Bison, Bear Spray, Binoculars, Spring Skiing: Yellowstone
Hello friends! This past week I had a great trip down south to Yellowstone to deliver a large order of note cards and prints to the kind folks at the Yellowstone Forever headquarters. I am so honored to have my art help Yellowstone National Park. My cards and prints will be for sale inside the bookstores located at the various Visitor Centers around Yellowstone.
For more info on the supporting organization, Yellowstone Forever, see: https://www.yellowstone.org/.
After delivering the order, I had the chance to check out the park.
Came across a bison jam over the high bridge just outside of Mammoth. Here we saw the UPS truck, Big Brown, moving along with Yellowstone's big browns. It's hard to make a UPS truck look small, but these guys and gals can do it. I admire the strong and enduring bison so much.
We drove to the Roosevelt/Tower Fall intersection and on out to Cooke City where we came across a porcupine making tracks for the woods.
After stopping by our favorite bakery in Cooke City, the Bearclaw Bakery, we headed back in to hike to Trout Lake and ski later on deeper into the park.
We saw no people and followed the post holed tracks of a bison up to the just-starting-to-thaw lake.
Later on we put on our cross country skis and skied up the Blacktail Plateau Road. This is a wonderful skiing treat in the winter. I love to ski into the park and get the real experience of being away from cars and propelled by my own legs. It's so peaceful and quiet. It's one of the best ways to experience the park.
I ski with bear spray and binoculars during spring in the park. I appreciate having both, but only want to use the binoculars. On the last day in the park a male grizzly was spotted on a bison carcass in the Blacktail ponds area. We watched three coyote on the carcass later in the day and missed seeing the bear.
Bison: The official welcoming animals of the park. Please be careful when you drive in Yellowstone. Bison are not reflective at night and people hit and kill many over the summer months. Please be careful, control your speed, take your time. Do not let anyone rush you through the park. Take the pullouts - it will make for a more enjoyable experience and you'll see much more than if you zoom though.
Views of Sepulcher Peak outside of Gardiner, MT. The pronghorn were plentiful in the fields this past week (March 13-15)
A wonderful view of the Yellowstone River from our ski up the Tower Road, toward Mt. Washburn. Saw no people, just the peace of early Spring in the park. I feel lucky to be able to nordic ski in one of the world's most exquisite and wild places. Thank you to the National Park Service for preserving and protecting these natural wonders.
Stay Wild, Friends!
Mimi
