Yellowstone In November - Part 2

The ground beneath Yellowstone is a living, breathing animal.

Not long after leaving the fast flowing river that last summer contained a camera-hogging pelican but this November contained nothing but lower water levels and coldness, we found the mud pits.

Last year there was some movement but for the most part the mud pits were simply that.  Silent and still mud pits.

Last week I was stunned to see roiling and bubbling coming from every one of the multiple pits that were scattered throughout only a small area.

A picture from this same place taken in June of 2011...............

And what it looked like late last week..................

I could see the smoke and smell the sulphur

We spent a long time at the mud pits.

There was something other-wordly about them, and of all the states and countries I have lived in, this is probably one of the strangest places I have ever been.

It leaves you feeling slightly off-balance, standing safely on the pavement of the parking lot looking down at the bubbling and roiling and boiling mud pools that are caused by unseen and unfathomable forces far below the surface.

In the middle of beautiful mountains and rolling plains there is almost a dark life force in this place................

This was Gary's first visit to Yellowstone but LC and I had been here a handful of times last summer.

We had never visited Mammoth Springs, and at some point during our stop at the pits we all decided that we would make it a very long day and exit the park through the North East Gate near Cooke City, Montana.

That was a long way, but with all of us still full of energy it seemed like a good plan at the time.................

A sign warning visitors that although buffalo appear placid and slow moving, they are actually neither of those things.

We (as with millions of other people) have seen the video of the young boy being encouraged by his adult caretakers to touch a bison.  The bison ended up chasing the boy in circles for a minute before eventually backing off.

That bison wasn't intent on injuring the boy - if he wanted to injure him he could have and would have.

I am still constantly amazed that people would dare to get so close to grizzly bears and bison.  But they do.

And interestingly, more people are killed and injured due to bison attacks than bear attacks in Yellowstone each year.

They DO appear to be very calm, even tempered, slow moving animals. 

They are none of those things when agitated..................

Both LC and I were stunned.

We had been inside the park for a few hours by this time and had seen NO buffalo.

Where WERE they?

Where did they wander to this late in the year?

We did not know, but sincerely hoped that we would find out during our visit............

As we rounded a bend in the road all three of us were surprised to see 10 or so vehicles parked along the side of the road.

We had not passed 10 vehicles in total since we passed through the gates.

Looking to my right I immediately saw why they had stopped, and what everyone was eagerly watching.

A lone cow elk standing completely still in the middle of the river.............

Click on any of the pictures to view them in enlarged form...............

As LC and Gary stood beside the truck taking turns watching the elk through the binoculars, I wandered along the road snapping pictures as I went, and suddenly frustrated at my little digital camera.

LC has offered to buy me a larger, stronger, fancier camera and I have always told him no. 

I like the freedom of just being able to stash a little camera into the side pocket of my pack or in the side pocket of a pair of shorts.

And truthfully I treat my gear too roughly and would just end up breaking it.

But as I looked at this beautiful elk, and then briefly stood beside a guy snapping X-number of pictures per second while using one big-ass zoom lens, I knew that his pictures would turn out outstanding and mine would simply turn out barely acceptable................

After snapping a few pictures I lowered the camera and simply watched this beautiful, beautiful animal.

She kept looking back towards the far shore, and I wondered if something had scared her into the river, and she was cautiously watchful to determine if the threat still existed.

She drank from the river.

She looked back towards the far shore.

She drank from the river.

And then she began to look towards the shore where we, and other curious watchers, were quietly standing.

If I was an elk I wouldn't want to come this way either..............

The water had to be freezing cold and I had no idea how long she had been standing in the river............

LC quietly called my name and I walked back towards the guys.

That is when he told me that she may have given birth not long ago.  I looked through the binoculars (wow - I wish my pictures turned out as good as the view of her through the glasses!), could see the remnants of blood on her back end, could see her soft underbelly.

Yes............there was a good possibility that she had given birth...........

The knowledge that this elk may have left a young one hidden somewhere that she needed to get back to (or whatever had chased her into the river may have actually gotten her young) suddenly changed the entire world surrounding this elk for me.

I wanted to leave.  I wanted the other gawking visitors to leave.  I wanted her to get out of the freezing cold water, ensure her own safety, and hope for the safety of her potential young.

A few moments after all of those lightning speed thoughts and realizations, the cow finally began to walk this way, and eventually to swim this way.

Finally she was on shore.................

Once safely on shore, I watched this animal graze.

She was hungry and I would guess that she had spent a long time in the freezing cold water.

Long enough, until it became unbearable to continue..............

She alternated walking a few steps and then stopping to graze, walking and then grazing, and I was surprised to realize that she was indeed walking towards the visitors.

Eventually she bypassed the cars, walked across the highway, climbed up the embankment and disappeared into the trees and snow.

She, at least, was safe and well.

Good deal................