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October 1997 Trip Report


Bull Elk at Norris by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997

Bull Elk at Norris
by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997





08 October 1997 - Wednesday


We were on the road at about 5:30 pm on Wednesday. The weather had cleared out and we had nice blue skies and clear roads for our drive to West Yellowstone. There was very little construction and I-15 North is now open all the way to Idaho Falls. About 10 miles north of Ashton, Idaho as we headed up into the mountains, the trees were lightly caressed with snow and there was a little snow on the west side of the hills and along the road. Our first hint and experience of snow this year. But the roads were dry. We made good time and arrived at the Three Bear Lodge at 10:30 pm. We checked in and hit the sack.




Old Faithful Inn by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997

Old Faithful Inn by John W. Uhler
09 October 1997


09 October 1997 - Thursday


We did not get up early as usual this day - this we did especially for our friends who are late risers and questioned our sanity at being on vacation and getting up at 5:00 am or 0-dark thirty as they would call it. We slept in until 8:00 am and then headed to breakfast. It was overcast and snowing when we left our rooms.


After breakfast we headed into the park. The crew consisted of my wife Carlene, our children, Tamra, Rebekah, Joseph, Rachel and Tamra's fiance, Shawn. Shawn had never been to Yellowstone, so we made a long drive around the park to Madison, to Norris to Canyon to Fishing Bridge and to Old Faithful. We were dusted with snow all day long, but the roads were clear. We saw a few buffalo on our way in from West to Madison and a few elk and Canada Geese and ducks. There were not very many buffalo or elk in the meadows compared to years past, I guess they were holed up in the trees from the weather.


We had a great time touring Norris. Just a few other visitors there. There were two very large bull elk right off the trails and they were bugling and it was great to watch and listen to them. We took some nice photos and will have some on this page as soon as they come back. We had a nice time there walking the trails and looking at the geyser and thermal activity. We watched and hoped for Steamboat geyser to go off.... but she did not oblige. She hasn't erupted since 01 Oct 1991 and we were hoping to be the next lucky group to watch the largest geyser (300 - 400 feet) erupt but she just smoked and made noise and splashed a little for us.


Canyon was our next area to spend some time. The snow started to come down a little heavier while we were here. We were able to see the lower falls and take some pictures of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone before a white mist or cloud came in and limited our visibility.


The drive from Canyon to Old Faithful was nice, wet roads and a little slushy in the shaded areas. We stopped and made a tour of my favorite building in all the world, the Old Faithful Inn. What a fantastic place, we walked the halls and stairs, marveled at the craftsmanship and log work and wondered at its beauty. Someday, Carlene and I are going to stay there to celebrate our anniversary or something!


We then made our way out of the Inn and watched Old Faithful go off. She teased us with about a half dozen false starts and then did the real thing. It was fun to watch between the snow flakes and it like was being in some prehistoric movie to watch all the thermal activity on all the hills and dales throughout the Old Faithful area. It is a great area to spend some time walking the boardwalks and admiring the colorful pools, hot pots, fumaroles and geyser activity. Beehive had gone off earlier this morning, so we had missed it this time.


On our drive to Gardiner, we saw a few elk and buffalo, but most of the elk were at Mammoth. We checked into the Best Western hotel at Gardiner as it was getting dark. So we opted for supper and to hit the pool and hot tub, a nice way to relax after a snowy drive around the park.




Bull Elk at Norris by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997

Bull Elk at Norris by John W. Uhler


10 October 1997 - Friday


6:00 am came early as we headed to Lamar Valley. We saw a few elk on the drive from Mammoth to Roosevelt. Just before the petrified tree road, we saw three coyotes just off the road so we stopped and took some pictures as they posed for us. I think they were feeling a little bad with all the attention on the wolves. We then saw three more coyotes just above the Yellowstone picnic grounds. We drove down the road to Lamar Valley looking for wildlife. We saw a large herd of elk just east of the Specimen Ridge trial sign on the south side of the road. The skies were overcast and we had light sprinkles as we were driving and watching.


We stopped at a few turnouts and glassed the hillsides for bears and wolves. As we were driving down the road just past the Lamar Ranger Station / Buffalo Ranch we noted a vehicle pulled over with spotting scopes and binocs looking towards the south side of the valley. We pulled over and joined in the activity. They said they were watching the wolves on the other side of the Lamar River. It was the Druid Peak Pack. It was 7:30 am and most of the pack were walking or lying on a berm above and about 100 yards from the river. We scanned the hillside and found ten wolves, our friends from Washington found wolf number 39, the white female - all eleven wolves of the pack were there. At 8:05 am the white wolf began to howl, the rest of the pack came together on the berm and greeted each other and did a pack howl back to the white wolf. They only howled for about two or three minutes at most, but it was beautiful!


We watched the wolves until about 10:30 am and then headed to Cooke City for breakfast. We had a nice brunch and headed back to Lamar. The wolves stayed out in the same general area all day. When we came back from brunch, some of the pack was still lying on the berm or that same general area. We drove up to the third turnout from the Lamar Valley wooden sign to look for any bear activity. There were some monster elk all up high on the south hillside. There was a small herd of about twenty buffalo just east of the wolves. We didn't see any bears in the area. Some folks that stopped by to view the wolves said that a hiker reported seeing a griz and two cubs while hiking above Slough Creek campgrounds.


