Nature Travelers
Contact Us​
  • Welcome
  • About
    • About Us
    • About NatureTravelers.com
  • Our Travels
    • USA Travels Overview
    • 31 Days In Iceland
    • 15 Days In The Galapagos >
      • Galapagos Resources
    • 28 Days In South Africa
    • 43 Days In Costa Rica
    • Travels In Canada
    • Cruises
  • Travel Journals
    • USA Journal
    • Iceland Journal
    • Galapagos Islands Journal
    • South Africa Journal
    • Canada Journal
  • Photo Galleries
    • USA Photo Gallery
    • Iceland Photo Gallery
    • Galapagos Islands Photo Gallery
    • South Africa Photo Gallery
    • Costa Rica Photo Gallery
  • Future Travels
  • Welcome
  • About
    • About Us
    • About NatureTravelers.com
  • Our Travels
    • USA Travels Overview
    • 31 Days In Iceland
    • 15 Days In The Galapagos >
      • Galapagos Resources
    • 28 Days In South Africa
    • 43 Days In Costa Rica
    • Travels In Canada
    • Cruises
  • Travel Journals
    • USA Journal
    • Iceland Journal
    • Galapagos Islands Journal
    • South Africa Journal
    • Canada Journal
  • Photo Galleries
    • USA Photo Gallery
    • Iceland Photo Gallery
    • Galapagos Islands Photo Gallery
    • South Africa Photo Gallery
    • Costa Rica Photo Gallery
  • Future Travels

Wildlife & Waterfalls - Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming

8/29/2012

0 Comments

 
Today we went to wildlife-rich Lamar Valley. We were in search of bears, but had no luck. We saw lots of other wildlife though including elk, pronghorn, bison, and more. Then we visited four waterfalls including the very picturesque Lower Yellowstone Falls.
Picture
Lower Falls of the Yellowstone - Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming

After a wonderful day yesterday, we got home sort of late.  Of course the ride home included stopping in Mammoth Hot Springs to watch the elk forage in the light of coming and going car headlights.  And we listened to the bull bugle a little bit - right in the middle of town.

After getting home, we didn't stay awake long as the plan was to get up really early and drive out to Lamar Valley heading to the Northeast Entrance.

This morning we got up at 5:00 a.m. and were packed and ready to go by 5:30.  We tried to gently close car doors and we slowly drove out of the campground with only our parking lights on trying not to wake anyone.

However, our attempts to be quiet almost went awry as Linda let out a quick yelp as we passed within a foot of an elk cow standing by the road on one of the campground loops.  Yeah, you realize just how big they are when you're that close.

We drove up into Mammoth and took the road to Tower-Roosevelt Junction, the first time we had been on that road.

 

 

It was still dark, so we took it easy and drove about 10 mph under the posted speed limits.  Just before reaching the junction, we encountered four or five young Mule Deer bucks in the road.  Our second wildlife sighting before dawn.

At Tower, we followed the sign to the Northeast Entrance and drove east as it started getting lighter.

 

 

In the early morning light, every rock and bush looks like an animal.

I really didn't know what section of the road we were supposed to be concentrating on, but I imagined we would eventually see a bunch of stopped cars and people with binoculars, spotting scopes, and long-lens cameras.

We stopped to let some Pronghorns cross the road.

 

 

As it got a little lighter, we were able to distinguish distant black dot animals from distant black dot rocks.  We stopped so Linda could check them out, but they were always lone Bison.  We have certainly seen our share of Bison these last few months, so looking at them through binoculars 300 yards away wasn't too thrilling.

Eventually there it was.  The line of stopped cars and all the wildlife viewing equipment I had imagined.  My problem was, in the haste of getting out the door, I failed to grab my sweatshirt or jacket and it was too cold to get out of the Jeep and stay out very long.

But Linda got out and joined the group colloquially known as "the wolf people".  They track Yellowstone's wolves, have names for each pack, and know the pack members.  Ho hum.  We got great looks at wolves last night, ... we've seen those. How quickly we become jaded.

The wolves did come out and we could certainly see them with our binoculars.  I brought my biggest lens, but could only get this blurry image from the warmth of the Jeep.

 

 

Since we had the great fortune of watching wolves yesterday from much closer, we moved on as this morning's hunting party put more distance between us.

As we have been since we arrived in the area, we were in search of bears.  From what I've read and been told, bear sightings in Yellowstone have decreased.  Plus, the best viewing opportunities are in the spring when there are more carcasses of poor animals that didn't survive the winter.  Still, we stopped and looked at every black dot hoping it would be a large carnivore.

When in search of wildlife, you look closely at every vehicle stopped on the side of the road to see if the people have spotted something.  Most often they have stopped to look at a map, so you by-pass if they are in the car and looking down.

If they have their binoculars out or are pointing, you pay attention.  But then it most likely is a very distant Pronghorn or Bison and you realize the people just arrived in the park and don't yet know they will get very close-up looks of both of those animals.  However, sometimes someone will have made a great sighting and that's why you have to always take a close look.

