2010

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

 

(archives)

2009

June 2010
Wow! Summer's here! The weather is fabulous, and everything is up and running for another summer season in West Yellowstone. We've teemed up with Montana Whitewater Raft Company to offer another option for our trips. If you're wanting a wilder ride than you'll get with our scenic kayak tours, we'll head through the Park and explore geyser basins on our way to a whitewater raft trip down the Yellowstone River, then watch wildlife on our return to West Yellowstone. We also offer a version of this trip with a scenic raft or kayak trip. We can also get you set up for whitewater and scenic raft trips on the Gallatin and Madison rivers. Be sure to check out Music in the Parks while you're here! Our tandem kayak rental prices have been reduced this summer to get more families our having fun! We also have a rental expedition canoe now, for those who prefer a canoe for overnight trips on Yellowstone's lakes. Give us a call!

May 2010
The ice comes off of the lakes this month, and in spite of the often variable weather, it's a great time to see all of the spring wildlife activity. The water in the Madison Arm of Hebgen lake is always suprisingly warm this time of year (it flows from Yellowstone's thermal basins), and we love paddling the lake early in the month, when the ice is just coming off. Beautiful!

Baby bison are everywhere (we call them "red dogs"), and they're as loveable as newborn lambs...except you can't get too close, 'cause mama weighs 800lbs+, and is keeping a close eye on her newborn. Makes for great photos and movies with a good lens, though. Be sure to be in West Yellowstone this summer for WYSEF's summer mountain bike biathlon races (they even have a beginner's orientation and rifles you can use), Saturday, June 26th. Call (406) 599-4465 for more info, or check here: http://www.rendezvousskitrails.com/biathlon

April 2010
Come celebrate National Parks Week from April 17th-25th when the Park has free admission for all visitors! There will also be hundreds of family-friendly events held throughout the Park on Saturday, April 24th for National Junior Ranger Day. Yellowstone begins to open for autos on April 16th. The West entrance to Mammoth and Old Faithful will open first, with other roads to follow as they are cleared. Check here for road opening dates.

If yo can't wait, bring your bike for some of the best touring anywhere...Some of the roads in Yellowstone are open from mid-March until April 16th for bicycles and other non-motorized uses. There's nothing like it! Dunraven Pass over Mt Washburn will also be open for a week, car free, in mid-May. Call FreeHeel & Wheel to rent a bike or to get more info.

It's also a good time to make reservations for the summer guiding season! We start to fill up our summer dates this time of year, so let us know when you want to be here so we can be sure to save you a spot!

March 2010
The bluebirds are back! As we get later in the month and the days get longer, many migratory birds are returning to the area. It's always a treat to see the variety of species that arrive for the summer or pass through en-route to more northerly climes. Grizzly bears have also begun leaving their dens (at the first of the month this year!), and tracks have been seen both in the Park and around West Yellowstone. Time for bear-spray while skiing! The Park is closed to oversnow travel as of March 15th for the winter season.

Come check out the 31st annual Rendezvous ski race! March 6th, 2010. Fun for the whole family, including a kids festival on Sunday the 7th! These three mountain men are prepping the black powder canon for the start of the races...

February 2010
The winter is feeling a lot like our usual spring weather, with relatively warm days and lots of blue skies. It looks like we are in a drought pattern again, which means we can expect some forest fires this summer. It's making for great nordic skiing conditions, however, and the Rendezvous trails and touring trails around West Yellowstone have been fabulous!

With so little snow (relatively speaking), this is turning out to be an easier winter for the elk and bison, because it's easier to find food, move around to new feeding areas, and to escape predators. Of course, the shallower snow makes it harder for the wolves to catch the big ungulates, so these low snow years can make it harder for them to stay fed. The bears won't be as well insulated in their dens, and we may see them out and about earlier if we don't get much more snow in the next month or two.

January 2010
Earthquakes! We have had a "swarm" of quakes over the last couple of weeks, beginning on January 17th. As of today (the 28th), there have been 1497 quakes with 12 of at least magnitude 3 and one of magnitude 3.8! The 3+ quakes can be felt, and West Yellowstone is only about 10 miles from the epicenter of many of these quakes. No worries though, this is a normal thing for Yellowstone. It happened last January too, and we average about 7-8 minor quakes per day in our area. Check the Yellowstone Park press releases for more info.

December 2009
The Yellowstone winter season opened for over the snow travel on December 15th. The nordic skiing is shaping up well in West Yellowstone, and we've had some beautiful blue sky days this month, the kind that are like nowhere else. With a combination of cold, clear, clean air, high elevation, magical cloud formations, soft winter light, and a backdrop of mountain scenery and geyser basins, sometimes it's hard to believe we're on the same planet as everyone else...

November 2009
The Park is closed for auto travel this month (except for the north entrance, which is plowed), but weather permitting, you can ride a bike or ski from the West entrance. West Yellowstone host a Fall Festival ski week every year during Thanksgiving, and we'll have everything from Olympic qualifying nordic ski races to film festivals, ski demos, and indoor expo, and fun events for the whole family (including a chance to shoot a biathlon rifle, and try out biathlon skiing, for free!).

October 2009
Come enjoy Yellowstone in the Fall! It's the last month where you can get in using your own vehicle before it reopens again to the general public in the spring. The Park will close for the winter on November 2cnd, but will be open for guided, oversnow (snowcoaches & snowmobiles) winter travel beginning on December 15th. This is one of my favorite months to see the Park, because there aren't many visitors and the changing season, elk in rut, and fall colors make for a special experience. Bring your winter clothes and winter tires/chains, because it can be cold, but it's more than worth the trouble.

