Yellowstone

Would it be another non-committal event until the last

minute?  Nope!  I decided to find somewhere else to be

and considered going back to Hawaii or going to Jamaica.

When I first moved to Denver, I had planned on taking two 
weeks off to go to Yellowstone.  Of course, they wanted me

to start immediately and I never went, however, one of my

co-workers suggested going to Yellowstone in the winter.
I eventually did go in July of 1997 with my sister's family

and I picked up a book about Yellowstone in the winter.  With

the understanding that they were already in motion to ban

snowmobiles from the park, and with the flights, accommodations

and snowmobiles being reasonable, I made my decision.
I did invite a few friends to go and although there was some

interest, there were no takers.  I thought back and counted 15

National Parks that I had visited alone - it had been over a

year since I went solo - I thought it was a great way to kick


I got up early for the 6:00 am flight which was an absolutely

gorgeous sunrise flight over the Rockies into Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake City was completely beautiful from above the fog,

but was miserable on the ground.  We were fogged in for an hour

or so, but eventually we set off for Idaho Falls.  Again,

beautiful from above, not so nice on the ground. I got my rental

car and was off to Yellowstone!  I stopped on the way to take a

few shots of the Grand Tetons - I had never seen the back side

of them before.

I also stopped in Island Park and took photographs along the river.

I arrived in town and got settled in my hotel and decided to

get some of the tourist shopping done with, so I could spend


I waited for the rush at the snowmobile rental to slow down

and picked up my gear after 9:00 am.  Then I was off!  The

ride into the park to Madison Junction was really bumpy.

I got my first glimpse of wildlife - a herd of buffalo.


I felt so energized to be in Yellowstone with so few people

around.  It was kind of odd that it was so cold and yet the

river was running with ducks, geese and swans.  There were

small groups of snowmobiles pulled over along the way towards

Old Faithful where the elk and bison were feeding close to

the river.


As I drew closer to Old Faithful, it grew eerie seeing all

the steam rising around me.  I got off the snowmobile and

looked into the giesers to see the bubbling runny mud.

The trees looked like a scene from a foil Christmas card.


I did reach Old Faithful and the cafeteria was quite crowed.

I talked to some other tourists and then headed to see the old

geyser.  I talked to some more tourists as I waited and then

Mother Earth gave us blow.  It was so foggy from the steam,

that it was hard to see any water after the first spurt.


On the way back, I saw what is either an immature Bald Eagle

or a hawk in the distance.

I got back to West Yellowstone and went to the IMAX theater,

bought some gifts and watched the Yellowstone movie.  Then

I went to dinner and watched the band that was scheduled to

play on New Year's Eve.  It was a typical 70's - 80's - 90's

bar band with a John Cougar Mellencamp look-a-like as lead

singer and guitarist.


This was it.  New Year's Eve in Yellowstone and I already had my 
snowmobile ready to go.  I got up and headed back into the park,

however, one I reached Madison Junction, I went north.  I felt

like I had the park to myself - it was exhilirating and relaxing

at the same time.  The snow was much smoother.  Everything was

just peaceful.  I stopped at the Gibbons Falls.


I turned east at Norris heading toward Yellowstone Canyon.  I was

really hoping to see a Bald Eagle and began to hear a bluegrass

song in my head.

I started to write the words "Take Me Where I Can See The Sky"

in my mind.  On some stretches it was so open that I opened

up the throttle and sped through the trees.  I admit it was a

little scary being out there once it got to whiteout conditions

of snowfall. I had the line "ravens in the road" and thought I

might write a song about looking for bald eagles, but only seeing

ravens in the road.

I reached the canyon and looked over the breathtaking views of the

canyon and waterfall.  My camera froze up and the battery light

was flashing.  I had just finished a roll of film and I was heading

to the warming hut, so I figured I would change the film and battery

there.  Oooops!  As I approached the warming hut area, a coyote

pranced down into the trail ahead of me and paced around in front

of my snowmobile.  By the time I changed my battery and film,

it was too late...

I spoke with the ranger at the Canyon Village warming hut,

who also happened to be a musician.  He worked at Shenandoah

National Park and helped implement a program which brought

traditional mountain music back into the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Each week that had traditional folk music perform in the 
mountains.  He also talked about his trip to Ireland and playing

on a radio station in Belfast talking about traditional mountain

music.  I was thrilled to talk to him and rambled on a bit about

two of Tim O'Brien's CDs which included some songs about Irish

immigrants migrating to the Appalachians.  
I made the decision to try and do the whole loop, which means I

would head down back to Old Faithful.  I had no intentions of

circling the park, but I was making good time and having a lot

of fun and the snowmobile had heated hand warmers and I was staying

warm.
I continued on an enjoyed the scenery until a herd of buffalo

blocked the road.  I stood and watched for 5 minutes until one

of the snow vans pushed through.  I snuck past them without

them charging me and I turned around to take a picture.  They just

continued to trot towards me and I had to pull-up another 25 feet

just to put away my camera.

I continued to sing this chorus in my head and added the rhyming

line "Take me where the eagles fly."  I continued south towards

Jackson and reached Yellowstone Lake.  This is the area where I

had been approached by a grizzly years ago.

I saw something in the corner of my eye and I slammed on the

brakes.  I was graced with the flight a of a Bald Eagle

approaching me from the lake and it flew right over my head.

I didn't want to ruin the moment by fumbling with my camera -

I just soaked it in.  At this point, I was giddy and continued

to write the song in my head.
I passed the turnoff for Jackson and the Grand Tetons.  I didn't

know where I would get gas and didn't know if I would make it back

to West Yellowstone by dark, so I continued onto Old Faithful.
I wasn't sure if it was worth waiting around 40 minutes to see Old 
Faithful blow again.  But I went to the gift shop and bought a pen

with a floating coyote in it - it was the only pen they had and I

asked the cashier for a piece of paper.  I went to Old Faithful and

wrote down the words to "Take Me Where I Can See The Sky."  There

was a bison in front of Old Faithful and I got some good shots.

I headed back to spend New's Years Eve writing postcards and

had a nice King Crab and Steak Dinner.  It was a great way to

finish off a wonderful weekend in the park and start off the

new millennium.