Reading the people in the parked cars becomes a skill necessary to keep you from 1) wasting your valuable park time, and 2) getting rear-ended when you have to make a split-second decision as whether or not to pull over.

We continued driving only to see more Bison.  Of course, they are magnificent animals and it can be a lot of fun watching the interactions within a herd.  These two were in a little scuffle which was interesting until the battle got a little too close for comfort.

 

 

We kept driving as Linda continued to scan the woods, meadows, tree lines, and ridges for wildlife.  Eventually, long before reaching the park's border, we turned around.

On the way back, our Bison herd had decided the easiest path to their next destination was right up the road.

 

 

It's one thing when they are slowly walking by, but when it turned into a fast trot, it was a little intimidating with us having no place to go.

 

 

Fortunately, there were no incidents and we were able to pass through safely.  As we continued back toward Tower, we saw that "the wolf people" had moved along with everyone following "the wolf people".  With no place to park, we just kept moving.

So, we never saw any bears, but it wasn't a bad wildlife morning with mule deer, elk, bison, wolves, pronghorn, sandhill cranes, bald eagles, hawks, rabbits, and various other birds.  We'd take that any day.

I had once again brought my fishing gear thinking I might do some angling in the Lamar Valley.  But, without proper outerwear and the temps still being quite chilly, I bagged that idea.

Instead, we decided to go to Tower Falls and then on down to Canyon to revisit the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.

 

 

Now that 19-mile road  is the one road in Yellowstone that we've been warned to avoid in an RV.  Not only are there twists and turns, but it is quite a climb up to Dunraven Pass/Mt. Washburn from either direction, and it is a long, steep descent with a six mile stretch of 7% grade going down from Mt. Washburn toward Tower. 

And right now it is even worse due to construction in the Tower Falls area.  They are stopping traffic for several minutes at a time, and the one lane road is very, very narrow.

 

Of course, it's always a good idea to check out the park's Alerts page for road construction.  You can avoid some delays by getting updates there.

The good news is they are trying to improve the roads for today's larger, heavier vehicles, and there are more turnouts for larger vehicles than in days past.

After sitting a few minutes, we were allowed through the construction and we made a quick stop at Tower Falls.

 

 

It's a distant view from the overlook, but it is a lovely waterfall with interesting formations around the top.

 

 

From there we made the ascent up toward Mt. Washburn.  It is a twisty road with beautiful views.  The Mt. Washburn hike is one that is highly recommended for the views and the possibility of seeing bears (we met someone that saw a black bear and two cubs).  There are two different trailheads making for either a 5-mile round-trip or a 6.2-mile round-trip.  However, it's a 1400 foot vertical rise.

We drove up a gravel road (Chittenden Road) to one of the trailheads hoping to spot a bear along the way.  I got out and with the cold wind quickly decided we weren't doing any impromptu hiking today.  Of course, we're not ready for a hike to 10,200 feet right now no matter how prepared we were clothing-wise.

We descended into Canyon and drove directly to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  We parked at Uncle Tom's Point and walked over for a view of the Upper Falls.

 

 

 

Then we drove a mile down the same road to Artist Point.  The last time we passed through the area, I had no idea you could view the Lower Falls from there.

 

 

In fact, there are several great viewpoints from Artist Point. 

 

 

The Lower Falls are gorgeous.

 

 

Before we left, I spoke to the roaming ranger, Kirk.  He has been a full-time RVer for 10 years and he is an official seasonal employee (not a volunteer) with the National Park Service.  He works in Yellowstone in the summer and the Everglades in the winter.  Nice gigs.

I asked about walking down into the canyon from the north rim for a view of the falls from Red Rock Point.  He suggested that the views and colors are better in the morning from Uncle Tom's Trail which goes three quarters of the way down from the south rim.  I hadn't read about that option.

So, we went back to Uncle Tom's Point and took Uncle Tom's Trail.  The trail descends along a paved path and then incorporates 328 steps.

 

 

Yes, the views were quite good from down there.

 

 

 

The Lower Falls are 308 feet and can be viewed from the north rim at Lookout Point, the south rim at Artist Point, or from down in the canyon at Red Rock Point hiking down from the north rim or at Uncle Tom's Trail hiking down from the south rim.

This time of year, it looks like between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. is the prime viewing range.

We walked back up all those steps with Linda using each landing as a goal and rest stop.

We considered doing either the North Rim or the South Rim Trail, but we decided instead to head on back toward Mammoth.

We went back by way of Tower and endured the construction.  Then, since it was dark when we traveled from Mammoth to Tower this morning, we decided to take in some of the sights along that stretch.

We drove the six-mile, gravel, one-way Blacktail Plateau Road.  It gets a little traffic, but not nearly as much as the main roads.  Unfortunately, we didn't see any wildlife at all.

Next, we stopped at the Wraith Falls Trailhead.  It was a one-mile round-trip hike.  Not bad, but I suspect it would be a lot better in the spring during snowmelt runoff.

