A wonderland in all seasons

Courtesy of National Park Service

YELLOWSTONE

A WONDERLAND IN ALL SEASONS

By Amber Travsky

I glance to my right, and the pitter-pat of my heart clicks up a notch. I have second thoughts, but it is too late to reconsider my decision, since I’ve already made my move. I pop my bicycle into high gear and pedal for all I’m worth. Just 25 feet away, a burly bull bison moseys down the highway. My goal is to get past him as quickly as possible, praying he doesn’t react. I’m on my way back to West Yellowstone after visiting Old Faithful with other cycling friends. The weather is typical for early May: some blue sky, some clouds and even some snow. I dress in cross-country ski attire, and it serves me well through the day. Only a few roads are open, and motorized traffic is minimal.

The trick, though, is maneuvering past all the bison wandering on and near the highway. Initially, when there were a few motorists on the road, I’d flag one down and ask them to serve as a shield, driving past the bison with me on the other side. That worked great until the traffic decreased to a trickle.

With the day on the wane, I can’t wait for the bison to wander off the road; I need to get back to West Yellowstone before dark. I figure meeting a bison on the road in the dark might not end well. My plan with this bull is to dash by as far away from him as I can get — and to do it all quickly. As I pull even with him, his size is truly impressive. I, on my bicycle, come to his shoulder.

“Be nice,” I whisper, only half joking, and pick up my pace even more.

Luckily, Mr. Bull gives me nary a glance. No pause; no turn of the head. He doesn’t miss a step in his meander down the road. Once past, I let out a sigh of relief and move back to my side of the highway.

A bison pauses above Lamar River in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley. Bison are quite plentiful in this northern portion of the Park, and it also is where grizzly

bears and wolves often roam. Photo by Amber Travsky

A magnificent royal elk lounges alongside the highway in Yellowstone National Park. Because of such close proximity to the highway, the result was an “elk

jam,” with cars backed up in both directions. Photo by Amber Travsky

By the end of the ride, I saw close to 1,000 bison and several hundred elk. There were also geese, mallards, bluebirds and chickadees. I even saw fish rise in the river. Yellowstone is amazing, no matter the season, but this spring bicycle ride took the cake for wildlife viewing. As a Wyoming native who has been around quite a few decades, I have been to Yellowstone many times and in all seasons. I was even there on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers. Every trip was a marvel, with stunning scenery and opportunities to view wildlife that were unprecedented. Even in the heat of summer, with all the tourists, it’s amazing.

In the middle of winter one year, my friend Kate and I went in via snowcoach. We got dropped off at the trailhead leading to Lone Star Geyser. As the two of us skied off, pulling our sleds with gear, the other snowcoach riders waved goodbye. They were a group of senior citizens from California, and they waved as if we’d never be seen again. During that trip, Lone Star Geyser cooperated. Just as we skied up and waited a couple minutes, the geyser obligingly erupted — to our utter delight.

Overnight, the mercury dipped to about 10 below, but we skied out from our basecamp. We ogled bison in the distance, just making out their silhouettes through the dense snow flurry. A few days later, we met the snowcoach as scheduled to get a lift back to the park entrance. Two winters later, I went the posh route. My friend Teri and I rode the snowcoach all the way to the lodge at Old Faithful. We stayed there and made daily forays, skiing among the steaming hot springs and doing our best to give the lounging bison a wide berth.

I admit that having a hot shower and fancy dinner each night was a treat compared to the previous trek when roughing it.

One evening, I wandered out from the warmth of the lodge, swaddled in my puffy down coat. I walked over to Old Faithful and, right on time, it erupted in the moonlight. I was the sole observer, aside from the elk lounging nearby.

I also cycled in the early fall one year. During that trip, elk wandered through the campground. The bulls bugled not far away. While traffic was greatly reduced from summer volumes, there was enough to create “elk jams.” The biggest occurred when a massive bull elk decided to lounge alongside the highway, bringing traffic to a standstill. Other times I’ve gone to Lamar Valley in late fall, before roads closed, just to see wildlife. I’ve observed both wolves and grizzly bears — all from a safe distance.

I’ve not returned to Yellowstone in a couple years. I fear the reported increased traffic volumes might mar the experience. Still, my hat is off to President Ulysses S. Grant, who had the foresight, 150 years ago, to make this our first national park. It remains a true wonder.

Amber Travsky is a wildlife biologist from Laramie, Wyoming, who earned master’s degrees in wildlife zoology and exercise physiology from the University of Wyoming. She runs her own environmental consulting company, Real West Consulting, as well as a martial arts school. She authored “Mountain Biking Wyoming” and “Mountain Biking Jackson Hole,” both published by Falcon Books. She is the tour director and founder of the Tour de Wyoming bicycle tour, which crosses the state every July.