“We’re burnin daylight” (one of my favorite quotes of John Wayne in the movie The Cowboys).
A typical early spring day in Yellowstone NP begins when the coffee maker, programmed to start perking, wakes us up well before daylight. Leaving from Cooke City, MT, as the dark gives way to daylight, we head west to the Northeast entrance with a full mug of coffee and some homemade banana bread for an early morning snack.
Slowing down to look for moose at Warm Springs and Round Prairie, we find two young bull moose in
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an early morning standoff. The snow that had fallen during the night actually makes the photo possible as it is still fairly dark out. Leaving Round Prairie we continue west through Ice Box Canyon, pass Trout Lake pull out and into the Lamar Valley where we can make stops at Footbridge, Hitching Post, the Confluence, Trash Can, Midpoint, the Institute, Dorothy, Coyote or Fisherman pull outs to glass for grizzly or black bears and wolves, using Swarovski binoculars and spotting scope. We may even spot Elk, Big Horn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Antelope, Coyotes, Bald Eagles and other raptors. Stops are made along the route if there are picture taking opportunities. And we’ll spend more time, up to several hours, at a particular pull out if wildlife, especially bears are in view, or to visit with the many friends we have made over the years, who come to Yellowstone to enjoy the wildlife viewing as we do.
By mid-morning, 9 – 10 AM we normally stop at the Yellowstone Picnic area, set up our grill, and the best cook in the west makes breakfast of eggs, bacon or sausage, hash browns, toasted English muffins, fruit and coffee, all the while enjoying the view of Mom’s Ridge or the Big Horn Sheep that frequent this area in the spring. After breakfast we may head toward Roosevelt and up to Tower, if the road is open for the season, or further west to Elk Creek or Hell Roaring pullout, always looking for wildlife and picture taking opportunities.
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Early afternoon has us heading back east checking out Little America and the Slough Creek area, stopping to glass known spots for bears and other wildlife and checking in with our friends. “Tourists” with and without kids will often stop and ask what we’re looking at and we’ll let them look through the scope to see grizzly and/or black bears and it’s really neat to watch the reaction of the kids when they see a bear through the scope. By late afternoon or early evening we’re heading back east to Cooke City always looking for wildlife and picture taking opportunities. Back at Cooke City, bedtime is usually about 8 Pm so we’re up early the next morning as “we’re burning daylight.” Enjoy the adventure!
*All of the pull outs, ridges and meadows acquired their particular names over the years and are listed and marked on a mylar map of the Northern Tier of Yellowstone which starts at the North Entrance at Gardiner, Mt and follows a route to the Northeast Entrance at Silvergate, MT. There were only so many of these maps made and we doubt if there are any more for sale.
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