Did I mention Yellowstone is big? Really, really big. There are a series of two-lane roads throughout the park that form a sort of figure eight loop. There are four main entrances: north, south, northeast and west. Northeast and South were both still closed when we arrived. North is under construction. We came into Yellowstone through the only entrance open year round, the west entrance, aptly named "West Yellowstone".
The "figure eight" of the park roads starts about 14 miles in from the West Yellowstone entrance. There you meet Madison Junction, and must make a decision: south to Old Faithful and basin after basin of magnificent geysers and hydrothermal features, or north to mountains, forest, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and Lamar Valley a/k/a Wildlife Central. Today, we chose north.
It was a long drive. In distance, it was several hundred miles for a single day exploring, But it was also long because the roads were so scenic, and the herds of bison, elk, deer and pronghorn were out in huge numbers.
The first hour-and-a-half of the loop took us from the middle of the figure eight (Madison Junction) up to the top left corner, Mammoth Hot Springs. In the summer, this is a thriving city. Today, there were mild crowds we could see from the road, but we didn't stop. We were on a mission! We turned east, toward Tower Roosevelt, which is the top right corner of the figure eight. Here, the "Park Loop" (as it is called for visitors planning a grand loop of the outside of the figure eight) was interrupted by a construction project that has closed the park road all the way down to Canyon Village for all of 2021. This was not a problem for Ron and I, as our goal was to explore the Lamar Valley, the 29 mile stretch from Tower Roosevelt to the Northeast Entrance, near Cooke City, just outside the park boundary line. Although the few miles between the entrance and Cooke City remained closed due to snow, the park road was open!
To say that the drive was worth it is a gross understatement. The quote that comes to mind is by Theodore Roosevelt: "Nothing worth having was ever achieved without effort." This is even more appropriate when I consider that it was Theodore Roosevelt who in 1903 laid the cornerstone for the entrance Arch that bears the inscription: "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People". Without question or hesitation, I benefitted and enjoyed. Immensely. To quote Ron: "This is a damn big park!"
We drove through the Lamar Valley, rolling hills with the ever-constant back drop of snow capped mountains. The road followed first the Lamar River, then the Sade Butte Creek.
Grasslands stretched in all directions, and we could spot herds of elk, bison and pronghorns. At one time, pronghorns were known as antelope, a misnomer originating from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, when the animal was first described for Easterners back home. These creatures are truly unique, and while I could not get close enough to photograph any, I am sharing a stock photo (above) from the world wide web.
We stopped for lunch at Slough Creek were I spotted a grey wolf. Ron struck up a conversation with some fellow picnic goers who had a high powered viewing device. Ron was able to see a mother wolf and her cubs coming out of a den.
At the Pebble Creek Campground, we stopped at a turnout where a few cars were parked, but no one was around. It was the trail head to Trout Lake Trail. The trail was steep, and we gained 250 feet in elevation in about half a mile. We stopped mid way to catch our breath (the air is thin at 6,755 feet, and seems even thinner as we age!).
I turned to check on Ron, and saw behind him a bison standing in the trees, just a few feet away. We could see the bison's face clearly - was he, too, wondering if we would make it?
The view was worth the climb we discovered when we reached Trout Lake, a hidden gem 200 feet above the valley floor, and completely out of sight from the road. We found a sunny spot and just enjoyed the glorious serenity and solitude of the place. On the way back to the car, our new friend, The Bison, was just were we left him, except now he was sound asleep in the grass. Ron explained that this behavior is totally normal for senior bison....
We decided to take a different route home by leaving the park via the north entrance. This took us all the way up to Livingston, Montana, where we picked up I-90 and headed west, through Bozeman, and then south again to Big Sky. We had spent the bulk of the day in Wyoming, but north of the park we were back in Montana. The herds of bison were replaced with cattle, and ranches now appeared.
It was a beautiful drive home.
We have discovered that America is quite big and can be quite challenging to navigate. The mountains, rivers, deserts, and canyons dictate the transportation routes. The expression "you just can't get there from here" has taken on new meaning and significance. From the Lamar Valley to Big Sky was maybe 25 miles as the eagle flies, but for the Mercedes Benz C300 4matic, it was 126 miles and two and a half hours to drive.
Car Talk
Distance: 311 miles
Driving Time: 7 hours, 41 minutes
Mileage: 35.1 mpg
Average speed: 40 mph
Trip Total: 6,928.0 miles
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