13S05E15ABAB01 Well

We made our stops for haircuts and got gas in Bozeman. Gas is is $3.29 here for anyone keeping track.

We cleaned out the back seat of the pickup, and Bossy and Ducky re-emerged from under a mosquito coat, tissue box, and a bunch of papers from campsites past.

Our drive to the new campsite was mainly along the Gallatin River. We crossed into a tiny sliver of Yellowstone. Tons of people out fly fishing this morning. There are signs asking people not to fish after 2 pm due to the heat stress the fish are experiencing.

At the campground, we found our spot much shadier than yesterday, but the mosquitos have returned. Since we will be here two nights, we put up the "bug hooch". After a sandwich lunch, we went into West Yellowstone. It is quite a circus with t-shirt shops, indoor live fire ranges, hotels, and even a McDonalds.

Phil and I went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. It's had a bit of a storied past, but it seems in good hands now as a non-profit. They have about 8 grizzlies who, for a variety of reasons, could not be in the wild. Mainly, they were snacking on human foods and had lost their fear of humans. They had become nuisance bears breaking into cabins, stealing food from vehicles and campsites, etc. They are in an environment now where the keepers "enrich" their exercise area by hiding fruits, vegetables, bird feeders in trees, live trout in their pond, etc. The bears are let out in rotations throughout the day, and the area is reset for each bear. A naturalist explains the reasons why the bears are here and reminds everyone NOT to leave things out at campsites. There is even a "testing" site for items deemed "bear resistant." They load them with a bear treat like peanut butter and if it takes longer than 90 minutes for a bear to tear it open it can be called "bear resistant " by the Inter Agency Grizzly Bear Committee.

The site also has wolves that could not be released in the wild, and they also received enriched environments. We watched some find meat and other treats hidden by the naturalists. There was a cool display of cutthroat trout and some graylings as well as a large river otter area where the otters also had enriched environments with fish.

They had some great horned owls, three bald eagles, and some other birds of prey. It was a very nice exhibit with a whole area explaining about bears, hibernation, how bears have disappeared from our landscape and why. They also had an area called Easy Street with chicken coops, gardens, compost areas, bee hives, and bird feeders to show why bears and humans conflict. We looked at the various coolers the bears had made short work of, and ours is supposed to hold up to the 90-minute test. I read a bit about the history, and the facility was originally a commercial venture. It came under pressure as the owners were "making money" off the bears, so it was bought by a veterinarian and 16 employees to turn into a non-profit about 20 years ago or so. Otherwise the company was going to close and euthanize the animals. Phil and I felt it was a good value.

Our only problem was the children and parents who seemed to shriek shrilly at every exhibit, which caused Phil trouble with his hearing aids. Overall, we are glad families can learn about these animals and what to do around them in the wild, too.

Our campground is on the beautiful Madison River, which starts in Yellowstone. Our campsite is in the trees but there are others in the sun right on the river. There were fish jumping this morning and again this afternoon when we walked out.

Back at camp now, trying to charge my batteries with solar panels. Yesterday's site would have been better for that, but we are grateful for the shade.Read more