Yellowstone National Park Fun Facts

1. World's first national park
2. 3,472 square miles or 8,987 square km or 2,221,766 acres
3. Larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined
4. 96% in Wyoming, 3% in Montana and 1% in Idaho
5. Highest point 11,258 ft, lowest point 5,282 ft
6. Approx 5% of the park is water, 15% grassland and 80% forest
7. 67 species of mammals including: 7 species of native hoofed mammals, 2 bears
8. 322 types of birds of which 148 nest in the park
9. 16 types of fish
10. 6 types of reptiles
11. 4 species of amphibians
12. 2 threatened species: the Canadian Lynx and the grizzly bear
13. 1 active volcano
14. Approx. 1,000 - 3,000 earthquakes a year
15. Over 300 geysers
16. The only super volcano on land
17. One of the largest petrified forests
18. 290 waterfalls 
19. The tallest waterfall in the lower 48, Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River at 308 ft
20. Record low temp of -66 F in 1933

That is it for now! Enjoy

How did Yellowstone get its name?

How did Yellowstone National Park get its name? Is the yellow rocks? Is it all the paint pots? Surprisingly no. Yellowstone was name after the Yellowstone River. The 670 mile long river flows through Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. The Minnetaree tribe that lived in what is now the eastern part of Montana called the river ‘Mi tsi a da zi’  or “rock yellow river” for the yellow colored cliffs overlooking the banks in the northern part of the park.  In 1794, explorer, David Thompson, translated the name into English, Yellow Stone. Lewis and Clark used both the English translation and the French translation, Roche Jaune, in their documents of the area. The area the Yellowstone River flows through was then known as “Yellowstone Country” and that name was used for our country’s first national park.

June 3, 2011 Trip

What a beautiful day! A bit chilly but beautiful. Of course what day in Yellowstone National Park is not beautiful? I only had a few hours to spend in the Park so I decided to save going back to Lamar Valley for Monday and head towards Madison Junction. I hit a few snow flurries coming out of Mammoth Hot Springs but it didn't last long. I didn't see much wildlife until after Norris Junction. Just north of Elk Meadow picnic area there was a bull elk munching away across the river. A beautiful boy in velvet!

This guy is still working on shedding his winter coat, most the the elk at lower elevation have already finished shedding and they look wonderful. The was quite a large crowd taking photos of this guy and he was nice enough to be by a large pull-out in the road so there was plenty of room for everyone.

I continued heading south to Madison Junction. When I arrived I was thrilled to see good sized heard of buffalo there by the river. The wind was howling through the valley and it was really cold.

There were bison all over the area including in the picnic are of Madison Junction. They didn't seem to mind sharing their space with us humans but please remember they are wild animals!  Here are some of the baby bison, aka Red Dogs.

 Couldn't resist this little guy......

I headed back north and about 2 miles above Madison Junction is this small meadow with the Gibbon River twisting through it. You can almost always find some bison there and today was no different....

A beautiful, peaceful place. There is a good sized parking area so you can rest a bit and take in the view.

On the way back home I just had to check to see if that beautiful bull elk was still by the river. He was there and have moved closer...

He is one big boy. I hope to be able to see him in September/October during the rut. He will have a huge rack and be just stunning!

When I arrived at the large meadow area by Swan Lake there had to be 100 cars parked along side the road.  That many cars only means one thing, bears!  Yep, mama grizzly and her 2 yearling cubs from last year were there showing off. Of course I should have been there 10 minutes earlier but no, so mom and the babies were heading into the back country, away from the road and all the people. So I was only able to get a long distance shot. This mom had 4 cubs last year, now there are only 2...

I had a great day in the park. Hope you all can come experience Yellowstone National Park, America's first playground!

May 30, 2011 Trip

What a day! Hard to believe June is just 2 days away. Snowy and cold in the Park. The road to Lamar Valley was blocked by a rock slide earlier in the week so I headed down the west side to Norris Junction, then headed east to Canyon. Had lunch at Canyon, warm potato soup and it was great, perfect for a cold snowy day. Snow this time of year is light so no problems what so ever on the roads. So far no animals to speak of, they must be snuggled up somewhere keeping out of the cold. I headed south to Yellowstone Lake then east to the Cody entrance. This road is still closed due to an avalanche 3 weeks ago that left 25' of snow on the road! However, I thought I would see how far I could get. I am glad I did! Grizzlies! Here is the first bear I saw....

