September 7, 2012

WE FINALLY GOT TO SEE SOME GRIZZLIES TODAY. Concluding that we might see Big Foot before we saw one of the 200 grizzlies in the park, we headed north and west to a grizzly and wolf recovery center in the town of West Yellowstone just outside of Yellowstone Park. The grizzlies and wolves in the center are ones which have either become too acclimated to people or have been orphaned.  Long gone are the days when those cute grizzlies leaned up against peoples’ cars.  When bears become used to human food, they become dangerous. After years of complaints by visitors of bites and clawings from those cute critters, the park’s administration eliminated garbage dumps and other attractions to the bears. Accordingly, the bears in the park have reverted back to their natural food sources away from people.

Some bears, for various reasons, have gotten too accustomed to people. To prevent injuries to people, some of these bears have been placed in the Bear and Wolf Recovery Center in West Yellowstone where they are enclosed in an area approximating their normal habitat. During intervals when the bears are absent from the enclosure, kids are allowed to hide food in the enclosure. Mooching ravens are all over the place looking for crumbs from the bears’ meals.  One bear, in particular, resented the ravens and chased after them.

We had lunch in a restaurant a couple of blocks from the recovery center. Near the restaurant, Carole spotted a jewelry store where an Indian named Silverheels made high-end jewelry. I knew that it was high-end because people like Sheryl Crow had been there and left signed photos. Carole asked the Indian if he was related to Jay Silverheels, the Indian who played Tonto. Silverheels said that his father used to “work with Jay,” a vague and probably false answer.
 

Everywhere we have been, rangers, tour guides and salespeople invariably have asked the question westerners have asked strangers for a couple of hundred years: “Where are you all from.” In most cases, when we have replied “Indiana,” we have gotten a slightly puzzled look. After we answered Silverheels obligatory question, he rudely cut right to chase asking, “What’s in Indiana?” I replied: “Pottawattamie, fierce warriors.” When he made it clear that he thought that I had given a less than honest answer, I said: “White man never lie.” He got the last word: “We know better.”

The drive to and from West Yellowstone was along the Madison River, one of several scenic rivers in Yellowstone.  Just north of Old Faithful, we could see both the river and the numerous geysers near Old Faithful.

When we got back to the Grant Village, we checked at the ranger desk to see who was running the nightly ranger talk. As luck would have it, the ranger behind the desk was the Mad Hopper.  Complete with sweeping gestures, the Hopper explained that he was giving a talk about the history of the rangers in the park. He added that he would be telling a number of jokes, and that people always enjoyed his jokes. I told him, of course, that he would see us there. As I uttered that base falsehood, I thought that the likelihood of his seeing us at the speech was about the same as our seeing a grizzly looking through the window to our room.

There are two restaurants in Grant Village, a cheap one and an expensive one. Good old Xanatera runs both restaurants. We chose the cheap restaurant. After standing in line for 45 minutes, we got to spend ten dollars for a small hamburger.