Yellowstone Park 2017

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 2017 Your guide to the nation’s first national park and the communities surrounding it JUNE 2017 | 1

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SPIT, HISS, BOIL,

GURGLE AND STINK

Yellowstone National Park’s thermal stars enchant visitors

lished in park literature and maps or online at nps.gov/yell/learn/ Those boiling polls or popping nature/hydrothermal-features: mud pots aren’t as simple as they look.

Hot springs Yellowstone National Park’s Hot springs are the most comimmense hydrothermal features mon hydrothermal features in — geysers, caldrons, pools and the park. Their plumbing has no mud pots — literally just scratch constrictions. Superheated wathe surface of what’s going on with ter cools as it reaches the surface, the underground natural “plumb- sinks, and is replaced by hotter water from below. This circulaing” system.

Thousands of articles and stud- tion, called convection, prevents ies have cataloged the features, water from reaching the temperaand yet so much more research is ture needed to set off an eruption. needed.

“Geothermal activity has been Mudpots happening a long time, yet much Mudpots are acidic features more remains unknown, said Park with a limited water supply. Some Geologist Jeff Hungerford. “These microorganisms use hydrogen sulhot spots are on the fingernail of fide, which rises from deep within the surface here. That’s what the earth, as an energy source. drives us. There is much to learn They help convert the gas to sulabout the Yellowstone Volcanic furic acid, which breaks down rock System.” into clay. Various gases escape The famed 2.2-million-acre through the wet clay mud, causing park sits atop one large volcano, it to bubble. Mudpot consistency the Yellowstone Caldera, which and activity vary with the seasons had its largest volcanic eruption and precipitation.

640,000 years ago and continues Small mudpot areas occur to perplex visitors and scientists at West Thumb Geyser Basin, every day. Most famous are the Fountain Paint Pot and Artists’ sights, sounds and odors associ- Paintpots. The largest group of ated with Yellowstone’s memora- mudpots can be found at Mud ble 10,000 hot spots.

Volcano, at the southern end of Here’s a beginner’s look what’s Hayden Valley. always hot in Yellowstone, shared via the park’s mobile app, pubPlease see GEYSERS, Page 4

BY AMY JOYNER

For The Billings Gazette

Clepsydra Geyser is located at Fountain Paint Pots.

FILE PHOTO, Gazette Staff

Yellowstone Park Guide

Summer 2017 | 3

Geysers From 3

Fumaroles, or Steam Vents

Fumaroles (steam vents) are the hottest hydrothermal features in the park. The limited amount of water flashes into steam before reaching the surface. The result is a loud hissing of steam and gases.

Travertine Terraces

Travertine terraces are formed from limestone (calcium carbonate). Water rises through the limeFILE PHOTO, Gazette Staff stone, carrying high amounts of dissolved calcium carbonate. At Grand Geyser erupts in Yellowstone Park. the surface, carbon dioxide is released and calcium carbonate is Yellowstone science geologist said. deposited, forming travertine, the fascinating, not frightful For instance, Hungerford and chalky white rock of the terraces. other geologists already expand on Due to the rapid rate of deposiTo study what has happened in basic geyser knowledge by showcastion, these features constantly and the past days, or even centuries, a ing Norris Geyser Basin. That basin quickly change. geologist such as Hungerford moves is a geographically distinct area conbeyond that rudimentary list of taining a “cluster” of hydrothermal Geysers thermal features. Hungerford also features that may include geysers, Geysers are hot springs with looks at the park’s plumbing, often hot springs, mudpots and fumaconstrictions in their plumbing, using Old Faithful as his teaching roles. These distinct areas often, but usually near the surface, which pre- tool. not always, occur in low places bevents water from circulating freely “The action really starts a cou- cause hydrothermal features tend to to the surface where heat would ple miles down where briny water be concentrated around the margins escape. is superheated by hot volcanic rocks of lava flows and in areas of faulting.