September 2009
Ahh, the Fall! Hard to beat around here! Crowds are starting to thin, animals are becoming more active, the biting bugs are gone, the fishing's great, and the weather is fabulous! The elk are in rut and the bison are just winding down from their mating season. Sunsets are getting more colorful, the water's still warm, so join us for a kayak or Yellowstone tour!

August 2009
The bison are in rut! Come and watch these 2000+ pound (900+ kg) Goliath's battle it out for first choice of mates. Most of the activity takes place in the Park's big valleys where it's easy to watch from the road. There is generally a lull in visitation when kids head back to school toward the end of August, so make plans to take advantage of that if you can. The water is warm and the kayaking (and swimming) is really sweet now, and as the days begin to shorten, the sunsets get even more spectacular! Join us for a sunset kayak tour or a day in Yellowstone enjoying the animals and geysers!

July 2009
Warm weather, blue skies, perfect! Join us for a kayaking trip or a private van & walking tour in Yellowstone. Our Yellowstone tour rates have been discounted for the summer of 2009 and are unbeatable for families and those looking for an extraordinary (and private-you'll have the guide and the van to yourself) trip! We'll update July as soon as I can get a few more minutes at the computer, but I suggest getting here and having the time of your life, as soon as possible!

June 2009
Although it's been a cool and wet start to summer, we've had some beautiful weather for traveling through Yellowstone, with no mosquitoes and nice temps for hiking. the animals are also more active throughout the day with the cooler temps, and we're seeing lots of both grizzly and black bears in the Park.

We had a great turnout for our annual West Yellowstone Ski Education Foundation kayaking adventure! The trip took place on Quake Lake, which is a magnificent mountain lake formed by a landslide that dammed the Madison River Canyon during the 1959 magnitude 7.2 earthquake. Our guided morning trips from Kirkwood marina also explore the fault scarp and submerged buildings that still remain, and you'll learn about all the crazy stuff that happened during and after the quake too!

May 2009
Spring is in the air! Winter is slowly but surely loosening its grip on the mountains of Montana. The skiing is still great (believe it or not!), but so is the wildlife watching. The animals are making preparations for making the most of the coming summer, what with babes on the way and all.

The bison were late in calving this year, at least in our neck of the Yellowstone woods, presumably due to the late snow. Bison cows have the amazing capability of prolonging the term of a pregnancy when late spring snow and cold could threaten the survival of a calf. If only cattlemen could be so lucky with their cows! Spring blizzards usually mean having calves in the truck, the garage, the house...wherever they can be kept warm and alive until the weather improves.

This is my favorite time of year here, with all of the animal activity and the rapidly changing weather. It is the time of year when the whole place seems to be alive, with something happenning everywhere you look. The light is incredible too, and I get some of my best photographs in the spring.

Kayaking this time of year on Hebgen lake is pure magic. Most days, there is no one else on the lake (except all of the migrating birds, including eagles, osprey, swans, along with bison, elk, coyote and fox, wolves, bears, and more...), partly because it's not accessible from most of the marinas this time of year, partly due to the lack of crowds, and partly due to the ice that is still on parts to the lake...Awesome!

April 2009
Lots of grizzly activity now; finding tracks almost every time I am out walking or skiing. We have had wolves visiting too, four animals, likely from the Cougar Creek pack. They killed an elk cow just down the road from our house on Horse Butte, and have been seen several times in the Hebgen basin this month.

More birds are returning every day...Mountain Bluebirds, Osprey and Bald Eagles, all sorts of waterfowl, pelicans, gulls... Some that'll stay and some that are just passing through as they make their way north for the summer. This area is one of the major migratory pathways for many species of birds, so we get to see most of those that travel this continent at least a couple of times a year. It's a great time to ski or snowshoe along the river drainages, because that's where all the action is!

And The Lamar Valley Van Trip...Wow, like being in Yellowstone 100 years ago...Lots more animals than people, always something exciting happenning, things moving everywherere you look!

Bicycle touring in the Park has been really nice too! It's only open to non-motorized travel from around the third week in March to the summer opening date (April 17th this year). It's a great way to see the Park in the spring, as long as you don't mind the bison traffic...

March 2009
3/19 - First Griz tracks I've seen this year! The bear traveled around the Deja View loop of the Rendezvous ski trails, so heads-up skiers!

Skiing and snowshoeing conditions are primo, best yet this year for backcountry downhill skiing. The snowpack has finally stabilized so that steeper terrain can be explored for those so inclined.

The touring is superb too, particularly in our basin. The Park closed to over snow motorized travel on March 8th, but is still open for skiing/snowshoeing, and will open to bicycle and foot travel later in the month. The rivers and parts of Hebgen lake are starting to open up, and bird activity is increasing on the open water.

February 2009
There's nothing like West Yellowstone in winter! and February is arguably the best month of winter, particularly for over the snow traveling.

Days are getting longer, but the snow is still cold and soft. Great touring and turning to be had, and the relatively warmer air temps make for comfortable conditions. The snow is deep, everything is buried under many layers of snow, the landscape is looks magnificent covered under a sparkling white blanket of snow, and it's possible to travel anywhere with everything covered and frozen. So much easier than getting around in the mountains in the summer!

January 2009
The daylight isn't long-lived, but it's spectacular. Soft, beautiful light, magical skies and unforgettable sunsets. The best time of year for moonlight skiing and snowshoeing too, because the moon is bright and the skiing right six o'clock at night! Nothing quite like a geyser eruption on a cold clear winters day...