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Yellowstone National Park (Yellowstone Lake)
We woke to the faint roar of the Beehive geyser, spraying steam and water high into the air. Here is the beautiful view from our hotel room:
A closer view from the hotel patio:
The Old Faithful Inn had a small coffee counter on the second floor. While we waited in line, we watched Adam, the coffee barista, display his exceptional talent at single-handedly producing (and remembering!) complex multiple-drink orders in remarkable time.
Ben and the children in the lobby below:
This morning we were driving back to Yellowstone Lake for a fishing boat excursion. We would be camping overnight at the RV park near the lake.
Walking to the parking lot:
Our last view of the geyser basin across from the hotel:
By now I had gotten used to thinking “geyser” and not “fire” when I saw smoke rising from the trees.
The lake was very calm today (and gorgeous!):
One of the buildings in the marina provided a good nesting place for a large community of swallows:
We quickly found our boat and was welcomed by our fishing guide, Captain Gary.
Loading onto our boat:
Captain Gary was an expert fisherman, with a keen sense of where the fish would be biting. Although this was his first year at Yellowstone Lake as a guide, he had been fishing in these waters for many years.
Sebastian was ready!
Off we went!
Ben:
Genevieve started out in the back of the boat.
The wind proved to be a bit chilly, however, and Genevieve soon moved up next to me to get warm. Sebastian was happy (and protected) in the front, sitting next to Captain Gary.
Miss Chris!
Yellowstone Lake is huge: 24 miles long by 14 miles wide. We zipped out to an area called Cedric Shoals. Captain Gary set three fishing lines (for Genevieve, Sebastian and Ben). As the boat eased through the water at a slow crawl, we started trolling for fish.
There are two types of fish in Yellowstone Lake--the Yellowstone cutthroat, which is native to the lake, and the ordinary lake trout, which entered the lake through an unknown source about 15 to 20 years ago. The lake trout swim more deeply in the lake, and thus are not as easily caught; they also don’t swim up in the streams, and thus avoid hungry bears. Unfortunately, they also eat the baby cutthroat fish and have devastated the cutthroat population.
The lake trout population is estimated to be about 3 million, and Yellowstone personnel are currently working on reducing their numbers; so far this year, 60,000 have been caught and removed. Visitors can keep as many lake trout as they can catch. Any cutthroats that are caught, however, must be released back into the river.
Only barbless hooks can be used to avoid damaging the cutthroat fish that are caught and released.
We were very lucky today! We caught five fish—all of them were cutthroat, however, so we didn’t get to keep any.
Sebastian caught the first fish! Captain Gary helped him reel it in.
Scooping up the fish in the net.
Sebastian was very pleased!
He wanted to touch the fish before we released it.
Being out on the lake was very peaceful.
We were trolling next to an island.
Chris helped keep the boat on course while Captain Gary assisted with the fishing.
Next, it was Genevieve’s turn to catch a fish.
Grey clouds rolled in during the late morning.
In the far distance, we could make out the faint mountain tops of the Grand Tetons.
Ben caught two fish, and Sebastian caught another. Captain Gary said that Sebastian’s second fish was the biggest one that he had seen all summer.
Here are some more fishing photos:
I love the expression on Genevieve’s face in this one—such determination!
Captain Gary let Genevieve help with steering on the way back to the marina.
Captain Gary, back at the wheel, with a happy Genevieve (and a tired Sebastian).
Both kids ran into the lower front area to watch the boat go under Fishing Bridge and then dock.
I always get a kick out of the creative names that adorn boats. This boat had a reminder to those who forget how to play together:
We really enjoyed our time on the magnificent Yellowstone Lake—thank you, Captain Gary!
We then drove a couple of miles to the RV campground, which is a large area that is surrounded by tall trees. You would never know that a humongous lake is across the street (and down a bit).
The campground had a (very busy) laundryroom. I snagged a few washing machines, while Ben, Chris and the kids rode their bikes to the lake’s Visitor Center.
There were some exhibits on white pelicans, which nest in colonies on the islands in Yellowstone Lake.
Fishing bridge was near the Visitor’s Center.
Fishing Bridge was so named because fishing used to be very popular here. As shown in this old park photo, hundreds of people used to squeeze together, shoulder to shoulder, to cast their lines into the water.
However, the bridge crosses over a stretch of river gravel that is an ideal spawning area for cutthroat trout—each May, the fish lay several million eggs within sight of the bridge. In 1973, park rangers banned fishing from the bridge when they realized that such fishing was contributing to the severe reduction in the cutthroat trout population.
This evening we participated in a LaMar Valley Wildlife Tour. We would be traveling to the north-eastern part of Yellowstone with hopes of seeing some bison, bear, elk, and other wildlife.
We had an excellent guide/driver--Dave.
He had great talent in driving our 1975 bus, with a double clutch.
Genevieve and I got cozy on the comfortable seats.
Sebastian started out full of energy.
But there weren’t a lot of animals during the first half hour, and the soft seats and rhythm of the bus soon lulled him into dreamland.
We drove along beside Yellowstone River, which we learned was the longest river in the lower 48 states that is completely undammed.
We then wound up and down a twisty mountain pass. On our ascent, we saw a small herd of bison in the distance.
The view near the top of the mountain was expansive.
We passed many lodge pole pines that had been burned in the 1988 fires.