The deepest circulating wa- deep below the surface. These waNorris Geyser Basin is the hottest ter can exceed the surface boiling ters percolate through the overlying and most active of Yellowstone’s point (199 degrees). Surrounding crust and mix with meteoric waters hydrothermal areas. The highest pressure also increases with depth, (waters from rain and snow). The temperature yet recorded in any similar to the ocean. Increased mixture, dominated by meteoric Yellowstone hydrothermal area was pressure exerted by the enormous water that’s been in the ground for measured in a Norris scientific drill weight of the overlying water pre- hundreds of years, works its way hole at 459 degrees, just 1,087 feet vents the water from boiling. As the into the geyser plumbing system below the surface. Norris shows evwater rises, steam forms. Bubbling few hundred feet below the surface idence of having had hydrothermal upward, steam expands as it nears and finally into near surface cham- activity prior to the last great ice age. the top of the water column. bers. Old Faithful’s near surface “The greatest place to see that At a critical point, the confined chamber, for example, is 35 to 45 dynamic activity is the geyser – the bubbles actually lift the water feet below the surface.” basins,” Hungerford said. “RememAdding to the array of plumbing ber, though, there was 1,000 feet or above, causing the geyser to splash or overflow. This decreases pressure are millions of natural cracks and more of ice over our heads here only on the system, and violent boiling fissures that exist below the surface 14,000 years ago. So the expression results. Tremendous amounts of providing the plumbing at the bot- of geothermal activity was much steam force water out of the vent, tom of the most commonly known different than what we now see, and and an eruption begins. Water is geysers (or other thermal features.) that’s not too long ago, geologically expelled faster than it can enter the “The geysers in Yellowstone are speaking.” geyser’s plumbing system, and the ephemeral features, geologically heat and pressure gradually de- speaking. Though a geyser can last Much remains unknown crease. The eruption stops when the a couple human lifetimes, it’s not Hungerford comes to work each water reservoir is depleted or when even a blink of an eye in Mother day, steadfast in his research, knowthe system cools.

Earth’s life span,” the 53-year-old ing that he will always be asked if 4 | Summer 2017

and when the volcano will come to life again.

“Will there be a volcanic eruption in our lifetimes? The chances of seeing an eruption anytime soon are profoundly minute,” Hungerford said. “A real hazard in the park is geothermal explosions. They are very rare for us to even catch them or see them. …We have not seen as many [recent] seismic events or earthquakes, but that doesn’t mean it they won’t pick up in the future.”

Along with various universities, private and governmental groups, Hungerford will continue monitoring of seismic activity, ground deformation and any other changes to help ensure public safety.

To monitor volcanic and seismic activity in the Yellowstone area, the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service and University of Utah established the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory in 2001. The near real-time monitoring network consists of 26 seismic stations, 16 GPS receivers, and 11 stream gauging stations. Information is also collected on temperature, chemistry and gas concentrations at selected hydrothermal features and chloride concentrations in major rivers.

The observatory said that the most likely activity would be lava flows, such as those that occurred after the last major eruption 70,000 years ago. A lava flow would ooze slowly over months and years, allowing plenty of time for park managers to evaluate the situation and protect people. No scientific evidence indicates such a lava flow will occur soon.

One answer Hungerford is absolutely certain is what to say when perplexed visitors hold their noses and ask, “What is that smell?”

“It is sulfur dioxide, smells like rotten eggs. It can be very dangerous in some quantities, but we’re OK with having the visitors in the park’s geothermal areas,” Hungerford said. “Again, it’s imperative people stay on boardwalks. It is beyond unfortunate what has happened in recent years when people don’t stay on the marked areas.”

Yellowstone Park Guide

Yellowstone National Park

A free app allows Yellowstone visitors to find out when Old Faithful and five

Yellowstone?

There’s an app for that

BY AMY JOYNER

For The Billings Gazette

To offer visitors convenience in planning a visit and navigating though the 3,500-mile wonderland, Yellowstone National Park is offering easy to use, free-to-download technology for mobile devices like smartphones or tablets.

Actually, the park has developed two apps, both of which can and should be downloaded in advance of beginning your trek.

