Winter in Yellowstone National Park

This is a really long post! My intent was to post entries while we were on our trip, but there isn't any Internet access in Yellowstone National Park. So, I made my entries in a document and am adding them to the blog.

Our trip began on January 6 and we returned on January 14. This is probably one of our best trips! It ranks up there with our treks to Colorado, Oregon and New Mexico.

1/6/10 – Got up at 4 AM to catch our 6:30 AM Frontier Airlines flight from DFW to Denver and connecting to Bozeman, Montana. The Denver layover was a scant 30 minutes and of course our gate was at the other end of the terminal. Fortunately the flight to Denver was on time, so we raced down to the Bozeman flight gate.  This flight was on a prop plane…so no jetway…temperature was 20 degrees and windy…our first taste of cold. Sat on the tarmack for 45 minutes while they de-iced the plane.

Made it to Bozeman – 6 degrees. Upgraded car rental from a Toyota Corrolla to a RAV 4. Stopped in Bozeman and had lunch at the Walmart McDonald’s…yum. Stocked up on some food for lunches…especially if we hike, snowshoe…headed for Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel which is inside Yellowstone National Park. It took about two hours. It had snowed recently so the roads were a bit slick, but not bad.

Unpacked our stuff. The hotel is older and still heated with radiators. The room was cold.

Took a walk up to the nearby hot springs. With the cold steam billowing all over. The sun was down…temperature now below 0. We didn’t have all our winter layers on, so we cut the walk short…getting cold.

Went to the visitors center. We were the only ones there. Saw photographs (Jim Bridger) from early expeditions to the park, stuffed animal exhibit (elk, wolves, coyote, fox, mountain lion).

Headed back to the hotel where we had hot drinks in the lobby and warmed ourselves next to the gas fireplace. Also visited the gift shop to use our $30 worth of coupons. Vicki got some jewelry.

Went to dinner in the dining room which is across the street from the hotel. Read some negative reviews of the dining experience at Mammoth, but we had good service and the food was good…not great. Perhaps a bit pricey, but our experience was not as reported by some visitors in TripAdvisor.

Back at the hotel we attended a slide show of Yellowstone’s history accompanied by a live pianist. Sounds a bit hokey, but it was well done. Although, I did miss a few of the slides as I began to fade…getting a bit sleepy…it’s about 9:15…10:15 our time…past my bedtime.

Back at the room it was cold. Cranked up the heat on the radiator, but it did not any difference. Vicki, put some of our food and water on the windowsill so it would stay cool and closed the curtain.  The next morning the stuff was frozen…the temperature outside had dropped to more than 20 degrees below zero.

1/7/10 – Got up at 6 AM in order to eat breakfast and prepare to catch the 7:30 snow coach shuttle to Old Faithful Snow Lodge where we will stay until Sunday, Jan. 10.

The Park Service closes the roads to private vehicles in the winter, so travel within the park is primarily snow coach shuttles.

Our luggage went on a cargo snow coach, while we and a family of 6 got into Jim’s snow coach. Jim is a driver/naturalist/tour guide. The trip took about 4 hours and was very interesting. His commentary covered many aspects of the park including, geology, history and spotting animal life. Much of the wildlife is able to live throughout the winter because of the higher temperatures of the streams and rivers resulting from the geysers and heat vets that are all over the park. It was so cool to see them steaming everywhere. The steam was so heavy…fog often covered the road…a result of a thermal inversion.

Anyway…the higher temperature of the streams and rivers results in plant growth that feeds many of the birds. Also, areas near the hot springs are warmer, so bison, elk, coyotes hang out to stay warm…and not necessarily together.

We saw elk, bison, swans, Canadian geese, mallard ducks, two bald eagles and a small bird called a diver. It was feeding off of insect larvae found under water on the downstream side of rocks. Very cool to watch.
We saw many different tracks…snowshoe hare, coyote, weasel, squirrel.

The scenery along the way was spectacular. Frozen waterfalls, geysers, ice formations…all amazing stuff.

Saw a number of snowmobile groups. By law they are guided and not be more than 10 in a group. Their continued operation in the park is controversial…primarily because of their polluting the environment with exahaust and noise. We considered going on a tour, but decided against it…not wanting to contribute to the pollution.

 Made it to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge around noon. The room is much better than Mammoth…heated…which is nice since the temperatures at the park are the coldest they have been for awhile.

Lunched, rented snowshoes and headed up to Observation Point to see Old Faithful do her geyser thing. This was our first time on showshoes…just walk with your legs a bit more apart than usual and they work fine. Just don’t try to walk backwards.

