Yellowstone in Winter

I have been to Yellowstone about eight times, but this Elderhostel trip was the only time in winter (Dec 07/Jan 08).  It was a good decision to do a group trip this time, and I may do it again on my own soon.  I drove up, taking a couple of days to do it, thus allowing for some weather delays.  But I-25, I-90, and I-95 were mostly in great condition.  I stopped at Little Big Horn National Historic Site on the way.  Definitely worth doing.  Seeing the site combined with the explanations at the visitors center made it all too real.

One of the many thermal pools in an area close to Yellowstone Lake, which is center right in the distance.

A shot from the snow cat.  This sign barely visible lower right says Shoshone Lake.  This was the first full day from the Old Faithful area on a full day snow cat trip.  We were lucky to have a few hours of partly cloudy sky instead of all snow clouds, releasing show showers much of the time.  It is said that Yellowstone makes its own weather, which can be verified from seeing how often weather maps show snow only there.

Yellowstone Lake in the distance ringed by trees and clouds.  I have fond memories of that place.  The summer of 92 Andrea and I rented a van ($400 for two weeks and 4000 miles, a deal no longer offered) threw Ladokh and Max in the back after removing a seat and took off.  One afternoon after a fancy lunch at the Yellowstone Hotel (beautifully restored), we lounged on a quiet beach, reading and relaxing.  We could only hike along the roads that trip as dogs are not allowed on the trails, but that afternoon was perfect.  The dogs appeared to love simply being in that place.   Later while staying in a rustic cabin by Roosevelt Lodge in the northern less crowded part of the park, we were walking along a road.  Hanging back in the willows was either a wolf or an extremely large coyote.  He did not make a sound, as he never took his eyes off this group with two very large dogs.  Park rangers assured me it couldn't have been a wolf.  At that time the wolves from Canada had not been reintroduced.  But he was about the size of Ladokh (90+ lbs).                     

We had about an hour out of the snow cat to walk along all those thermal pools.  Yellowstone Lake is right past that area.

This is the upper falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  Note the bridge in the trees above the falls.  Naturally these pictures show up much better on full screen.  I added photos to  my profile, so maybe you could get them that way if interested.

Old Faithful, just starting or finishing.  None of the pictures were that spectacular due to the overcast conditions.  The hotel was fairly close, so I was over there to see it erupt several times but never had a clear day.

This is the historic Old Faithful Lodge, a really large log cabin.  It is closed in the winter.  Geysers are just to the right of the photo area.

Our trusty snow cats at a rest area with a surprising well stocked with snack food at the warming shack here. The cats are 12 passenger vans with wheels modified to run on lugs rather than tires.  The top speed is 35 - 40  mph so we spent a lot of time in them.

The van was crossing an unmaintained park road where several bison were using it to save energy.  The van was  moving, it was snowing, so it's a bit blurry.



This is the lovely waterfall where Andrea and I had lunch by the stream on our trip of 89.  Only blacked trees were in this area at that time.  This shows what twenty years of recovery looks like.

This is a really ranching area north of the park on the way to the interstate.