This one didn't hang around long, he headed down the other side of the hill. However, just 100 yards down the road were 2 grizzlies munching on grass. The snow and wind really started to blow just as I got there...

 However the snow came in spurts so I was able to get this one....

 

It was snowing sideways and getting heavier so I headed back. The Hayden Valley was dry, at least it wasn't snowing. Found this coyote, he had fallen through the snow and was just standing there with snow up to his neck and he was resting his head on the top of the snow. Almost looked like he was saying "I am so tired of this snow! Where is spring?" He got out of the snow and started hunting through the sage......

A little further into Hayden Valley there were lots of ducks, there are quite a few different water birds in Hayden Valley, so I just had to snap a photo....

I am not sure what kind these guys are but I just love their blue bills!

That was it for the day. I headed home to get warmed up. It's important to remember it can snow any day of the year in Yellowstone National Park so always come prepared for any type of weather.

Part 2 of May 23th trip

The main reason I headed to Lamar Valley was to hike up to Trout Lake to see the otters. The last report I had was that there were 7 otters living in the lake.  I arrived at the turn-out for Trout Lake, on the far end of Lamar Valley on the way to Cooke City. There were a few other cars parked so I knew I wasn't the only one wanting to see these guys. Ok, it is not a long hike, only about 1/2 mile but it is all up hill. Felt like I climbed a mountain! But if I can do this anyone can. Boy it was worth the slow trip to the lake. This is the view you get on the hike:

Now with a view like that having to stop to catch my breath was worth it! On the way up to the lake I met some folks that were filming a segment for Good Morning America, to air June 13th. Great folks!

I arrived at the lake and this is what I was greeted with:

Beautiful spot. the white stuff is from the trees, not gunk, lol. The otters are there, they were seen earlier in the day but they must have been napping when I was there. But such peace. I sat for quite a while just enjoying the beauty of the place.

The hike down the hill went much faster. Meet more folks on the way down. One of the best things about Yellowstone is meeting people from all over the world. If you can, make the trip to Yellowstone National Park, it is unforgettable!

May 23, 2011 Part 1

I set out about 9:30, I know it was a little late. I had information from some folks the night before telling me about a black bear that was sitting on an elk kill near the bridge over the Yellowstone River on the way to Lamar Valley. When I got there there was a small crowd and we could all see the bear, about 300 yards away, still sitting with his dinner. Here is a photo, the black bear is in the middle right next to a tree, sorry it is so far away.

The day before this guy was challenged by a grizzly twice. I guess the black bear won so it must have been a small grizzly and this black bear must be a pretty big boy.

After leaving the black bear behind I drove just around the curve and there were 4 big horn sheep, 3 ewes and 1 ram. These guys were pretty mellow so I was able to slowly walk up to about 25 feet away and get some shots.

Drove on towards Lamar Valley and spotted another group of folks stopped by the road including a bunch of photographers. So of course I had to stop and there was a badger digging up the ground. It was a female that had a den there the previous year also. Great find, being able to see a badger. She was funny, she would dig a bit then stop and watch all of us then back to digging. Here she is.

All spring the buffalo have not be in Lamar Valley but just north. Today was no exception. Just before the bridge over the Lamar River there is a very large heard with so many babies. Baby buffalo have the nickname "red dog" because the are born red and stay that want until late summer when their coats start to darken up like their parents. These cute little guys are at the age where they are so much fun to watch. The play chase, run around and jump up and down then run over to mom for a little snack. They can keep you entertained for hours. There are still some moms that have yet to have their babies so you may get lucky and see one be born. Remember, these are wild animals so no matter how cute they are do not approach them, where baby is mom is not far behind and she will protect her baby!

That's it for now. Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!

Sooooo, what did you do in Yellowstone today?

Ok, all you Yellowstone National Park fans. Comment here to tell us about what you did - saw - experienced in Yellowstone! We want to know......

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