 

 

The view on the way out was actually better, in my opinion.

 

 

Just a little farther down the road toward Mammoth was Undine Falls, a larger, more attractive waterfall with a roadside overlook.

 

  

We would have liked to have found bears, but we still had another great day of wildlife and waterfalls.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Interests - Backpacking
    Interests - Bird Watching
    Interests - Boat Tours
    Interests - Caves
    Interests - Fishing
    Interests - Hikes
    Interests - Paddling/Float Trips
    Interests - Scenic Drives
    Interests - Waterfalls
    Interests - Wildlife - Alligators/Crocodiles
    Interests - Wildlife - Bears
    Interests - Wildlife - Beavers
    Interests - Wildlife - Bighorn Sheep
    Interests - Wildlife - Bison
    Interests - Wildlife - Coyotes
    Interests - Wildlife - Deer
    Interests - Wildlife - Dolphins/Porpoises
    Interests - Wildlife - Eagles
    Interests - Wildlife - Elk
    Interests - Wildlife - Javelinas
    Interests - Wildlife - Manatees
    Interests - Wildlife - Moose
    Interests - Wildlife - Mountain Goats
    Interests - Wildlife - Otters
    Interests - Wildlife - Owls
    Interests - Wildlife - Prairie Dogs
    Interests - Wildlife - Pronghorn
    Interests - Wildlife - Seals
    Interests - Wildlife - Whales
    Interests - Wildlife - Wolves
    National Conservation Areas
    National Conservation Areas - Red Rock Canyon
    National Monuments
    National Monuments - Bandelier
    National Monuments - Chiricahua
    National Monuments - Grand Staircase Escalante
    National Monuments - Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
    National Monuments - Vermilion Cliffs
    National Monuments - White Sands
    National Parks
    National Parks - Acadia
    National Parks - Arches
    National Parks - Badlands
    National Parks - Big Bend
    National Parks - Bryce Canyon
    National Parks - Canyonlands
    National Parks - Capitol Reef
    National Parks - Carlsbad Caverns
    National Parks - Cuyahoga Valley
    National Parks - Everglades
    National Parks - Glacier
    National Parks - Grand Canyon
    National Parks - Grand Teton
    National Parks - Great Basin
    National Parks - Great Sand Dunes
    National Parks - Great Smoky Mountains
    National Parks - Hot Springs
    National Parks - Isle Royale
    National Parks - Joshua Tree
    National Parks - Lassen Volcanic
    National Parks - Mammoth Cave
    National Parks - Mesa Verde
    National Parks - North Cascades
    National Parks - Petrified Forest
    National Parks - Redwood
    National Parks - Rocky Mountain
    National Parks - Saguaro
    National Parks - Theodore Roosevelt
    National Parks - Voyageurs
    National Parks - Waterton Lakes (Canada)
    National Parks - Yellowstone
    National Parks - Yosemite
    National Parks - Zion
    National Preserves
    National Preserves - Mojave National Preserve
    National Wildlife Refuges
    National Wildlife Refuges - Ash Meadows
    National Wildlife Refuges - Bosque Del Apache
    National Wildlife Refuges - Laguna Atascosa
    National Wildlife Refuges - Okefenokee
    State Parks
    State Parks - Adirondack NY
    State Parks - Anza Borrego CA
    State Parks - Dead Horse Point UT
    State Parks - Del Norte Coast Redwoods CA
    State Parks - Goblin Valley UT
    State Parks - Hocking Hills OH
    State Parks - Jedidiah Smith Redwoods CA
    State Parks - Kodachrome Basin UT
    State Parks - Palo Duro Canyon TX
    State Parks - Patrick's Point CA
    State Parks - Prairie Creek Redwoods CA
    State Parks - Quoddy Head ME
    State Parks - Valley Of Fire NV
    States - Alabama
    States - Arizona
    States - Arkansas
    States - California
    States - Colorado
    States - Florida
    States - Georgia
    States - Kentucky
    States - Maine
    States - Michigan
    States - Minnesota
    States - Montana
    States - Nevada
    States - New Hampshire
    States - New Mexico
    States - New York
    States - North Dakota
    States - Ohio
    States - South Dakota
    States - Tennessee
    States - Texas
    States - Utah
    States - Washington
    States - Wyoming

    Archives

    September 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    March 2017
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    January 2015
    June 2014
    May 2014
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    August 2011
    July 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    October 2010
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    January 2009
    November 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008
    March 2008
    February 2008
    October 2007
    July 2007
    June 2007
    May 2007
    February 2007
    November 2006
    March 2006
    October 2005

Thanks for visiting and we hope you enjoy our website.

Contact Us

Nature Travelers  •  Howard & Linda Payne  •  Howard@NatureTravelers.com  •  www.NatureTravelers.com

All content, photos, and videos - Copyright © Nature Travelers.  All Rights Reserved.
Website Designed by: WCWDesigns