Pat at Yellowstone Canyon
A family of bison being herded by a park volunteer in a modern version of a white horse
Baby Bison
Timber WolvesYellowstone
This was our 4th trip to Yellowstone. Instead of driving all around the park and stopping at all the road-side points of interest, we decided to hike the backcountry instead. We were sure we would see more wildlife that way. After two days and 12 miles of hiking, we had not seen anything larger than a chipmunk. So we headed back to the RV. While contemplating our next move a Red Fox walked right in front of the RV. We headed back to Mammoth, only to find a herd of Elk right in the middle of town. Go figure! We did find Yellowstone overrun with Bison. There are 3900 there and most of them will be standing in the road. In a good year (mild winter, wet summer) their numbers will increase by 600.
On our last full day, we were getting desperate - we had not seen a bear, wolf, or mountain goat in the park. So after another hike, we drove to the NE entrance and spotted a mountain goat on a distant cliff. It was getting late so we headed back to camp. Just before we got there, we saw a crowd had gathered. One guy let us look in his spotting scope. There was a dead bison in the distance and five grizzlies were taking turns at downing bison steaks. There was even a wolf sneaking in to get some meat. Our week was complete!
Cody
If you leave Yellowstone from the east entrance, you will go through Cody. Be sure to stop at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. There were sizable exhibits on Yellowstone, Buffalo Bill, Plains Indians, Western Art and Firearms, plus a Sculpture Garden. We spent 2 half days there and still did not see it all. Of course the reintroduction of wolfs in Yellowstone continues to be a hot topic in this ranch community. I saw this bumper sticker in town - “Wolfs - Government Sponsored Terrorists”.
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