On my first day off, I had the opportunity to wander around the Upper Geyser Basin after breakfast on an absolutely gorgeous sunshiny morning. As I got to a bit of a rise and looked back out over the Basin with all the steam coming up off the geysers and hot springs, this incredible surge of joy and wonderment came over me . . . “I live in one of the most incredibly beautiful, alive and wild places on the planet!”
As I reflected back on the amazing things I’ve seen and learned since I came to Yellowstone (less than three weeks ago), I remembered watching the mama grizzly (sow) and her two cubs. It was awesome to watch her with those babies. She seemed determined to go about her business eating and teaching those adorable cubs what to eat.
At one point one of them looked a little overwhelmed with all of us (probably 100 people at that “bear jam”) gawking at them and it reached up and touched her face as if to say, “What’s going on?” The entire crowd let out this audible “Awwwww . . .” and the mom just seemed to reassure the little guy it was safe and that she’d see to it. Definitely! You certainly do not want to come between a grizzly and her babies!
I also reflected back on being enchanted with watching and observing wolves, bison, elk, moose, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and mountain goats. One morning coming back from breakfast we watched a badger, another time I watched a Pine Marten, Yellow-bellied Marmots, Least Chipmunks and Uinta Ground Squirrels. And those are only the mammals!
I’ve seen a Loon, Peregrin Falcons, Ospreys, Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese, Mergansers, Sandhill Cranes, and Harlequin Ducks! And scores of other smaller birds such as all the beautiful swallows, bluebirds, and warblers. Whew!
My sister said, “It sounds like you’re living in a PBS Nature show!” Terry McEneaney puts it beautifully in his book, Birds of Yellowstone,
“. . . where else can you watch an Osprey carrying a fish in its talons fly past a spectacular waterfall, or . . . hear the simultaneous bugling of an elk, hooting of a Great Horned Owl, howling of a coyote, calling of a flock of Sandhill Cranes, and trumpeting of Trumpeter Swans in . . . [an] unforgettable wilderness concerto? Watching birds in Yellowstone is like going to a multi-media show.”
I am blessed. I’m learning so much and wanting to learn even more. I’m honestly looking forward to sharing my joy, enthusiasm and learning with others about this amazing and important place. Yellowstone National Park!
Beautiful! 🙂