A Day in Yellowstone Park June 30th, 2026, a really stupid tourist

We arrived home from Alpine and the next day loaded up and left for Buffalo Bill State Park and the Cody Wild West Show. It was an easy five-hour drive, and we arrived at the State Park about three pm. Setting up at our campsite we talked about spending the next day on an auto tour of the eastern half of Yellowstone National Park. Our favorite drive is up the Chief Joesph Highway. It’s a drive on good roads that is not for the acrophobic. The highway goes up and up until you reach Dead Indian Point. It was named for a wounded member of the Nez Pierce tribe that had been wounded in a battle with the US Calavry.

From that point you can see the place where the detachment, landslide, took place that moved sixty miles forming Heart Mountain and Sheep Mountain. It was the greatest landslide of all time and was caused by the explosion of a massive stratovolcano, (if you have you-tube look up Myron Cooke and the greatest landslide of all time). From there we headed down the switchbacks, narrowly missing a golden eagle, and then drove to the intersection of the Beartooth Highway.

Crossing the deep Clark's Fork Canyon. we stopped for pictures.

Turning west, we reached Cooke City and then Silver Gate. It’s near the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park, (we later learned we had just missed a grizzly bear roaming around Silver Gate). Entering Yellowstone Park, we stopped at a wildlife jamb where people were watching Mountain Goats. The mountainside had numerous patches of snow, and the goats were hard to see, being white. Several photographers with lenses larger than mine said the goats were too far away to see any details. I looked anyway but did not take any images.

Entering the Lamar Valley, we passed small buffalo herds with lots of red dogs. They were energetic and while I wanted to take some pictures we couldn’t find a decent parking place.

Continuing on, Renita spotted several antelopes, a family of Sandhill Cranes and more Buffalo. We drove down Slough Creek Road, but the wolves had left the den site. Returning to the Lamar Road, we passed an Eagle nest with young but there were no available parking spaces.

Turning west toward the new bridge we encountered our first bear jamb. It was a large Cinnamon Black bear busy catching a lunch of gophers. I got a few decent pictures. If you look closely, you can see the lack of a hump and the triangular shaped ears characteristic of black bears.

Crossing the new bridge, we looked far down on the Yellowstone River. At Rosevelt Lodge we turned left to Canyon Tower. Lots of orange cones spoke of a bear(s), in the area but they must have been napping.

Before we crossed Dunraven pass we encountered another bear jamb. This was on narrow road and there we saw one of the stupidest tourists we have ever seen. He stopped in the middle of the road, got out of his car and walked within ten feet of the black bear. Taking a picture with his cell phone he returned to his car and drove off. I was so surprised at his stupidity I forgot to take a picture of him for our blog. Before we reached Hayden Valley, we next got caught in a Bison jamb.

The huge bull stopped traffic, blocked the narrow road and at one point stopped in front of our car and glared at us. If you blow up the picture you can see the reflection of our Suburu in hs eye! Luckily it kept its tail down and let us pass, (if you ever see a bison raise its tail and it starts to twirl it is getting ready to charge)! Crossing Dunraven pass it was another thirty minutes of stop and go traffic. We arrived at the Mud Volcanoes where we got caught up in another slow-moving traffic jamb. It took over thirty minutes of stop and go until we arrived at the Hayden Valley.

The reason for the jamb, was a large grizzly bear sleeping under a tree. After we parked it woke up, left the shade, and started to forage for tubers in a large open field of arrowhead balsam.

The bear was about three hundred yards away, but we still got some good pictures, (note the rounded ears, noticeable hump, (for digging), and the concave face.

Our next stop was at Le Hardy Rapids where we watched the Harlequin ducks chase each other in the swift turbulent water.

It wasn’t much further to the Fishing Bridge and Sylvan Pass. We did not see the Bighorn Sheep, often present at the Pass, or any more bears of other wildlife. It had been a great day with three bears, lots of beautiful scenery, and many bison. Clear skies

Alpine, Wyoming Mountain Days 2026

One of our favorite shows of the year is the Alpine, Wyoming Mountain Days Show. Normally it’s held on Fathers Day, but this year it was changed to the next Thursday through Sunday. This meant that we wouldn’t have a break as the show ended on June 28th and we would have to leave for The Cody Wild West Show on June 29th.

The Alpine show had set up on Thursday Afternoon and opened on Friday at noon. Unfortunately, so did the rain. Friday is a slow day for us and this year was no exception. Usually Saturday is our big day and we were greeted with heavy rain and cold temperatures. Wearing every layer of clothing we owned we sat in our tent and watched it pour. Free water out West, (rain), is nothing to complain about and we did have some sales but it was cold, cold, and cold!