While renting the snowshoes we made reservations for a cross-country ski lesson at 9:30 AM the next morning.

We got up to the point a few minutes before 3 PM…in time to see the geyser spew. Very amazing!
Headed back down the trail. Vicki fell on her butt once…just a minor bruise.

As we turned in our snowshoes we were told that the morning ski lesson would probably be cancelled because it would be too cold, more than 20 degrees below zero. The ski instructors are not to give lessons if it is colder than 10 degrees below zero. So, we will check with them in the morning, but will probably take the 1:30 PM lesson instead, it if warms up.

1/08/10 – Breakfasted on some heavy duty pancakes…the size of a plate that tasted like cake batter. Headed to the ski rental shop, but it was too cold for our lesson, 17 below.

Went back to the room. Spent 30 minutes putting on all the layers to take a walk around Old Faithful. As we got to her it was at the end of its cycle, so we walked around the many geysers in the area. It is like walking through a war zone with all the sulphur infused fog drifting around, ghostly frosted trees. We were out there long enough to see Old Faithful erupt again. In the cold it looks amazing with the water freezing as it begins to come down from its apex.

Yesterday while snowshoeing Vicki’s left boot rubbed above her ankle leaving an irritating bruise. It became increasingly painful during our hike around Old Faithful today. She had tried to cushion it by stuffing a sock in the top of the boot, but it did not help. Given that walking is essential to completing this trip the boot problem needed to be resolved. So, I suggested cutting off the upper section of the boot causing the bruise. On our way back to the room we stopped at the ski shop. They did not want to cut the boot, so I did it. Put the boot in a vise and used a box cutter to remove a section of the boot. The “surgery” went well and when Vicki put the boot back on it felt much better. Yeah!

Had lunch in our room with the stuff we bought at Walmart. Took a short nap. Went down to the ski shop for our 1:30 PM lesson. Practiced clipping in and out of the ski before going outside. Temperature now about 0…geez, it’s a heat wave!

Vicki and I were the only ones in the class…so, Danielle, the instructor, gave us a private lesson. We went around a flat, groomed, oval track four times (3 times is a mile) fine tuning our technique which included falling without injuring oneself. One aspect of correct technique is keeping the skis parallel to each other. My right ski had a mind of its own and kept wandering off to the right at a 20-30 degree angle. The challenge was coaxing it back into position. My other challenge was keeping my balance while shifting my weight from one ski to the other…falling  twice.  Vicki fell a few times and as a result mastered getting up out of the snow.

After going around the oval track, Daneille took us to the “bunny” hill to practice going down and learning how to stop. The stopping technique is the wedge…similar to snow-plowing on downhill skis. The incline was slight and we were able to walk back up.

Next was a steeper hill. We did well going down. Getting back up was more of a challenge. We had to “walk” up by angling our skis parallel to the hill and dig the edges of ski into the snow.

After completing the steep hill exercise, that was about it for us first-timers. Over all we probably covered two miles.

While skiing we did see our first coyote. Apparently he/she is one of two who wanders through the lodge complex.

Got back to the room and shed all the layers. Most of them wet from working up a sweat while skiing. It was a good workout.

1/9/10 – Got out later this morning. Tried the cross-country skiis for about a half mile and decided that we could get around faster on foot. Went back to the ski rental shop and turned in the equipment. We need more practice on the skiis before going a long distance…say more than five miles.

While on our short ski trip we saw the coyote again. He/she wandered very close to Old Faithful spectators. I got some pictures I’ll put up on the blog.

Went back up to the room for lunch. Began eating and the fire alarm system went off. We were told to evacuate the building. As we were going out no one seemed to be in a particular hurry or concerned. So, we went and sat in the fast food restaurant for a few minutes before returning to our room. We never found out the cause for the alarm.

Mid-afternoon we “layered-up” and began hiking the geyser basin. It was warmer today in the 20s and little wind, so it was comfortable. This place is beautiful in the winter. Blue sky and the fog of geyser eruptions drifting all around. Most impressive is the Castle geyser that we caught erupting on our way back to the lodge. The late afternoon light was great, so I got some good images and video.

Got cleaned up and had dinner in the bar…appetizers and drinks. At 7:30 PM we attended a wolf presentation by Ranger Rita. She provided some interesting information about humans and wolves, and the 1995 re-introduction of wolves in Yellowstone (the last Yellowstone wolf was killed in 1930). It is a controversial issue. Wolves do kill livestock, but less than 1% a year. Coyotes actually kill much more, but don’t get the publicity. To me they are an integral part of the ecosystem. Their presence has strengthened the existing elk population, resulted in an increase in red foxes (by hunting coyotes, the foxes enemy) and beavers because the wolves hunt the elk that eat the new/smaller trees required by the beavers…we will learn much more as we begin the wolf expedition tomorrow, this being our last day at Old Faithful.

