Yellowstone Eclipse tour — Summer 2017 (19 August - 2 September)

This was a special Yellowstone trip put on by Speyside Wildlife to include the eclipse. Their usual trips to Yellowstone are either in the spring or the autumn so they were not sure what to expect in terms of wildlife. I have wanted to visit Yellowstone for quite a while and when I saw there was also an eclipse I just had to go. I managed to persuade Paul, Shirley and Carol to come with me. Our lovely Speyside guides were Roy and Julian.

We spent a few hours at Chicago airport waiting for our internal flight to Jackson Hole.

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Days 1 to 4, based in Jackson Hole — Exploring Grand Teton NP

After a long day's travel we arrived in Jackson Hole and settled into our hotel, the 49’er Inn. The next morning, after a bit of pre-breakfast birding around the back of the hotel, we set off for Flat Creek, having picked up our American sized lunch on the way. After stopping by the visitor centre we head for Two Oceans Lake were we enjoy our lunch and a walk around the lake. The highlight was a great view of two moose standing in the lake. We then head off for Jackson Lake Lodge where we stop for delicious, American size portions, ice cream. On our way back we encounter our first bison jam. What a wonderful first day.

Eclipse Day 3!

We set off early to beat the traffic and make sure we got a good spot. There were already people parked everywhere. As we turned into Gros Ventre road we were met by a very helpful Park Ranger. The road had been made one-way with one lane used a long car park. After driving past endless cars we eventually found a great spot and parked. Most of us climbed up the hillside and got some amazing views of the Teton mountain range. Even with all the people it didn't feel crowded. And then it started. It took a while before we noticeed much change in the light but then suddenly the light faded and the temperature droped. There was an eerie stillness, then at the point of totality the whole hillside erupted in appreciation. Wow, words are not enough to describe the experience. We had some lunch looking over the river whilst contemplating our experience. We did a bit more birding and then drove back to Jackson where we spent the afternoon relaxing in the park with ice-cream (well some of us did anyway).

Day 4: The next day we set off to the National Elk Refuge. It was surprisingly chilly first thing. Driving round we spoted three Coyotes enjoying the sprinklers. We stopped off at Flat Creek visitor centre, were we found a spot to have our lunch after which we headed back to Jackson for a break as it was now rather hot. Later we set off to look for beavers. We drove down the Moose Wilson Road, which was rather busy, and then headed for the beaver site where we parked and walked along the river to a flooded area with a beaver lodge in the middle. We didn't see any beavers though but did find a large female moose in the water instead. After a while somebody spotted an animal swimming in the water but it turned out to be a muskrat. We walked back to the car with the sun setting behind us. A beautiful place.

Days 5 to 7, by Yellowstone Lake — Yellowstone National Park

Day 5: We left Jackson behind for now and set off for Yellowstone. There were plenty of interesting places along the way. Our first stop was at Taggart lake pull-out for the view and photo opportunity. The next stop was String Lake were we had a walk. There are loads of red squirrels there, some even happy to be photographed. We then continued to Signal Mountain were we stopped and walked up to a view point. The view was fantastic. We had lunch overlooking Jackson Lake. There were loads of butterflies everywhere. We stopped at the Yellowstone entrance sign for some photos. At suitable spots along the way we stopped to look for Pikas and eventually we found some. Other people kept stopping thinking we'd found a bear.

We eventually arrived at Lake Lodge Cabins by Lake Yellowstone. Our cabins were a drive away from the restaurant but the food was worth the drive, even on a rather rainy evening.

Day 6: The next morning we set off early, before breakfast, to look for wolves. It was very misty and atmospheric. We saw plenty of things but no wolves. After breakfast we set off out to the Hayden Valley. We stopped for some birding along the way and also stopped at the Mud Volcano were we wandered around looking at the various fascinating features. After lunch we went on to the famous ‘Grand Canyon of Yellowstone’ were we walked and admired the spectacular scenery and more birds too. We then headed off to the visitor centre at Canyon for information and ice cream.

Day 7: It was foggy again in the morning so no chance of seeing wolves. We came across a huge heard of bison that looked fantastic in the mist. As we got higher the mist cleared and we had some great views. After breakfast our first stop was Fishing Bridge and then Pelican Creek where we found our first mountain bluebirds. We drove on along the lake and took a road up to a view point. There was a vista of dead trees left over from the fires of 1988. Lunch was at Sylven lake. On our way down we spotted several yellow-bellied Marmots sitting on the rocks. We then headed to were there was a carcass reported with a grizzly bear feeding. We drove slowly past and peered up into the wood but there was a ranger there making sure we didn't stop. After several slow drive-bys we all managed to catch a glimpse of the bear but not before having been told off by the ranger.