While looking for bears and wolves, we spotted two coyotes down on the bank of the Lamar River feeding on a kill with ravens and magpies. We watched the wolves and coyotes until about 3:30 pm and then headed back to Gardiner. The coyotes at one point were barking, yipping and howling.


The family wanted to go swimming, so we had supper and then hit the pool. I really wanted to be back in Lamar, but we had a fun time swimming and in the hot tub. Mean while...


Richard and Joanell, our friends from Minnesota were watching a griz that made its way down to the kill the coyotes were feeding on on the bank of the Lamar River. The bear kept looking south and lifting its nose or head like he or she was trying to get the scent of something. The griz slowly started walking south towards the wolves. The bear made its way to the area of the wolves kill and two wolves started to nip at its heals and harass the bear. The bear tried to swat the pests, but they were too fast for it. At one point the bear started to go after the wolves when the rest of the pack showed up and surrounded the bear and made nipping runs at the bears hind quarters. It looked like the bear became frustrated and sat down to get some protection to its rear and bit or clawed at the wolves. This went on until it became to dark to see what was going on. We assume that the bear and wolves parted company with very little injury to either. What a way to end a day of wildlife watching in Yellowstone!


Coyote in the Sage - by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997

Coyote in the Sage
by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997


11 October 1997 - Saturday


We were up at 6:30 am and on the road by 7:00 am for Lamar. We stopped at the same turnout as Friday afternoon and found six of the Druid Peak Pack still out on the hillside above the Lamar River. The weather was cold and snowing. We scanned all the hillsides and made our way east down the valley towards Soda Butte. We saw buffalo and some elk making their way down the mountain side towards the valley. We stopped and talked to fellow wildlife watchers and spent part of the morning scanning the area for more wolves and any bears. Nothing else showed up or at least we were not lucky enough to see them.


For breakfast we headed to Cecil's in Gardiner, but they were closed for the season. We had breakfast at another restaurant. The weather was not any better after breakfast, wind, snow and cold. So we took a break and let the kids hit the pools and hoped for a break in the weather. There were some great bull elk in the Mammoth area, both above Liberty Cap and below the campgrounds along the road. We hope the pictures turn out.


After supper at Helen's we headed back to Lamar. The weather was still cold, snowing and blowing. We stopped and scanned the hillsides but our visibility was poor and we couldn't see too much at all. We did see one elk herd of about twenty elk running west up the valley and they kept looking back east behind them. They were nervous and made their way down and across the Lamar River just before it got too dark to see. In talking to one of our friends Larry and Ranger Rick, the wolves had made an elk kill for the past three nights. Larry reported that someone had spotted a griz and two cubs up in the snow on the south mountains above the kill by the river. But the snow and clouds made it impossible to see anything in that general area. We stayed and watched and shivered and hoped until it was to dark to see anything. We then headed for the pool and hot tub. There were still snow flurries coming down when we went to bed.


Bull Elk at Norris by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997

Bull Elk at Norris
by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997


12 Oct 97 - Sunday


The weather Sunday morning was somewhat clearer with some blue skies, but still cold and windy. There were storm clouds on all sides and it looked like the clear weather wouldn't last too long. After breakfast we headed to the park. At the entrance, the ranger stated that all roads outside of Mammoth to Silver Gate were closed due to snow and ice. We drove to Mammoth and toured the museum and watched a film on Yellowstone and the national parks. When the film was finished, they announced that all the park roads were open except Dunraven. At 11:00 am we headed towards Madison and West Yellowstone. We stopped for brunch at the Silver Spur in West Yellowstone and then slowly made our way back to our home away from home. We had some snow flurries but the roads were clear as we headed down out of the mountains towards Ashton, Idaho.


We were a little down as this was probably out last trip until the park opens again in April. But we had a blast watching the wolves and getting to see the whole pack and to hear them howl. Along with all the other wildlife it was a fun time and a thrill for those in our family and our friends that stopped by and took a look at the wolves and elk and coyotes and whatever else we could see in our spotting scopes... to share the time together and to see the excitement and thrill in their eyes and faces made the time more pleasurable and satisfying for all. We shall treasure our time together and the experience. Our family had a great time and grew closer by being together and just being in Yellowstone and sharing its spirit.


Bull Elk at Norris by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997

Bull Elk at Norris
by John W. Uhler - 09 October 1997


We saw - Antelope, Buffalo, Canada Geese, Coyotes, Chipmunks, Deer, Ducks, Elk and Wolves.


Steamboat Geyser by John William Uhler - October 9th, 1997

Steamboat Geyser by John W. Uhler


Total for the year so far: American Kestrals, Antelope, two Badgers, Bald Eagles, 13 Black Bears, Bighorn Sheep, Buffalo, Canada Geese, Coots, Coyotes, Deer, Ducks, Elk, a Golden Eagle, 26 Grizzly Bears, five Moose, Red-Tailed Hawks, Sandhill Cranes, a Snow Goose, eleven wolves of the Druid Peak Pack and ten of the Rose Creek Pack.





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