The Lamar Valley - Yellowstone

The Lamar Valley is located in the northeast section of Yellowstone National Park. It has in the past been referred to as the Serengeti of North America due to the amount of wildlife found in this area. The type of wildlife you may find include but are not limited to the North American Buffalo or Bison, the Gray Wolf, Coyote, Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, and Pronghorn to name a few.

Our trip was during the last week of September while the colors of fall were making their annual debut. On this particular day we decided to travel east from our cabin in Cooke City Montana and head for the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge Montana. If you ever do get the opportunity to travel this way, please take this road unless you are terrified of high switchback roads. Words cannot describe what type of geologic even took place in this area but one thing is for sure and that is that this place will certainly leave an impression on you.

After our drive to Beartooth Pass I said to my dad and brother, "why don't we head to the Lamar Valley and take a short stroll." This phrase will always carry with it the irony to what really happened.

Once we arrived in the Lamar we pulled over to the side of the road. I started packing my backpack with camera equipment and put on my coat and gloves. Of course we intended on taking a short stroll of an hour or less.

My dad took the lead of course and never waited for Troy or myself to follow. We found him walking along the Lamar river taking in the breathtaking scenery and told him that we were going to cross the bridge. This bridge would be the only way to cross the river, but prior to the knowledge I have now, I did not know it at the time. I thought we could cross the bridge and walk down a mile or so and cross what I thought was another bridge.

We crossed and started to head west towards the setting sun. We followed the bison trails and tried with every intention to avoid the buffalo chips. Buffalo chips or meadow muffins do take alot of space in this wide open area, which means that the buffalo that roam Yellowstone sure do get around. It was at this time that my dad and brother seen something in the distance that was white and laying on the ground in the thick grass. We went to check it out and behold was a buffalo skull.

Then it occured to me what happens in this place. The beginning and the end of life happens in this very valley. In the springtime this place explodes with the births animals and also where the old ones die or become a meal for the bear or wolves. One thing for sure is nothing goes to waste.

As we continued on our journey, the sun started to go behind one of the mountains. It was that point where I was determined to reach the imaginary bridge that didnt exist. My dad was also determined to cross the river with his 'waterproof' boots. And that left my brother in the middle with the video camera filming both my dad and me walking in opposite directions. I then took the lead which led to a dead end. The river intersected with another river and left nowhere to cross.

I became very angry with myself for leading my dad and brother this far with only one option. And that was to turn around and go back the way we came. It was getting darker and there was still the subtle fear that a bear or buffalo was roaming around in our path. But we continued and pressed on huffing and puffing as we started to become tired of walking. We came across two mule deer who stood in one spot and watched us walk past them along a ridge to another buffalo trail. I thought I heard them mock us and laugh as we passed them by. When the sun went down, it was at that point my brother feared for our lives. We started to pray and ask God to deliver us from the wilds.

It became pitch black and of course, when I reached into my backpack that I realized I did not bring a flashlight. The only light we had was the LCD monitor on the video camera. Troy pointed it towards the ground as we walked in a single file line. Troy had the camera, I had a long stick and my dad was carrying the bear spray.

Now I was fearing for our lives. All I could think about was getting these two to safety. With no light, no way to see in the blackness of night, we didnt know if there was a buffalo or bear two feet from us. It was at this time that there was a loud splash of water that ...well freaked us out. I remember my body froze in an instant ready (so I thought) to defend ourselves. It ended up being a few ducks that we startled. I dont know who was scared more, them or me.

We knew we had to travel along the river or else we would lose the opportunity to cross the bridge near where we parked. The problem was we didnt know if our route would become a deadend near some swamp wetland. But as we climed a small incline I noticed something that was about 10 feet away. A sillouette that caught my attention was a small frame that I recognized being near the bridge. We became excited and picked up the pace for another 50 feet or so and behold, the bridge.

We sang praises to God and thanked him for getting us back to our car safely. When I started the car and turned on the headlights, it was at that point where we looked at eachother and laughed. My dad said to the camera "this old cherokee has had it." We also remember that during the daylight, we didnt see the many herds of buffalo as we seen in the previous days in the same area and once again, thanked God for keeping the wilds away from us.

The next day we drove back and it became apparent just how lucky we were. Both Troy and me were discussing the routes we took to get back. Truly an experience we all will not forget for a long time to come.