“The first app includes a map, lists of things to see, services and events. The second app provides eruption predictions for popular geysers, including Old Faithful, along with facts, photos and videos of the geysers.

Visitors can use these Apps to plan their trips and discover the stories behind the scenery,” said a recent park media release.

Cellular service within the park is extremely limited. Downloading the apps takes time and available bandwidth, meaning these apps Yellowstone Park Guide

should be downloaded before getting to the park. Both apps are free and available on the App Store and on Google Play. Additional information is at www.nps.gov/yell/ planyourvisit/app.htm.

Completing your download early means all of the app content will be available for use in the park, and you can still take advantage of GPS location on the map.

Other useful features include the ability to interact with the official National Park Service map of Yellowstone National Park, which features large font sizes, illustrated trails and services, scenic highlights and multiple zoom levels. By tapping the “Locate me” icon, you will always know where you are.

Park accessibility features, event and tour times are also easily found on the apps. The most up-to-date information includes links to geyser predictions and road construction. The Explore section of the app allows users to scroll through visual lists of natural features, historic locations and visitor services.

There’s also useful information about visitor centers, places to stay and eat, and shopping and services throughout the park.

Summer 2017 | 5

Cedar Yasord climbs a tree next to her family’s RV at the Mammoth Hot Springs campground in Yellowstone National Park last month. Cedar likes to visit the park to see the animals.

BRETT FRENCH, GAZETTE STAFF

A mobile community Yellowstone campers share love of place despite crowds STORY AND PHOTOS

BY BRETT FRENCH

french@billingsgazette.com

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. — There’s a community spirit when you camp in Yellowstone National Park, said Kris Yasord as she sat in the shade of her family’s RV on a windy June afternoon.

“People share information about what they saw and where,” said the Oregon camper. “There are a lot of other places you could go if you want solitude.”

Popular place

There’s no doubt about that.

In 2015, 4 million tourists vis6 | Summer 2017

ited Yellowstone, a new record.

Of those visitors almost 20 percent — or around 811,000 — chose to camp out in tents, vans, trailers and RVs, according to Park Service statistics. Thanks to Yellowstone’s typically cool climate, most of those tourists are crammed into the summer months.

Of the folks who chose to camp out, the majority — more than 581,000 — favored concession operated sites where reservations can be made. Fishing Bridge on Yellowstone Lake is the most popular campground, attracting 101,000 visitors last year where they can plug RVs into electrical outlets. Another 45,000 opted to seek a less crowded option at backcountry campsites accessible only by foot or horseback.

In the first five months of 2016, the park topped the previous year’s early visitation by more

than 75,000 folks.

Yellowstone has consistently proven to be a draw for people, not only from around the region, but around the world. Stop to chat with campers, and there’s no telling who you will meet or the unique tales you may hear.

Going south

Take Canadian Dale Wiggins, for example. He piloted his 250cc Yamaha motorcycle roughly 8,000 miles across much of the Western United States before reaching Yellowstone last month.

“It’s on my bucket list,” he said while relaxing at a picnic table next to his small pitched tent.

“I wanted to see what was in my neighbor’s back yard.

“All I’ve been doing is hitting state parks and national parks.”

Lean, tan and wind-weathered, Wiggins said every place he’s visited has its own charm.

Yellowstone is different in one significant way, though.

“That’s one thing I noticed: When people get in the park, their minds turn to jelly,” he said, which makes him drive even more defensively than usual.

As for the possibility of one of the park’s natives — a black bear or grizzly — wandering through the campground, Wiggins said it was not a concern.

“They are who they are,” he said. “I treat nature as the locals.”

From out West

For California campers Marth and Erik Thomson, Yellowstone was a convenient stopover on the way to a marvelous adventure for Erik.

“I’m going to canoe all the way down the Mississippi,” he said.

Please see CAMPERS, Page 7

Yellowstone Park Guide

BRETT FRENCH/Gazette Staff

BRETT FRENCH/Gazette Staff

Canadian motorcylist Dale Wiggins was enjoying his stay in Yellowstone as part of a much larger exploration of the American West, his neighbor to the south.