In this photo, you can see the new trees that have been growing in between the burned ones.
In addition to fires, a pine bark beetle infestation has caused the death of many lodge pole pines; the beetles eat the inner layer of bark and kill the trees. You can see some of the diseased trees mixed in among the green trees in this photo:
After a long downhill stretch, we stopped at the Yellowstone General Store, primarily to hike to the waterfall viewing spot that was up the hill.
Years ago, when people drove cars with wooden wheels, the long downhill grade would sometimes make a car’s wheels catch on fire from the near-constant application of brakes. The general store used to be stocked with brake shoes and wheels.
Ben and Sebastian, on the way up the path:
At the end of the trail, we stood for a while and watched the water cascading down Tower Falls.
A closer view:
Family photo:
Sebastian got a ride back down the hill:
Near the waterfall was a canyon wall that clearly showed multiple layers of rock. Of particular interest are the two distinct horizontal ribbons that look like skinny columns lined up tightly against each other—these are lava flows made up of basalt. The vertical spikes in the basalt were caused when the molten lava contracted during the cooling process. The two basalt layers are separated by a larger layer of ancient riverbed silt and gravel.
We rounded a corner and found cars backed up along the road, with a large group of people looking, pointing, and taking photos of something among the distant trees. A bear had been spotted! Our driver pulled over as soon as he found a safe place, and we ran back to where people were still lingering. Ben brought the binoculars.
We were pretty far from the grove of trees in which the bear was hiding. We were required by park regulations to stay at least 100 yards away from bears (and wolves), and 25 yards away from other wildlife. We scoured the trees, looking for something moving. Finally, we were rewarded with a large black shape emerging from the shrubbery—there was our bear!
And much to our surprise, a baby bear appeared, following behind!
Everyone gasped as a second baby appeared! What a treat for us!
We watched with awe, until the small family of bears moseyed their way back into the woods and disappeared from view.
Across the street from the bears was a small herd of buffalo. We watched a big bull stomp his feet in the dust.
Genevieve and Sebastian thought the buffalo were quite fascinating.
Chris did too!
Back on the bus, Dave explained that before the Europeans arrived in North America, there were 30 to 60 million bison (buffalo) on the plains, extending up into New York and New England. By 1800, bison had been eradicated east of the Mississippi. During the period 1860 to 1870, the European-Americans hunted the bison almost to extinction as a part of a scheme to get rid of the Native Americans, whose culture was dependent upon the buffalo for food, clothing and shelter.
We continued driving through LaMar Valley, which was carved by a glacier.
As it traveled through this area, the glacier cut through these rocks, which are 2.7 billion years old; they are made from a type of rock called “gneiss,” which is sedimentary rock that has been transformed due to heat and pressure.
The glacier eventually melted and receded about 12,000 years ago.
LaMar River runs through the middle of the valley.
A large herd of buffalo was spread out, enjoying the tall grass in the valley.
There were numerous small “traffic jams”, as motorists waited to get around buffalo that were walking along, or across, the road.
Apparently, this woman wasn’t aware of the 25-yard buffer zone regulation, nor has she read about the gory injuries (pun intentional) that occur each year when people get too close to a buffalo who feels that his personal space has been violated.
Those horns are definitely pointy, and can cause a lot of damage.
Question: What did the mama buffalo say to the baby buffalo? Answer: Bison. (This was Dave's joke.)
The road through LaMar Valley runs to the northeast park entrance, but we turned around before reaching that point. Our turnaround spot was the entrance to Pebble Creek campground.
As we gazed at the buffalo on the return trip, Dave told us more about the wildlife populations in Yellowstone.
The buffalo population is kept at about 4000 due to grazing issues.
There are about 250 grizzly bears and 500 black bears in the park.
Wolves were eradicated from the park 60 years ago, but they have recently been introduced. Most of the wolves live in LaMar Valley. (We did not see any during our time in Yellowstone.)
The bull elks carry their antlers all winter and drop them in the spring. The heavy antlers cause the male elks move more slowly than females, making them easier prey for predators.
Mountain lions live in the park but are reclusive. Some rangers who have worked at Yellowstone for 10 years have never seen any resident mountain lions.
Dave stopped the bus and set up a telescope that we used to look across the valley at a herd of pronghorn; the animals were moving down the hill, running and chasing each other, back and forth. They seemed to be having a lot of fun!
Pronghorn are often lumped into the “antelope” family; however, they are a separate species. They have horns (not antlers) that they shed every year. They can run in excess of 60 miles per hour and are considered to be the second fastest animal, after the cheetah.
Dave also positioned the telescope to zoom in on a small clump of trees on the valley floor, next to the water.
This allowed us to clearly view an eagle’s nest, as well as the mother eagle, in one of the trees.
The sun was fading, and the mosquito armies were attacking with full force; so we retreated quickly to the relative safety of the bus.
On the way back to Yellowstone Lake, we stopped for more buffalo crossing:
The sky turned pink and orange before it faded to black.
Genevieve fell asleep pretty quickly during the hour-long drive back to the lake. Sebastian sat next to Ben and only fell asleep after half an hour of animated conversation, with each enthusiastic sentence premised with the words, “Hey, Dad . . . .” (I loved it!)
<< Day 56: Yellowstone National Park (Old Faithful) | Day 58: Yellowstone (Canyon and Roosevelt Areas) >>
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