Day 13--Third day in Yellowstone

Tree with its pet rock, Yellowstone

Lower Falls, Yellowstone, taken from Artist Point

Before I write about the great day we had today, I wanted to tell you about how trees get pet rocks. I was as surprised as you may be on first hearing about this phenomenon. I knew that some people adopt pet rocks, but trees? Interesting... 

Well, yesterday, as we were driving toward Trout Lake, Roger said he wanted to show us the trees with their pet rocks. He explained how this happens—basically trees in some very dry areas choose to grow beside rocks because much needed moisture can collect under the rock. I was pretty amazed to find a section where almost every tree had a rock, some small and some large. Check out Smoky's photo of one of these.

Today we headed back toward the Norris Geyser Basin, turned east toward Canyon Village, and stopped at the overlook for Lower Falls. The view was amazing. In the canyon below the falls, Susie spotted an osprey on a nest that had been in use for a number of years, and shortly afterwards I spotted what I thought was an eagle. It turned out to be the mate of the osprey in the nest. He landed, bringing a fish back to his mate. Pretty exciting!

In Hayden Valley we spotted a grizzly in a grassy area looking for food. A short distance away on a snowy hill was a lone coyote who seemed to be either playing (rolling over and over in the snow) or taking a bath! [Note to my sweet granddaughter: you would have loved seeing this coyote! Thanks for the call this afternoon.]

Harlequin ducks at LeHardy Rapids

Yellowstone Lake

Bison with graupel snow

Raven

Another pretty amazing sight was a stop at LeHardy Rapids—Harlequin ducks who come to the Yellowstone River, specifically LeHardy Rapids, to breed. They feed at this rapids, diving for larvae that they can apparently see under the churning water. Read more about them at this website. If you want to see them in Yellowstone, plan to arrive in May. By the end of the month, they are gone.

Beyond Hayden Valley, we turned east to drive toward Steamboat Point along Yellowstone Lake. So far we had had a beautiful, blue-sky day, cool and delightful. We had lunch looking over the lake, most of which is still iced over, at the mountains in the distance (Madison Range?). 


Smoky had photographed some approaching "weather" and by the time we got to Steamboat Point, it was snowing. This was a special snow called "graupel," which comes down in very small balls, making a sort of tinkling sound as it falls. While we were at Steamboat, several bison decided to walk up the road beside the pullout, and a very persistent raven tried to convince us to give him a snack!

We left this area and drove most of the way back to the campground in the snow, but by the time we got to Gardiner for dinner, the sky was blue again! Smoky and I both remarked how much we appreciated the varied weather today. What a treat! 

—Shann