Days 8 to 10, based in Cooke City, Montana — Looking for wolves in all the wrong places

Day 8:After breakfast we got on our way and drove through the foggy Hayden Valley where we hit another bison jam. As we got higher the mist cleared. At the top of the hill we parked up and walked up the fairly steep trail. There were lots of lovely chipmunks along the way and band-winged grasshoppers everywhere. We got to a view point and reluctantly headed back down again. Back on the road we moveed on to the Chittenden Road where we had lunch whilst admiring the view. Next we dropped down to Tower for some ice cream and a look at the waterfall.

As it was rather hot we drove on to the Soda Butte lodge in Cooke City to check in and have a rest. On the way through the Lamar Valley were we came across a fairly tame fox. We had an early dinner and headed back to the Lamar Valley looking for wolves. The 'Institute' seems to be where it was all happening except that it wasn't. We were told that wolves had been seen there regularly, including that morning.

Day 9: We set off back to the Institute before dawn hoping to see wolves. There were plenty of people already there waiting. As the sun rose there were no signs of wolves and eventually we headed back for breakfast. Afterwards we set off in the opposite direction, towards Beartooth Pass. We stopped a few times on the way and had superb views of Pilot Peak. We stopped for a loo break at the 'Top-of-the-World' were we were told there were mountain goats at the ski lifts further up. We parked at the highest point of the pass and, true enough, there they were. After we'd had our fill of mountain goat viewing we drove back down a bit and stopped for lunch on a hillside. After a slow drive back we had another early dinner and tried again for the wolves. Alas no luck but there was plenty of other things to see.

Day 10: Another early start and we had all dressed up warmly but all we saw was a couple of Coyotes wandering past. As it got lighter we moved on to another spot were there were plenty of birds to see. Our leaders got rather excited when they spotted some Boblinks, a type of sparrow, a first for their Yellowstone trips. We decided to have breakfast at Roosevelt Lodge and then on to Mammoth where we first drove round the travertine terraces and then walked on the boardwalks. Quite a sight. We all met up again at the bottom for ice-cream. On the way back we drove the Black-tail Deer drive.

Day 11, at Old Faithful - Exploring the geology

We had one final vigil at the 'Institute' in the Lamar Valley, but alas it was not to be. We spoke with some people who were in radio contact with the wolf project team who told us that no wolves had been seen since we arrived in the area. We did get rather excited as we got out of the van as we could hear distant howling. It turned out to be a small group of four coyotes. After watching them for a bit we went back for breakfast before setting off to Old Faithful.

We stopped at Norris for lunch then went on to Norris Geyser Basin, where we enjoyed a walk round the boardwalk trails. Next we headed on to Fountain Paintpots for more geothermal features. Reluctantly we had to leave to continue on to Old Faithful were we spent one night at Old Faithful Lodge Cabins. As we arrived we found we had just enough time to check in before it was due to blow, perfect timing.

Here is a short video of the Steamboat Geyser at the Norris Geyser Basin.

Days 12 to 15, back at Jackson Hole — Bears and Beavers

Day 12: As we had some free time Carol and I took a walk around the boardwalks past a variety of geothermal features. We managed to see some river otters and watched an Osprey catch a fish. It was now time to leave Yellowstone but not before we visited the Grand Prismatic Spring. This is a fantastic place. We had lunch at a nice pic-nic spot before we set off for the long drive back to Jackson. After having checked back into the 49'rs we set off in search of bears and beavers. This time we were in luck and had some great, quite close, views of a couple of black bears.

Day 13: We decided to try and find some more black bears before breakfast but none were seen. After breakfast we went out to the famous Mormon Row Barns. We then headed off for coffee and cake at Dornan’s were we also saw some hummingbirds. We then went back to were we saw the bears the night before and they were still there. As we enjoyed our lunch, Roy got chatting with a couple holidaying nearby. They told him they could see beavers from their cabin and invited us all over later in the afternoon. We took a walk hoping for more bears and we did spot one a way off. As we slowly made our way back to the vans the people at the back (way back) noticed a bear just below them. It walked up the path and crossed right in front of them. By the time the rest of us found out and went back to look it had diapered.

Later we set off to the couple's cabin to look for the beavers. We got some brilliant views of several swimming past their cabin. As we drove back to Jackson the sun was slowly setting behind the Teton range.

Day 14: It was time to leave but not before I had a last quick walk round the town. I was sad to leave. The flight home was long but uneventful. Back in London the next day we said our goodbyes to Roy and Julian and the other new friends we'd made. It was an amazing experience which left me wanting to go back.

It was a brilliant experience and one I would highly recommend. I do hope to be able to go back one day. Here is the detailed trip report from Speyside.