West Yellowstone, Montana
Trip Start
Apr 12, 1992
1
53
65
Trip End
Jun 15, 1992
West Yellowstone,
Montana,
United States
Wednesday, June 3, 1992
6-3-92
West Yellowstone, Montana
Cold, Clear
Evidently this entrance to Yellowstone gets limited use. The little village suffers little of the tremendous tourism development I observed later at other Park entrances. The relatively low level of tourist traffic probably accounts for the large number of animal species I observed along this section of road in the north-east quadrant of the Park. Almost immediately I spotted two moose (mooses, meece), one a large bull, the other a considerably smaller female. Before I could even attempt to snap pictures some hikers came out of the woods nearby and the animals retreated into the safety of the trees. I drove slowly, stopping often to sit and watch or to walk a ways into the forest. In a short distance I spotted moose, elk, mule deer, foxes, groundhogs, muskrats, squirrels, a gray wolf, prairie dogs and, in grassed fields, formidable herds of Bison, lots of bison. There was a pair of osprey nesting atop a dead tree near Soda Butte Creek and a jack rabbit running across a clearing near the Lamer River.
People can really behave stupidly. An abundance of signs warn that the animals are wild and potentially dangerous, that they become stressed when people approach too closely, and are likely to attack.
92.755.Near Beartooth Pass.WY.
Still, many visitors behave as if they are in a petting zoo populated with lambs. There were repeated instances where a half-dozen or more people, usually young males,would fan out to surround animals, constantly moving closer with cameras and camcorders clicking and whirring. The discomfort and unease of the animals showed. You could see them approaching panic stage, ready to charge. The thought of a 3000 pound horned bison charging toward me at 30 MPH is not pleasant, nor is it my idea of adventure.A lone gray wolf was spotted loping across a meadow. Within seconds several people had him surrounded. One young father dragged his toddler child as close as the animal would allow him to approach. The wolf didn't look to hsppy. He appeared much like an angry dog with bloodthirst in his eyes. The potentially dangerous situation was defused when one of the "big game hunters" stepped back to open an escape hole for the wolf.
I read in a park publication that, earlier this week, a tourist was gored by a bison. There have been numerous fatalities and injuries from animals in the park, almost all provoked by stupid people. I found myself secretely wishing some of the current idiots could join the list of injured.
I drove slowly along the narrow two lane road to Tower and Roosevelt lodges, then continued west past Phantom Lake and Undine Falls to Mammoth Hot Springs. Here the boiling waters flow up out of the ground, giving off a strong sulphur odor, like rotten eggs or a paper mill. The waters flow down the hill. Theu rapidly eveporate and leave behind multi-colored mineral deposits that have formed a multitude of terraces. Behind each terrace lies a pool of boiling water letting off its foul smelling steam.
Near the open springs scalding waters lie just benearh a thin crust of earth, making it extremely dangerous to walk on the ground near the springs. Wooden walks have been constructed making it possible to approach directly over and around the boiling waters without falling into the too-hot jacusi.
uth of mammoth Springs the road parallels Obsidian Creek which contains run-off water from several mountain peaks that tower almost two miles high, among them Little Quadrant Mountain, Antler Peak, and Dome Mountain. The road passes between Roaring Mountain and Twin Lakes before reaching the Norris Geyser Basin and Steamboat Geyser, which is the world's largest but it doesn't get the attention Old Faithful does. Old Faithful erupts at fairly regular intervals, averaging every 78 minutes. Steamboat geyser sometimes waits years between eruptions. South of Norris (7484') dark was approaching. I headed west through Madison to the park entrance at West Yellowstone, where I stayed the night.
West Yellowstone was a fairly large town for this part of the country. It has only one ecoieconomic base, tourism. The town consists of motels, restaurants, gift shops,etc. There is little, if any, business activity here that is not tourist dependent.