Sunday the temp was slightly better and the rain stopped. A Native American dance group was able to perform. We both took turns watching the Dances. Our favorite was the Shawl Dance where the Women and Children twirled to display their shawls. It’s a beautiful dance filled with Color and pride. Our sales were good as the fair weather drew people and we had a good day.

Don't Feed the bears! Five have been uthanized

The word we got yesterday is that five black bears have been euthanized beacause thye have become problems bears as they keep getting people food from tourist feedings. If you see someone feeding a bear take a picture of them and their car licenise plate, and report it to the park. Jail time and fines are in their future and they deserve i it for their stupidity.

Two Ocean Lake Birding and Bear Closings

Before I get into our birding day at Grand Teton National Park, I need to stress that a fed bear is a dead bear. Once the bears get used to people’s food, they become problem bears and are captured and euthanized. A bear can easily rip open a car and eat any food, (this happened to our friends whose car was destroyed because the bear smelled the M and M’ s they had in their ash tray). Its not unusual as bears have an incredible sense of smell! A black bear in Grand Teton National Park was caprutred and euthanized last week, (five more black bears have been fed by people and are being monitored). We heard that there were bears at Two Ocean Lake and the road was open, Driving the short but rutted drive we arrived at the parking lot and were greeted by lots of cars and few parking spots.

Planning to hike the trail I discovered that I had forgotten the bear spray and so we decided to bird just the beginning of the trail. We only walked a short way before we spotted a huge flock of swimming Common Mergansers. They were accompanied by two American White Pelicans and as they neared us they dived and fed on a school of baitfish.

They had been herding the baitfish to the shallow end of the lake and all dived at once. If you have never seen this behavior, it’s common.

We also spotted a Song Sparrow,several Ospreys, and Renita got a great shot of a tanager flying overhead.

Finally, being chased by mosquitoes, be sure to bring bug spray, we headed to our next spot, the Hermitage Trail. The trail begins at Colter Bay and after parking we were greeted with a bear warning and closure signs. A grizzly with three cubs is in the area and no one wants to bother a mother with cubs, (it's different when a bear uses people to keep any boar away).

A hiker approached and stopped for a visit. We mentioned to him that the bear spray he carried was in a bad spot, attached to the back of his pack. We had been chastised several years before for doing the same thing and warned that we would never have time to reach it when we needed it. Keep it in front! Deciding not to hike the trail we headed to our usual lunch spot, a small pond near the Moose Entry! On the way we watched as a helicopter was being used to move supplies to an area of a trail being repaired.

As soon as we left the car, we spotted two Sandhill Cranes with their chicks. The parents, which are usually shy, were feeding directly below us and feeding the young,

Every so often the chicks would practice flapping their wings, getting ready for they day they would take to the air.

It has been a short but fun day. No bears but lots of birds! Clear skies

My phone is fixed and clean!

My phone is fine now. We found the most amazing techie who figured out my phone's problem and fixed it in less then half an hour. We were attacked with malware from three different places and they all were crashing my phone with pop up ads. Thank you Izzy Tech, located in Jackson, Wyoming!

Hollywood and a two-bear day! 5/29/2026

Once we saw our first grizzly bear of the year, we were anxious to return to Gand Teton National Park. Leaving early, we stopped at our usual fast-food place, bought breakfast, and then drove to Moran Junction. Once inside the Park, we headed towards Leeks Marina but no bear jams or bears. Next, we drove toward Moose but didn’t see any wildlife. Returning, we drove by Signal Mountain and encountered a traffic jam, It was the resident elk nicknamed Hollywood, so named because he spends the summer feeding and posing for pictures alongside Teton Park Road. He uses the tourists to keep bears and wolves away while he feeds and grows his impressive antlers!

Even though he is somewhat benign in June he still poses a danger and everyone should stay at least twenty-five yards away. Toward August he will feel the approach of mating season, the rut, and become aggressive! As it was nearing lunch we went to one of our favorite picnic spots. I forgot our bear spray, so trail hiking was out for the day. I don’t keep it in the car as I am concerned that it might get too hot and explode. If that ever happens, I will face Renita’s wrath. That’s something I do not want to endure (again).