1/10/10 --  Breakfasted and headed out for a quick hike in the geyser basin before checkout. Went to the Castle geyser we saw erupting yesterday in the late afternoon. Continued north towards Daisy geyser, but were running out of time. Decided to turn back a coyote came walking toward the road ahead of us. It came between us and two women who were ahead of us. It proceeded to poop near them…I don’t know what that means for them. When it finished its business it turned and headed straight towards me on the road. I just stood still taking pictures as it came toward me. About forty feet from me it turned and headed into the woods to my left…a very cool experience. I could not have planned it better.

We checked out of the lodge, grabbed some lunch and talked to some folks from New Mexico in the lobby while waiting for the snow coach to Mammoth. Our coach driver was Tom, from New York. He was not nearly as talkative as Jim, the coach driver from Mammoth to Old Faithful.

On the way we stopped to photograph a herd of bison near the road, did a 30 minute tour of Fountain Paintpots. Spotted a bald eagle along the river that flew ahead of us for awhile.

Checked in at Mammoth. After dinner went to the Winter Wolf Discovery orientation where we met Shauna, the trainer/guide, and the other ten people in our group.

Went to bed to be awakened about 11:30 PM by some loud clanging. Thought it might be an elk ramming the building…because we heard stories of elk #10 and 6…the bulls who wrecked havoc at Mammoth. Saw a picture of one with a car taillight assembly stuck in his rack.  I digress…the clanging is actually the ancient radiator heating system at the hotel. It clanged several times during the night. Needless to say we did not rest well.

1/11/10 – On the way to breakfast asked the front desk about fixing the radiator clanging. I was told the clanging is throughout the hotel, so even changing rooms would probably not help. Maintenance will “bleed” the heating pipes while we are out today…perhaps that will help.

Met Shauna at the Yellowstone Association’s bus at 8 AM. Headed towards the Lamar Valley. Spotted bison and elk at first. At the first bathroom break we saw a coyote and heard howling wolves.

Continued down the road and Shauna noticed the wolf biologist parked at a turn out. We stopped and heard howling again. Got the scopes out and Shauna spotted the Druid pack (we saw 5 of 8) and the Lava pack consisting of two females and male, but we only saw the females.

We stayed there quite awhile and also spotted big horn sheep and a coyote hunting mice.

Later on down the road we met a herd of bison coming toward us. Also, spotted two golden eagles and two big horn sheep rams.

Had lunch at the Yellowstone Association’s Buffalo Ranch facility. Shauna gave us a history lesson on the evolution/origin of the wolf…apparently they have been around more than 6,000 years which presents a problem for Creationists.

Took a hike through some deep snow to a wolf den that Shauna observed several years ago as part of a field study when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone. Her stories are quite entertaining.

On our way back to Mammoth got some good photos of a bull elk at the side of the road. Vicki also spotted a lone wolf that we watched until he vanished into the forest.

It was an extraordinary day. Beautiful weather. Learned a lot. Tomorrow we begin at 7 AM.

1/12/10 – Today was carcass day, three of them. The first was a winter kill (maybe wolf) in the mid-Lamar valley area. It was an elk cow. The carcass had been there about two days and the elk biologist found it by following birds. It had been somewhat picked over by the ravens, coyotes and wolves. Some of the group snowshoed up to the location. I got some photos.

Further west in the Lamar valley were two bison carcasses relatively near each other. They had been there more than three days…probably winter kill (the result of night time -44 degree temperatures). We were about a mile from them. Both were being picked over by coyotes, ravens and a bald eagle.

At lunch time Shauna gave a presentation about wolf pups using life-sized cut-outs. One of the more interesting things she said was about the relationship between wolf pups and ravens. If the pups mother allows it, ravens will play with the pups. Play takes the form of tail pulling, tug-of-war with sticks, wrestling including rolling on their backs (the ravens). As the pups are growing up they clean-up the milk poop around the den. The ravens befriend the pups so that the wolves will be tolerant of them at their kills…allowing them to eat.
Also, when the pack starts taking the pups for longer treks, crossing rivers is an adventure. It sometimes takes hours. Sometimes the mother wolf will make a game of it, pick up a stick and show it to each pup, then take it across the river and drop it. The pups want what mama had so they head across the river.