Erik and Marth Thomson were happy to arrive in Yellowstone after speeding across the desert from California at night to avoid the heat. Their next stop was the Yellowstone River to begin a canoe trip.

Campers

really cool and there are lots of creatures you can’t see anywhere else.” While large creatures like bison and elk may attract the ma-

From 6

The trip would start when he launched a canoe on the nearby Yellowstone River. It’s an odyssey he was looking forward to enjoying with his two dogs, who would co-pilot the boat.

“I’ve been wanting to hear that sound of just the wind, no freeway,” he said, leaning up against their car in his shorts and a black T-shirt that read “Keep Calm and Ask Your Mom. “I’m going to worry about what’s around the next bend and nothing else.”

Yellowstone holds fond memories for Marth, who lives in Atascadero, Calif. But the park had changed significantly from the last time she was there about 20 years ago — namely, there were more people everywhere she went.

“I remember we just walked right up to one of the main attractions, swam in the river,” she said wistfully. “It wasn’t nearly this crowded or restricted.”

So what?

Even with Yellowstone more crowded than ever, Kris Yasord Yellowstone Park Guide

still loves to return.

“Yellowstone is my favorite park,” she said. “I’ve been coming here since I was 4, and I’ve been back several times.”

Then Yasord’s mother poked her head out of the RV and corrected that her daughter had actually been to Yellowstone when she was only a year-and-a-half old.

The attraction for the family is the bubbling mud pots and geysers, “things that you can see here that you can’t see anywhere else,” Yasord said.

There was one fly in the campground ointment for the family, though. Nowhere on the website could the family find any information about the use of children’s scooters in the campground. So instead of hauling bicycles cross country, they saved space and brought scooters only to find out the campground host wouldn’t let the children ride them.

“They were really bummed,” said Jami Yasord, the kids’ father.

So his oldest daughter, Cedar, found another way to entertain herself, climbing in a worn juniper tree next to their RV. Like her mother, Cedar said she enjoys coming to the park “because it’s

jority of tourists’ attention, Cedar was just as intrigued by the wee ground squirrels scuttling around the campground.

Virginia City

virginia city chamber of commerce P.O. Box 218, Virginia City, Montana, 59755 1-800-829-2969, www.virginiacity.com

Summer 2017 | 7

Out with the old,

in with the new

New Yellowstone lodging built, upgrades made

BY BRETT FRENCH

french@billingsgazette.com

Since 2013 Yellowstone National Park’s concessionaire has pumped $150 million into facility improvements, including five new lodges at Canyon Village alone.

“The park as a whole may be in better shape now than it’s ever been,” said Rick Hoeninghausen of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the Yellowstone concessionaire. “It’s kind of cool.”

That’s because in addition to Xanterra’s investments the National Park Service has in recent years rebuilt significant chunks of the park’s roadways, constructed new wastewater treatment

infrastructure, repaired crumbling trails and overlooks and invested in park-owned facilities like the Old Faithful Visitor Center, which opened in 2010.

Although those investments weren’t aimed at bringing more people to Yellowstone, visitation has nonetheless increased to more than 4 million people every year. Those tourists are lured by Yellowstone’s unique geysers, plentiful wildlife and jaw-dropping scenic vistas.

But they also need a place to lay their head at night.

While many choose to stay in motels and campgrounds outside of Yellowstone in the surrounding communities and national forests, for some, the opportunity to be based out of a park lodge can save

vestment in a community close to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and its plunging Yellowstone National Park lodg109-foot tall Upper Falls and ing fills up fast, so get a reservathe 308-foot tall Lower Falls. tion now.

Several trails and pullouts acXanterra Parks & Resorts opcess different viewpoints for the erates nine lodging facilities in photogenic canyon that exudes the park with more than 2,000 a warm orange tone, from oxirooms. Rates in peak summer dized iron, mixed with yellows season can run from $165 to from sulfur in the rocks. $392 a night.

