Thursday, July 15th

Oh my goodness is it COLD!!! When we went to bed last night we left all the windows open because we sleep so much better in the cool. Sometime during the night someone left the freezer door open and I was so cold that my toes were numb! I got up to put on socks and counted all the places that ached! Marilyn was smarter and tested the thermostat. I guess it got better but I couldn’t tell!

When we were brave enough to get out of bed I put it up to ninety degrees and hugged it for dear life, then threw on all my clothes! We want another shot at Hayden Valley, so we leave the room to heat and hit the trail!

It is so worth it! Another bison by the road for starters. He’s kicking up a little dust, getting ready for rutting season. Just down the road in a little meadow right by the road is another bull elk! This one has even more points than last night’s gentleman!

Further down the road cars have stopped to look at something. The thing is, there is a bison crossing the road and they don’t even see him!! Others do, though, but the car on the left is empty! Happily he decided to cross behind it instead of checking it out! He’s got a friend who is ready to cross right behind him!

We keep turning our heads back and forth between the bison and the elk. The bison is fun to watch and the elk is so incredibly regal! We finally leave and the next little road has a bison walking down it. It is still so cold that you can see his breath!

Onward and there is a great blue heron in a pond. I shoot him on the fly – but he doesn’t! Next there’s a mule deer swimming across the river with Canada geese on the near bank and a bison watching from the rise. He made it safely across, scampered up the bank and headed for the sage.

We head back to the cabin for breakfast and to check out. On the way back there is another bison surveying the road and an otter (muskrat?) swimming in otter creek.

As we eat we look out the window and there is a mule deer crossing from behind our cabin heading for the road. We finish up, clean up and stop at the shops because we can’t have possibly bought for everyone yet! In the parking lot is one of the park services yellow tour busses with the roll-back canvas tops.

It is fun to people watch! This couple has found a picturesque spot for their lunch! We are on our way to Mt. Washburn Trail where there are some charming alpine wildflowers. And snow!

We’re on the road for real, now, heading for Tower-Roosevelt and Lamar Valley. First, though, we must stop at Tower Falls. WE see a trail ride and the entrance to the lodge; but we decide to check out Lamar Valley before we check in. The first thing we see is a quartet of pronghorns! Marilyn is pleased because after she spotted them and stopped, other people stopped, too! One of them is kind of skittish and takes off for a few yards, but comes back and settles down again.

Down the road is our first actual herd of bison. We have seen them before on Antelope Island, but not on this trip – only loners! We cross the Lamar River, for which the valley is named, several times. And there are lots of gorgeous hillsides covered with yellow flowers.

Check out the back of this bike!

We get to Soda Butte, an interesting calcium carbonate feature, and turn back so we can check in and see about dinner. Two more pronghorn and to the lodge!

We check in to find that not only is there no Wifi but there is also no laundry. As long as we both need one, it will be okay! This is our rustic stop. Indeed, the cabin only has a wood burning stove! But there are THREE double beds!! We drop our stuff and head for a six-mile gravel road we’ve heard about that is supposed to have some bear! First a detour for a petrified tree.

Good detour! There is a yearling black bear! His mom has booted him and sister out because she has a new boy friend! He is pretty far away but we can see him well enough to know he’s a bear! By the way, the tree is nothing to write home about, except that it is upright and not lying on the ground like the ones we’ve seen before.

The gravel road is called Blacktail Plateau Drive and we go about five and a half of the six miles, at zero to ten miles an hour, without seeing anything! Hardly even a bird! Then, off to the left is a pair of elk. The female is pretty well hidden, but the male is out in full view!

AND there is another black bear! He, too, is pretty far away but he’s a bear! He’s our bear! Yeay!

Heading home there is a bison coming out of the river. He’s got a water plant stuck on his horn and is dropping wet (well, duh!) He, too, is crossing the road. The tricky part is that, among the cars watching him, is a motorcycle! He can’t decide how to get through and crosses back and forth; the biker has to back up to get out of his way! It’s pretty scary for us and we’re not even in danger! He then lumbered up the other bank with some difficulty!

Another herd of pronghorns! And another bison crossing the road!

Home to the lodge and dinner. We have to wait for a table so we – SHOP! Dinner is taco salad with black bean chili, although everyone says the ribs are to die for! (sorry Stu!) and off to the cabin. With the windows closed we think it will be okay. We’ve been taught how to light the stove so we think we’ll be all right in the morning.

We don’t make it to morning! In the middle of the night Marilyn gets up to light the fire. She does a great job but no one told us to load it up with the wood stuff. The two little coils last about twenty minutes and we just freeze for the rest of the night!