We went for a short snowshoe hike and heard the story of Truman Everts. A fifty-four year old unemployed accountant who signed up for a government Yellowstone expedition, the Washburn Expedition in 1870. He wandered off from the group he was with and was lost for 37 days during the late Fall early winter. When he was found he was down to 57 pounds and had been living on elk thistle which had “bound” him up pretty seriously until they gave him a glass of bear fat which flushed him out. It is nice to know we have progressed beyond bear fat for such a condition.

1/13/10 – Today was carcasses with wolves, yesterday was not. First, we spotted the Miller Creek boys…two males dining on one of the carcasses in the Lamar valley we saw yesterday. One was an older male with a younger one in tow. They started moving east and we followed them for 4-5 miles, stopping a number of times trying to drive ahead of them to catch views of them coming towards us. The closest we got to them was about half a mile. It appeared that they wanted to cross the road and head north, but were skittish about crossing the road because of traffic. This was the best sighting of all! We ended our “watch” and went to the Buffalo Ranch to eat breakfast.

After breakfast we headed for Tower-Roosevelt where Rick McIntyre, the wolf biologist, was watching the Blacktail pack near a bull elk carcass. The two wolves we spotted were about 3-4 miles out making them difficult to see with the spotting scope. They looked like rocks until they moved and then we could pick them out. We watched them for quite awhile, but they were not active.

Some high school kids were at the same spot on a field trip. Rick was speaking to them, so we got to listen in on his stories about the packs. One interesting thing he said was that a pack can have multiple litters. We had always thought that it was only the alpha male and female that could breed and have pups. Sometimes that is the case, but depending on environmental conditions there can be more than one litter. And, the alpha male breeds with multiple females.

After the Tower-Roosevelt stop, we headed to Buffalo Ranch for lunch. On the way we spotted the Silver wolf pack alpha male at the same carcass on which the Miller boys dined earlier. He is a beautiful silver wolf. We watched him tugging on the carcass hide and eating alongside the ravens. Shauna was looking for the rest of the pack without success…it was odd that he was alone.

After lunch we stopped for an educational activity where Shauna demonstrated how a more than 600 pound elk is devoured…feeding the masses. Typically a pack of ten wolves will eat 20 lbs. each, coyotes 8 lbs. each, 20+ ravens at 2-3 lbs., golden/bald eagles 3 lbs., magpies, foxes, wolverines, bears can also get in the mix. Within a day, the kill is reduced to about 100 lbs.

The ravens don’t eat 2-3 lbs., they cache a lot of it.

Ravens have a special relationship with wolves. As mentioned earlier, they befriend wolf pups at an early age, so most wolves are tolerant of them. Because they can fly, they can spot winter kill, which they cannot eat until the flesh is torn, so they will fly up and down over the kill making all kinds of noise to get the wolves attention. The wolves look for the birds and can tear up the carcass for all to enjoy.

Also, ravens are known to lead wolf packs on a hunt. It appears that some ravens “attach” themselves to a pack. When the pack gets ready for the hunt, the ravens pick up on it and will fly ahead to find prey. When prey is found they will fly back and forth from prey to pack, harassing the wolves to get their attention, so the wolves begin to follow the ravens. Then, the hunt is on.

Shauna has heard that some people believe the ravens even pick out the prey (i.e. a weakened elk cow) the wolves should bring down. That has yet to be proven, but is interesting.

 At last count we have seen members of the following packs/wolves: Druid, Lava, Blacktail, Silver, Miller Creek (boys) and 480 (male). It has been a successful “wolf discovery”.

Tonight is the group dinner, the conclusion of our wolf discovery adventure.


1/14/10 Today we return to Fort Worth. It's snowing.


Ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel. Headed out for a short drive.

First, we drove to the top of the geyser terraces near the hotel. We were the only ones out there. Quiet, beautiful, foggy, snowy.

Next, we drove out to the Lamar Valley where we spent our time searching for wolves earlier in the week.

Visibility was poor because of the snow, so we were lucky the skies were clear earlier.

The volunteer wolf watchers were out as well as Rick, the wolf biologist. They had their scopes out, but we decided not to stop because of the poor visibility.

Vicki thinks she spotted a wolf while we were headed out of the valley. It was on a ridge running parallel to the road.

Watched some sparring bison...fighting over a patch of grass.

We did see four or five whitetail deer for the first time. They were crossing the road.

Got to Bozeman. Checked bag was 52 lbs. - removed 2 lbs. of books to get down to 50 to avoid paying $75 for an overweight bag.

Spent our 30 minute layover in Denver running to the other end of the terminal to catch the plane to DFW.

10 PM, arrived at DFW. Got home after 11.