Four of the lodges are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Enon drive time and allow easier vironmental Design) gold certiaccess to the numerous nearby fied, while one meets the silver trails leading to Yellowstone’s standard. wonders. Canyon Village is aimed at some of those Please see LODGING, Page 9 travelers.

The five lodges, with 409 rooms, were a $90 million in-

If you go

The Moran Lodge at Canyon is one of several new facilities built in Yellowstone National Park by Xanterra Parks & Resorts.

XANTERRA PARKS & RESORTS

8 | Summer 2017

Yellowstone Park Guide

Calendar items Memorial Day weekend: All park roads are open and the fishing season starts.

Mid-June: Boating services open on Yellowstone Lake, most campgrounds open on or before June 15.

July: The bison rut begins in the Lamar and Hayden valleys, river levels drop opening up many backcountry campsites.

Mid-September: The elk rut begins near Mammoth Hot Springs and Grant Village.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts

This aerial view shows Canyon Village close to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Lodging From 8

By this summer, Xanterra is planning to have its $6 million refurbishment of the Canyon restaurant completed along with a new menu that will include more Asian offerings along with rotisserie chicken and stews, Hoeninghausen said. Altogether, work at Canyon Village is the most ambitious project Xanterra has undertaken recently in Yellowstone, but that’s just part of the company’s work.

Down the road at Grant Village, Xanterra has completed lodging and exterior renovations for six lodges that house 300 rooms.

That work cost $4 million. Over the hill from Grant Village, at Old Faithful, another Xanterra project refurbished 67 cabins at a cost of $7 million. They used to house employees but a new lodge was built for workers in 2015, allowing the cabins to return to guest use.

Rounding out the lodging rehabilitation at Yellowstone is a twophase project at the historic Mammoth Hotel. Originally opened to the public in 1887, the building went through renovations in 1913 and 1933 that removed much of the old structure.

Last year the National Park Service began the first phase of a projYellowstone Park Guide

ect to upgrade the hotel. The initial $7.9 million investment is targeted at stabilizing the last vestiges of the original hotel to avoid catastrophic seismic damage.

“Lots of structural upgrades including putting steel beams in hidden locations…” said Lester Ashwood, A&E Architect’s site representative. “The engineers were gravely concerned about the roof structure so in addition to the steel work the old rafters were removed and replaced with new trusses.”

The electrical system will also be modernized, as will the heating system and fire sprinklers.

“Of course, as a result of all the required demolition the historic finishes have been removed and they will be restored too, including the wood map that is a hallmark of this building,” Ashwood said.

“It’s going to look very similar to when the work started,” said Linda Veress, park spokeswoman.

While the work is being conducted, though, the hotel will remain closed, although work may be finished in time for the hotel to open in August through the fall.

Until then, lodging is still available in cabins behind the hotel.

Phase two of the Mammoth Hotel remodeling work should begin in the fall of 2018 and will focus on the 97 guest rooms. Private bathrooms will be added to the roughly 30 rooms that do not now have

them.

Put together, the work is a tremendous investment in an area like no other in the lower 48 states.

Some would argue that there’s no place like Yellowstone in the world.

“This is a nice success story in terms of the visitor experience,” Hoeninghausen said.

Explore Yellowstone Summer ranger-led talks and hikes are offered throughout Yellowstone National Park.

A complete listing of talks can be found online at https://www.nps.gov/ yell/planyourvisit/rangerprog.htm.

The activities include stargazing, nature walks and talks explaining Yellowstone’s unusual geology and hydrothermal features.

Church of St. Anthony of Padua Located behind Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, WY WEEKEND MASSES:

St. Anthony Cody, WY

Saturdays, 5:00 pm • Sundays, 9:00 am

St. Theresa

Meeteetse, WY Sundays, 8:30 am

Our Lady of the Valley Clark, WY

Sundays, 11:00 am

Services in Yellowstone National Park: Roman Catholic Mass (when priest is available) or Liturgy of the Hours - Communion Service

Canyon Outdoor Amphitheater Saturdays, 4:30 pm • June 17-Sept. 2, 2017

Old Faithful Lodge Employee Recreation Hall Sundays, 9:00 am • June 18-Sept. 3, 2017

Lake Lodge Employee Rec Hall Sundays, 11:30 am • June 18-Sept. 3, 2017

http://www.stanthonycody.org Summer 2017 | 9

A backpacker hikes along the Gallatin Crest north of Yellowstone National Park near the Montana-Wyoming border in this photo.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WANDER MORE, WONDER LESS Take the path less traveled

BY AMY JOYNER

For The Billings Gazette

Park rangers and scientists have some great advice to help visitors pick a more private path away from the most commonly known features at Yellowstone National Park.

