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Winter in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone
BOB LINDSEY PHOTO
STORY BY PAT LINDSEY
When the temperature dipped to -30 degrees after a blizzard, my husband and I were very glad we had decided to see Yellowstone National Park in January in a snow coach rather than by snowmobile.
In the wintertime, there are only three allowable ways to see Yellowstone—on skis, on a guided snowmobile tour, or with a guide in a snow coach. Of those three ways, the snow coach is the only mode of transportation that provides you with heat, shelter from the elements, and the comfort of riding in a van. In fact, it is a van with caterpillar tires—a special terrain vehicle that can plow through the most impassable roads with no problem.
Our guide, Graham, was a native of Wyoming, who had a great passion for his state and the environment. He willingly shared everything he knew about the geothermal wonders of Yellowstone, as well as the many waterfalls, lakes, rivers, mountains, and animals found there. For six hours, he drove through the southern section of the park —the only section that’s open in the winter and the snowiest part of Wyoming—and stopped often for photo opportunities. He explained to us that Yellowstone became the first U.S. national park in 1872 and at that time it was simply known as “The Park.” Ninety-six percent of Yellowstone is in Wyoming and the rest is in Montana with a little bit in Idaho.
We had not traveled many miles into the park before it became obvious that man and Mother Nature had not been kind to Yellowstone. The 1988 fires destroyed 793,000 acres of lodgepole pines inside the park and another million acres were burned outside the park. Some good did come from the devastation, however, because the fires gave the area a chance to regenerate and several new species of trees have propogated. The only large animal that hasn’t come back strong is the moose.
As our snow coach trekked along the snow-packed road, we saw a small herd of buffalo standing in an icy stream. We probably could have walked over and touched them, but Graham reminded us that buffaloes are wild animals, too. A little farther down the road two coyotes were playing in the snow while a third one watched from a distance. Graham told us it was mating season. Ducks floated on the freezing cold rivers just as if it were summer and waterfalls were eerily fringed with long frosty icicles while the rest of their raging thunder plunged over rocks and down the mountains.
When groups of snowbilers caught up with us, Graham let them pass. Later, when they left their snowmobiles to take some photos, we saw gigantic ravens swoop down and open the zippers on their backpacks and remove sticks of beef jerky, whole sandwiches, and whatever else appealed to them, and then fly away. When lunchtime arrived, I’m sure those snowmobilers had a difficult time believing that birds could be that proficient at stealing lunches.
Our tour included lunch at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, so Graham timed our arrival there perfectly so that we could watch Old Faithful erupt at 12:20 p.m., just before it was time to order lunch. Old Faithful has been faithfully erupting approximately every 65 to 90 minutes, depending on how long each eruption lasts.
After lunch, we drove past West Thumb Lake, the crater within a crater that is more than 400 feet deep. Graham then suggested we take a half-hour walk around West Thumb Basin and visit his second favorite geologic feature, the Black Pool. As we were walking, Graham told us about the 2,000 earthquakes the area witnesses each year and how the ice cracked below his feet the last time he walked around the basin. According to geologists, the Yellowstone area is overdue for a big earthquake. If one should occur, life on earth as we know it will never be the same again. As for the Black Pool, it is a gorgeous aqua blue. The plant life that once made it look black no longer exists.
Lewis Lake (named after Meriwether Lewis) is an easy landmark to spot, because it is an enormous lake that looks like a frozen tundra and maintains a winter temperature of -67 degrees with ice two feet thick.
At the end of the day, we felt we had seen a great deal of Yellowstone and its many geologic wonders, but Graham put it into perspective when he told us we had only seen about one percent of the waterfalls and only a tiny corner of the park. If we ever get a chance to visit Yellowstone again, I think I’d choose another snow coach tour again. I loved the winter-white fairyland and the fact that all the bears were fast asleep. Then again, a summer visit would be great.
