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Thursday, January 26, 2006 — A Snow Coach Tour of the Lower Loop

We went up to the Washburn Hot Springs Overlook for lunch. The wind had picked up considerably and it had started to snow so we decided to eat our lunch in the snow coach. We only ate half of our box lunches as we were not extremely hungry. After lunch we went back to Canyon and stopped for a short break at the warming hut while Crystal went to the service station to top off the Bombardier's fuel tank. We walked over to the general store to watch Jeff Henry remove the snow from the roof. Unfortunately, he was on lunch break so we did not get to see him in action but we saw the results of his efforts. The roof had a sawtooth line of snow and he had created a huge pile of snow at the bottom of the roof. This was also our last stop with heated restrooms so we all took advantage of the opportunity.

We continued our journey around the Lower Loop and stopped at the Upper Falls Overlook and Artist Point. I had some discomfort when we returned to the snow coach from the Upper Falls Overlook and did not join in the walk to Artist Point. We then went to the Hayden Valley to look for otters and wolves. Just before Otter Creek we saw an animal on the ice along the Yellowstone. It was now snowing quite heavily and we could not readily identify the animal. Our snow coach driver said it was an otter, but I took some pictures that say it was a beaver.

We continued down the valley and came upon a film crew taking video of a coyote across the Yellowstone. There were several snow coaches and snowmobiles pulled over to watch as well. One of the snowmobile tour guides flagged us down to tell us about the action in the Hayden Valley. The tour guide said that the wolf researchers were conducting a collaring operation on the Hayden Valley pack of wolves. She said they saw the research plane overhead and a helicopter flying low to dart the wolves. She claims that they darted the white alpha female and a young gray and white wolf and then loaded them in the helicopter. We have not been able to confirm this information.

When we got down to the valley we saw no sign of the research plane, the helicopter or any wolves. This pack of wolves had been very visible all week. Further down the road, we did see two coyotes and a red fox. We also saw numerous bison herds and a few scattered elk.

We stopped at Mud Volcano where Deb, Joe and Crystal walked around the boardwalk. Laura and I stayed back in the coach. I thought that would be too much for my leg and she did not like the sulfur smell. After touring the Mud Volcano area, we went on to Fishing Bridge. A number of bison were milling around in the parking area. Just as we approached them, they decided to cross the bridge ahead of us. As we waited for them we had plenty of time to look around at the river. We saw two pairs of swans to the south of the bridge, and about twenty more swans to the north.

A second herd of bison were headed towards the bridge from the east. When the two herds met there was a lot of pushing and shoving. Several bison were pushed into the snow banks along the side of the road. Eventually both herds merged and turned south into a small wooded area. We crossed the bridge and decided to stop at the warming hut on the way back. We encountered a bison with a broken leg. She was really trying to catch up to the rest of the herd but was not having much luck. There were two researchers following the crippled bison.

The road was bare at the hot spots along Mary Bay. Bombardiers can not steer on bare road. On the longest bare patch we ended up on the wrong side of the road before we hit the snow and Crystal could regain control of the coach. There were numerous holes in the ice on the lake from thermal activity. We noticed otter tracks along many of them, but saw no otters.

We stopped at Steamboat Point to check out a bison carcass along side the road. All that was left was the skull and some wool. Several ravens were on the remains and one was perched on the skull. Deb tried to get some pictures, but the ravens would not cooperate.

We went on up to Lake Butte Overlook. We met a snowmobile tour with a full complement of eleven sleds. The trail from the parking lot to the overlook was not cleared but a narrow path had been created by other groups visiting the overlook. It was overcast and snowing and was very difficult to tell the difference between the ice on the lake and the falling snow. I experienced some mild chest discomfort and was anxious to get back to the snow coach.

When we got back to the parking lot the snowmobile tour was ready to leave. We heard one snowmobile start and while we were waiting for the other snowmobiles to start the tour left. All the other snowmobiles had already started and were idling. We could not hear them and there was no blue haze around them. We could not smell anything from the exhaust.

We returned to the Fishing Bridge warming hut for a break while Crystal got gas for the Bombardier. The snow coach has no fuel gauge so she likes to top off the tank when ever possible. She said it was wrong to pass gas when in a Bombardier. The pit toilets were the worse we have ever encountered.

We continued on to West Thumb. Everyone was nodding off as we drove through the monotonous snowy woods. It was a good thing that the Bombardier was on automatic pilot. When we approached West Thumb we saw the grooming machine coming towards us. You could hear its roar over that of the Bombardier. We made a quick stop at West Thumb for Deb to stamp her National Parks Passport but they did not have the stamp available. We continued on towards Old Faithful, making a brief stop at Isa Lake so we could get some pictures to compare the snow levels this year with those of 1996-1997.

We arrived at the Snow Lodge to end our tour of the Lower Loop. It was still snowing very heavily. There was about four inches of new snow on the ground. Deb took the camera back to the cabin while I waited with the computer. When she returned she took the computer and we went back to the cabin. We finished our box lunches and we each had a cup of yogurt.

After we finished eating, I unloaded the pictures from the cameras and got them prepared for our return trip to Mammoth. Deb packed the duffle bags. We then called it a night and went to bed.

   Friday, January 27, 2006 — Farewell Old Faithful