PO Box 16545 Portal, AZ 85632 Phone 520.558.1146 Toll free 866.900.1146 Fax 650.471.7667 Email
[email protected] Yellowstone National Park Tour Report June 10-15, 2012 Guide Peg Abbott, with six participants: Lynn, Maggie, Hazel, Peter, Suzanne and Chris Sun., June 10 Billings / A Bit of the Prairie near Molt / Red Lodge We met in Billings on a very blustery day, but as the entire group arrived either a day early or were continuing from the week before, we got an early start. The wind was howling, and rain started as we left town, foiling our plans to pick up a few signature prairie species en route to Red Lodge. We gave it a try, seeing Horned Larks and Lark Buntings from paved and gravel roads near Molt, as well as several Pronghorn. We turned south from there, lining up with Laurel and our route to Red Lodge, where we enjoyed some time to explore this pretty little mountain town ahead of our welcome dinner. The historic Pollard Hotel is always fun to stay at, giving a sense of Montana’s rich past. The hostess greeted us warmly but not with the best of news. Peg became worried about the next day as today Beartooth Pass was closed, due to the weather conditions (snow!), blocking our planned route into Yellowstone. An alternate route was also scenic but longer, we’d have to wait and check conditions in the morning… Naturalist Journeys, LLC PO Box 16545 Portal, AZ 85632 PH: 520.558.1146 Toll free 866.900.1146 Fax 650.471.7667 www.naturalistjourneys.com Email
[email protected] Mon., June 11 Beartooth Pass (almost) and Sunlight Basin to Cooke City We walked in the city park of Red Lodge to give the pass some time to open, knowing plows on both sides were at the task, but over three feet of snow had fallen the day before.