Wake Up Campers - It's Time to Rise & Shine!

Sunrise over the Yellowstone River

Wednesday would bring a full day of exploring in Yellowstone National Park.  I woke up to a chilly morning, just 33F at 5:00am.  It was painful getting out of my warm and snug sleeping bag, but nature called which required getting up and out of the van.  Because my trip was extended to Yellowstone, I wasn't really packed for cold overnight temps or the chilled early morning air.  I did have a hoodie, so that along with a long-sleeved t-shirt would have to suffice until the sun got things warmed up later in the day.

My day's plan was to spend my time inside Yellowstone, although I did consider heading out of either the Northwest Entrance at Cooke City or perhaps the North Gate at Gardiner.  Both of these small Montana town have cafes and gas, with WiFi being a possibility to connect with work.  But I decided that I had been available by phone and text message, so there was no reason to seek out WiFi in order to check email at home or work. So for me, this day would be about Yellowstone and exploring to see what wildlife had in store for visitors on this fine day.

Pronghorn in Lamar Valley at Dusk

I did the full loop, from Canyon Campground north towards Tower Falls, across to Mammoth Hot Springs and then south from there towards Old Faithful and back around to Canyon.  Before turning in for the night, I also made a trip back up to Lamar Valley in hopes of seeing the wolves again, but alas, they were not out and about.  In total, it was a full day and 245 miles.

Elk near Canyon Village

I was fortunate to see a lot of wildlife throughout my day.  Almost immediately after leaving camp, I saw several elk.  I also had a better black bear viewing opportunity, this time a young (maybe one or two years removed from his momma) black bear near Roosevelt Lodge.  He caused quite the bear jam, requiring the park ranger to manage traffic in order to keep all safe.

Bear Jam

As I made my way over to the Mammoth Springs area,  I saw more elk including some being photographed by young women attempting selfies with the animals in the background.  I thought "so foolish" as I drove by.  The next day I heard a tourist had been "attacked" by a charging elk in that area.

The week before my trip, there had been reports of an older grizzly sow known as "Quad Mom" who had two COY (cubs of the year) around the Mammoth area. It was my hope that I might happen upon them during my swing through that area.  As I drove through, I didn't see any bears and in fact, when I asked a park employee at the service station, he acted like I was some moron even suggesting there might be a bear in that area.  I shrugged it off, and kept on about my day's journey.

Imagine my thrill when I came over a hillside about a mile beyond the Upper Terrace drive, to see folks stopped and pointing up on the ridge.  As I approached the oncoming traffic I asked one of the drivers.  He said "a big grizzly bear with her two cubs just crossed the road and are up on that hill!"

WOOHOO . . . we may luck out after all.

Well unfortunately, there were no convenient turnouts and if the sow and cubs were in the area, they were headed deep into the forest.  About a quarter mile down the road there was a good sized pullover spot, with several photographer with high-end gear on tripods.  I parked and got out to check things out.  Someone had said they saw her scavenging in the brush, but that they weren't really visible enough to try to take photos.  There was also a film crew with large high def cameras poised to roll if the bear family made an appearance.

Because of the thick underbrush and dense treeline, it was really a challenge to be patient in hopes of a glimpse of these bears.  I happened upon a couple of people who were seemingly locals, with the thought that she may take her young family over the ridge and come out down the road somewhere.  The three of us decided to find the next clearing and park to see what might happen.

About a mile down the road was a parking lot used for horseback riding outfitters to park their trucks and offload for trail rides in the open valley.  We parked in there and set about waiting.  I figured this was a good time to have breakfast so I opened the tailgate of the van and took a seat while chatting with my new found friends.  After about an hour, there was a couple who was planning to take a hike on the trail across the road.  Someone mentioned that we were hoping to see the sow with cubs come over the hill to the right and that they may wish to hold off venturing out in case the bears made an appearance.  Just about that time, as fate would have it, the bears appeared right on the very trail this couple was getting ready to head down!

 All of a sudden, it was as if someone had called all of those photogs from back near Mammouth to tell them the bear family was here.  I was so glad we had a relatively front row seat, although it became immediately obvious we needed to move on down the road to the next turnout for a better view.



The sow foraged for more than 30 minutes across the sage. Sometimes you could barely see her and rarely would we catch a glimpse of her two youngsters.  Every now and again, you would see them pop up on their back legs to view what was around them.  They were so very cute, but photography was a challenge for me given the distance.   About this time, I was swearing wishing I could afford better equipment.  But since this is all just a hobby for me and I gain the greatest pleasure in viewing, I accepted that I would be happy with whatever photos I could take.

After she had her fill of whatever she had been eating, she started to pivot and look all around her area.  She got up on her back hind legs to stand tall to get a full 360 view.  Reassured she was in a safe spot, she laid over on her back and the two cubs climbed up to nurse.  While I could observe her feeding her babies with my binoculars, attempting to take photos was pointless.  What I got was out of focus and the bears barely recognizable.  That said, I'll share this image so you can see what it looked like to my naked eye.

I spent close to two hours patiently waiting and then watching this wonderful grizzly bear mom and her adorable little cubs.  Someone mentioned that she was a rather famous bear in the park, largely because of the four cubs she had several years ago, hence the nickname "Quad Mom."  Back in May she had an altercation with a male bear who was trying to attack and kill her cubs.  You see, the males will kill the offspring of another in order to free the sow up for mating with him.  This sow is estimated to be approximately 25-28 years old and suffered a very deep gash above her eyes.  Other photographers shared their photos of her about two weeks ago, with blood and puss oozing from her open wounds.  They say she's fighting for her life as well as the two young cubs.  Because brown bear (grizzly) cubs need their moms for at least two years, this family has a long way to go to survive the harsh reality in the wild.  I pray they all make it.

During my time on this side of the park, I did enjoy my drive through the Upper Terrace area of the Mammoth Hot Springs Area, as well as Firehole Lake Drive, Norris Geyser Basin and the Old Faithful area.  It was midday and all of these popular sites were very crowded with visitors and cars.  I sighed, as I though to myself ". . . and it's only the First of June!"

I did take some time to sit and wait for the popular Beehive Geyser to erupt.  One of the more predictably frequent geysers in the park, folks can enjoy the show without dozens of people crowding them.  That said, I was taking video of the eruption when a rude man stepped right in front of me, blocking the view I had worked to set up.  I hope you enjoy the video in spite of his stepping right into my shot.

Becoming a bit frustrated with all of the crowds and stupid people (the Old Faithful Visitor Center and surrounding "village" were filled with them!) . . . I had started to contemplate heading home the next morning.  If I were to leave Thursday, it would allow me three full days to make the 1,400 mile slog home at a leisurely pace.  Leaving as originally planned on Friday morning, would have little time for much to see along the way, in order to be home at a decent time Saturday afternoon or early evening.

I went to bed around 8:30pm unsure of what my game plan would be. I decided I would just wake up and see how I felt and go from there.