Daily Journal

Monday, January 16, 2006

We started another amazing day in the park at 7:30 am. As we drove toward Tower, we witnessed a gorgeous sunrise. The beams of the sun turned the clouds and mountain summits into a palette of pinks and oranges.

Following the tracks of bighorn sheep, we snowshoed along a tributary of the Lamar and Yellowstone Rivers. Highlights along the trail included seeing two large bighorn rams across the river and finding numerous animal tracks. The snow along the trail looked like an interstate highway for animals with the tracks of pine marten, weasel, elk, and coyote weaving on and off the trail.

We ate lunch in Cooke City, where the snow was piled up to the roofs of the houses and snowmobiles, not cars, traveled down the snow-packed main street. In the afternoon we decided to break our own trail by snowshoeing up a slope at Pebble Creek. The air was brisk, with a wind chill of 14°F. We quickly learned that the first trailblazer does the bulk of the work, packing down the deep snow for others to follow. At the top of the hill we were awestruck by the majestic view of the snow-covered mountains. We burned our remaining energy with snowshoe races and snowball fights. As we posed for a group picture we saw a fabulous rainbow.

On our final drive through the Lamar Valley, we saw a lone black wolf. The sight of other wildlife including elk, coyote, and even bison blocking the roadway reminded us that we are simply visitors in this special place.

Yellowstone Images from Google Earth

Q & A for January 16