After lunch we headed back to Colter Bay and there were cars parked alongside the road, it was a bear jam! Parking safely, you must be outside the painted white line. We walked down the hill but as we neared the crowd of people, they started to leave! The bear had sauntered into the woods. Waiting for a bit, people suddenly began to take pictures and so we headed further downhill. It was the grizzly bear Miracle who moved into an open space and was digging for tubers and worms. Watching, she eventually moved up and towards an area where seasonal workers lived. The show was over, so we headed back to the car. Later we learned that she had been captured and relocated to a place away from the workers and roads. Hopefully she won’t return as that usually ends in a bad outcome for the bear, (a fed bear is a dead bear, never feed the wildlife)!

Renita wanted to go shopping in Jackson and after a brief discussion we headed to the Moran exit. Just before we reached it we encountered another bear jam!

This time we were some of the first to arrive and we found a great parking spot. Getting our cameras out we walked down the road and there was a feeding bear! At first, I thought it was a grizzly but after spotting the triangle shaped ears and lack of a hump, we both agreed it was a cinnamon black bear. It wasn’t bothered by the people and simply kept grubbing.

We both realized we were too close to the bear and backtracked to the car. A park ranger arrived and using his loudspeaker cautioned everyone to get away from the bear. In other words, get in your car! We always keep others between us and any wildlife. After all at my age, I would be the slowest person in the crowd. Sitting in the car the bear moved into a clearing and Renita was able to get some pictures by sticking her camera out the window. That’s ok to do that as long as you don’t extend any part of your body outside, (imagine a fast-moving bear). This includes putting your body above the sunroof, which is never a good idea, (we once took a picture of a person doing just that as three grizzlies walked around their car. I took a picture and posted it on the blog only to discover that I had the license plate in the picture. It turned out to be a law enforcement person from Utah, the picture got lots of comments).

It was a great end to the day, two bears and Hollywood. It was a relief to see that he made it through last fall and winter’s hunting seasons, (humans, bears, and wolves). Clear skies Renita’s shopping was successful

Miracle, A lucky Grizzly Bear and the Jenny Lake ferry

Arriving back home, we had a list of things to do. On the top of the list was to get the rock shop ready, weed the yard, rake leaves, and the list went on. We procrastinated and after a few days headed back to Grand Teton National Park.

We still hadn’t seen any grizzly bears and of course that’s our number one thing to do. Entering at Moran Junction we drove to a road where we have previously seen bears and glassed the area, but nada. The next stop was to check out the dam, sometimes the bears like that stretch of the Snake River for an easy crossing but again no luck. Our next stop entailed a place where we sometimes find Grizzly Bear Tracks and Renita identified two small and old grizzly cub tracks, (she is our tracker while I am scanning the nearby brush for any bear. Leaving we next drove to Pilgrim Creek, where 399 used to show up with her cubs. Other bears also use the area but again no bears were present, No wolves ran out of the forest chasing elk, which we have see twice in that area. We sat for a bit and ate lunch but again no bears, elk, or any other wildlife. Next on our list, was to head to the North Park entrance but we never got there as we ran into a bear jam! The bear turned out to be the grizzly bear nicknamed Miracle because it’s a miracle, she is still alive.

Last year she showed up with two siblings, and her sow 1063. That sow is a grizzly bear nicknamed Bonita. Shortly after that a male grizzly boar found the cubs and killed two of them. Luckily Miracle survived and was later reunited with her mom, but they were later again separated.

No one knew if she survived the winter until this Spring when she returned to the area. This year Her mother also came out with three new coys, (cubs of the year). Hopefully she learned from last year and will be able to keep the cubs safe from any boar grizzly. We both took picture after picture, there were lots of watchers, photographers, but she didn’t seem to be bothered by all the people. She worked back and forth moving grass and rocks and eating her fill of grubs.

The cars all slowed down and she ignored them until a semi-truck filled with cattle drove by. The diesel engine scarred her and she ran over the nearest hill until it passed. Several other loud trucks also passed by and again the bear fled but retuned each time. Finally, she ran into the woods and disappeared. We heard she usually returns but after a while we decided to drive to Leigh Lake and see if we could spot a black bear. It’s early in the season and there were parking spots. After Memorial Day weekend you will be lucky to find one, unless you get there early.

If you ever go there, you can ride the ferrry across the lake and take a hike up to Inspiration Point. If you are fit you can hike around the lake to the Landing where the Inspiration Trail begins.

We still had other places to look but nothing stood out, except for a soaring bald eagle. Tired we decided to call it a day, Besides, we spotted and photographed our first grizzly bear of the year! Clear skies