Pelican Creek Hike

This morning I took Claire to work as she had arranged to change shifts with a co-worker. I will work the closing shift so I had time to kill. As we headed to work we spotted three elk on the side of the road and just ahead of us there were several bison to greet us. The sun was beginning to rise from behind the mountains that sit in the background of Yellowstone Lake. I pulled over and walked into the meadow to take a few photos. The temperature was about 48 degrees with a slight breeze coming off the lake. I thought this would be a good morning to take a ride and perhaps do a short hike. One hike that I have enjoyed is Pelican Creek. It is an easy 1 1/2 mile hike that takes you through a wooded area, marsh, and shoreline of the lake. This is also an area where grizzlies have been spotted and several times this year the area had been closed due to bear activity. I was the only one on the trail as it was early in the morning and as I moved deeper into the woods I spotted fresh bear poop. By the way, it is called "scat". At that point I did get a little nervous but decided to keep on walking. The sounds were eerie as the lodge pole pine trees swayed in the breeze and made a crackling sound. All around me the woods were coming alive. Of course, I would look for that bear that was in front of me, or was he next to me, or perhaps coming up from behind? You do get a little nervous but what the heck, it is beautiful. When you come into the marsh lands the woods open up and the grass is golden-yellow. What a grand site it was! Next came the shore line of Yellowstone Lake. The wind was pretty strong at that point and quite cold. There were white caps on the water giving one the feeling of being near the ocean. Towards the end of the hike I approached another marsh land which was muddy so I had to take a detour to get back to my car. On the trail I saw fresh bison poop(scat) with a bear print right in the middle of it! Perhaps this will be the last hike for this season. Our incredible adventure in the "Stone" is quickly coming to an end. We will be leaving the park on Sept 28th. for our home in Florida. As I look back in awe of the beauty we have experienced this summer I could not help but feel sad that our days were numbered in Yellowstone. We will leave, the snow will come, and the animals will have their park back.