A drive to Lamar

Out for a Drive

During the first week I met a lot of people. Bobby and I would solo out people and bet on how long they would be here for. One day bobby and I went out for a drive and decided to stop by the smokers table before the adventure to see if anyone else cared to join. Two noobs, L.A. and Jimalee, hopped in the car and we made our way out to Lamar Valley with the sounds of 2-Pac playing in the background. Bobby and I would talk about past seasons and told the two on what they could expect for the next six months if they could tough it out.

The two new guys saw most of the basic wildlife Yellowstone has to offer. We made it out to Lamar Valley without a hitch but did see some Rock Bears. Rock Bears was a term dubbed by a friend, I forgot who said it to me, but it’s a rock that looks like a bear. Rock Bears are very frequent while driving and they will sometimes be so real at a glance that you turn the car around and drive by it again, only to learn that your eyes have tricked you. No matter how much experience you have at looking at wildlife, I guarantee people have seen a Rock Bear. Another name they go by is Tree Bear, meaning a stump.

                We stopped out a pull out north of Little America and showed them the osprey nest. To our convenience there was one osprey chilling in it looking at the rushing river below his home. We left the nest with an uneventful drive to Undine Falls. We got out and Rob showed me a trail on the far side of the pullout where I have not traveled yet. The trail decline about 20 feet in total but is 500 feet or more in distance. It’s a hike that you could do in a suit and tie if there are no downed trees.  The trail ends at the beginning of the falls. There was a fence five feet from the ledge for safety but that didn’t stop some of us, I just watched. We walked up the river a ways but there was nothing but scenery. On the way back to the car I walked by the fence to try and get a better picture and my shoe lost traction and I started to slip. At this point I reached for the fence post but over calculated the distance and grabbed it with my forearm. The arm then continued to slide on the wooden post scratching my forearm. It wasn’t a bleeder but it was a wound that would be noticeable.

                Rob started to call for me and my camera so I hustled back to the car. Right below the wooden fence is a five foot manmade rock lodge with a burrow. Next to the burrow was a marmot. I snapped some photos from 20 feet back. I proceeded to move up five feet and snap some more. I made it to about five to eight feet away before the little guy scurried back into his home. Two photos I have are a like in the way to where the marmot looks like he was on a mission from the marmot god. The sun came down through the trees spreading light rays across the face of the marmot but they left his back in the shade. I title the picture, “Help me Marmot Jesus!”

                When we got back we headed towards the EDR for some crappy food. People asked me what had happened to my arm. I made up several stories about a heard of Bears left their cub in a tree and I helped it down. As I was pushing the cub to go back to his family he tried to give me a high five but scratched my arm. Okay, the high five part wasn’t real; he just really scratched my arm. Some people, a blonde to be a little more precise, asked if I had pictures. I told her that I could take photos and help a cub. She was so disappointed. Seconds later I told her that bears don’t travel in herds and I would never get that close to any bear, no matter the size. Everyone around, including her, laughed. “Welcome to Yellowstone, you have a lot to learn”