Day 16- Yellowstone from East gate to Northeast gate

Our arrival in the park was a bittersweet experience. We drove through mile after mile of scorched standing wood from the 1988 wild fires. Over 40% of the park was burned but as I’ve said, this is nature’s way of resetting the balance. It burns the dead or dying undergrowth that has been left to accumulate, clears the way for fresh shoots to thrive in newly created holes in the canopy and in some cases, fire is even required to open cones allowing the seeds to be broadcast by squirrels, birds and bears. There were several places we didn’t stop today because we will travel the first part of the trip a couple of times on our way to other parts of the park. We did stop at Mud Volcano, Artist Point, Le Hardys Rapids, Hayden Valley and the Lamar Valley. It took hours but our loop went out the Northeast Gate, through Cooke City, up through the Dead Indian Pass and back to Cody. I’m pretty pleased with the amount of wildlife we saw today. There were dozens of lone bulls enjoying the thick green grass and brilliant sunshine. Some were even taking advantage of the occasional snow drifts liberally sprinkled about the park. We didn’t find the cows and calves until we reached the Lamar Valley. There were hundreds grazing there and I found myself wondering what the scene would have been like 150 years ago when the valley would have been a seething dark mass of bison with little room to observe individuals. Our chance sighting of the black bear was a plus although I would have loved to stop and get a clear photo. The presence of the ranger is, of course, a deterrent. How do they get there so quickly? It’s like the bear calls in and says” Hey, I’m heading over to Chittendon Road. Want to get together?” I always enjoy seeing deer wherever I go. We don’t have Mule Deer in NH so it was interesting to see how really large their ears are. Pronghorns ( not antelope ) are new to us. Even though the females have horns, you can easily tell who’s in charge. And finally, I couldn’t believe our luck when we came around this corner and there in the field were a mating pair of coyotes. How do I know they were a mating pair? Think about that for a minute. Carl let me out of the truck to sit on the side of the road while he parked further down the road. And you can always tell when you’ve been too long at a spot by the number of vehicles parked on side of the road and in some cases in the road like it happened today in front of us. I actually thought mean bad things about two guys, one who pulled up, in the road, between me and the Bison bull, the other grabbed a tripod, a telephoto lens such as you see at a ball game and then walked within 100 feet of the same bull. I mean really. Did he want to count his eyelashes?

Sad Farewells

We say goodbye to Dad and Adena. They’re heading back to Bellingham today with a bit of a cloud over their heads. It seems their car is making sounds that it doesn’t usually make. This will have to be checked out. My day is spent doing absolutely nothing. My plan is to rest and take lots of day quill so I can fly tomorrow without too much difficulty. There’s one more load of laundry to do. After three weeks, we’ll go home with just one days’ worth of dirty laundry. This means my first day home is not spent at my new washer and dryer that was delivered while we have been away. I didn’t even feel like packing and I should have.

Uclulet And Old Growth

We checked out Ucluelet just to say we’d been there but quite honestly it could have been “small town anywhere” . We did take a very short break and walk a small section of the Pacific Rim Trail to a breathtaking overlook. The waves crashed onto the secluded harbor and it would have been easy to sit on the bench provided and forget about the rest of the world, for a while. However there were "miles to go before we sleep" and so we made a stop for lunch provisions at a local grocery store and headed back to the eastern side of the island and our home away from home. We made stops to photograph eagles and I was reminded that my choices of lenses are lacking. My need for a 600mm or larger lens is even more apparent on this trip. I’ve just moved it to the top of my “when I get some money” list. The MacMillin Forest is beyond description. We were there for such a short time but I was spellbound by the immensity of these huge trees, some of which are more than 800 years old. They stand, a testament to durability and adaptation, against a world that threatens their very existence every day. And when one of them falls, it not only leave a huge gapping hole in the canopy of the forest but something majestic and irreplaceable is gone from the world forever. Left to time, the forest will gradually reclaim all of the behemoth and new life will spring from it’s corpse. Sadly, we will never see another giant in it’s place. We had a mere twenty minutes this afternoon but I could have spent hours there wandering from tree to tree in the fragrant shadows. We’re nearly back to the unit when Carl and I realize neither of us are feeling all that great.

Castles Aren't The Only Things Found In Sand

Today, we drove the width of Vancouver Island for two reasons. The first is because there wasn't enough time to drive the length and the second was because I had heard how beautifully wild the west coast was, especially during storms when the Pacific rises up and crashes into the rocky coast. My luck tends to run in the opposite. I want bright sunny days and get gray drizzle. I want wild Pacific wind driven storms and get warm brilliant blue sky days where surfers are disappointed in the four to five foot swells. The road to Tofino and Ucluelet is steep, twisting, narrow, and travels through some of the most beautiful countryside on the island, rising from sea level up to more that 411 meters and then back down once more. Long narrow fiord like lakes nestle in the crooked valleys of huge mountains and the snow banks get higher as we climb. Every once in a while I’m treated to a breath taking view of frost encrusted trees glistening in the sunlight or old growth forests dripping with dew. And there are eagles here to tease my camera lens as well. Tofino is a sleepy little fishing village that has managed to adapt to accommodate all of us tourists from the outside world. When we arrive, I feel like I’ve arrived home. The people are friendly and their speech is characteristically punctuated with an “eh” here and there. It just made me feel as if I belonged. We walked beaches, watched the tide rise and fall from our hotel room, wandered quiet streets empty of traffic to find the perfect native doll for my grand daughter ( didn't succeed ) and we asked the locals where to find the perfect sunset. We are directed to the “ best spot on the island” to view the sunset and it didn’t disappoint. While we waited for the time to approach, there were tide pools to investigate and drift wood piles to be searched. We found curious little trails in the sand left by unseen creatures and everywhere we looked was another beautiful view just begging to be captured by my camera. While walking , I happened to look at my feet to see this unusual pattern in the sand. The outgoing tide has created art of it's own. It was not unique, however. I found other forests along the way. The sunset was beautiful, as promised. It was a perfect end to a perfect day spent with my dad, taking pictures. Sometimes I feel like I'm ignoring the people around me when I get lost in that special moment .

Another helpful suggestion directed us to a restaurant reputed to have good food at reasonable prices. Well, the food was good! We spent the night overlooking a secluded harbor where the cannery waits for the fishing fleet to arrive.