 10% grade down. We made it OK, but it was hard on the nerves! The next day was very clear and the mountains had a fresh coating of snow. We hiked around Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls, Inspiration Point and into Cascade Canyon. It was a long but beautiful hike. The next day we took a hike with the hope of seeing some wildlife in a remote setting. We found Trumpeter Swans at Swan Lake (how did they know?) and a large herd of elk with several big bulls passed nearby us. From here we headed south toward Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. On the way we saw so many pronghorn antelope that it seemed the ranchers were raising them. We later found out that there are more of these antelope in Wyoming than there are people.
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
John W. Powell named this canyon during his exploration of this area. The outfall from the dam is an International Blue Ribbon trout fishery. Fishing is big business here. We saw herds of elk, big horn sheep, mule deer and pronghorn antelope.
Dinosaur National Monument
We only had time for a quick visit; we’ll have to come back for more. From here we are heading home with a few rest stops thrown in for good measure. We’ll be back in the MD/PA area by Nov. 3.
This concludes the Summer Semester of our Roads Scholars Program. Future courses in the next 12 months will be held in Bonaire, Florida, Australia, British Columbia, Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario and other places yet to be determined.
Be back in touch next year.
Don & Pat