To help visitors stake a claim on a more-secluded, less-talkedabout park location, Park Geologist Jeff Hungerford shared his top three picks for an unconventional Yellowstone venture.

Blacktail Plateau Drive

To stay in your car, yet visit the

10 | Summer 2017

song from a Hollywood movie when he tells park visitors to dive to Specimen Ridge and leave their cars and prepare for some strenuous exercise.

“It’s a good walk – steep up and gradual,” Hungerford said of the area known for the Petrified Trees of Specimen Ridge.

“It’s a beautiful area. It’s hard not to do your best Julie Andrews ‘The Hills are Alive’ performance while there,” Hungerford said of the area overlooking a valley of the Lamar River.

The geologist happily tells that Specimen Ridge allows visitors to see Yellowstone geology up close in the area in which 150 species of fossil plants from Yellowstone Specimen Ridge have been found, spanning 500 Hungerford shares a secret million years, from the Cambrian about a trailhead and a famed to the Holocene. glaciers, Hungerford first suggests this area found southeast of the Mammoth Park Headquarters near the park’s north entrance.

“That whole area is a glacial wonderland and tells you the whole story of glaciation 20,000 years ago. Open your eyes to think about having two thousand feet of ice above their head, yet they are at the bottom of a glacier,” Hungerford said.

“Spot the big boulders that seem out of place,” he added about the terrain along the 6-mile, one-way Blacktail Plateau Drive Auto Trail that offers sweeping wilderness vistas of the Absaroka Range.

Fairy Falls

Roughly 200 feet high, this is one of Yellowstone’s most spectacular waterfalls. Hungerford said, “It’s crazy that it doesn’t get more people. Fairy Falls Trail to Fairy Creek Trail is one of my favorite places. …If you catch it right, you may see [Imperial Geyser] erupt. Sometimes I’ve been out there and had it to myself.”

To reach Fairy Falls this season, use the Fountain Freight Road trailhead located north of Midway Geyser Basin. This new route increases the distance of the hike from 5 miles roundtrip to 8.8 miles roundtrip, and Hungerford advises visitors to be especially careful here.

“The ground is very dangerous.

Make sure you stay on the trail.”

Yellowstone Park Guide

Got Yellowstone photos?

BY JENNA CAPLETTE

For The Gazette

It’s the evening after an amazing day in Yellowstone. Your iPad is a great tool to view the day’s photos wherever you are. It is also the perfect tool to edit, share and print those images.

And, it’s fun.

Here are a few tips on editing in Photos. To follow them, use your iPad in a landscape, or horizontal, position. Then go to Photos and open a photo from your Camera Roll or All Photos.

When you view the image, you’ll see the “edit” button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Click it, then scroll to the second option in the right-hand menu to crop and rotate a photo.

Pinch to zoom in or out, to move the photo around within the cropping frame, or pull in the corners to crop. If you like what you’ve got, tap “Done” in the upper right hand corner. Don’t like it? Tap “revert.” This type of editing is called nondestructive because at any point you can go back to your original photo.

W H A T

F-11 PHOTOGRAPHIC SUPPLIES

Use your iPad to edit your day’s photos from Yellowstone National Park.

Get effortless photo editing and printing with your iPad

as good as your iPhone, but use the best camera that you own.

To get your day’s images on to your iPad for editing, Apple’s airdrop technology allows you to wirelessly send files.

Marsha Phillips of Bozeman’s F-11 Photographic Supplies says, “If you are using your camera — and you really should in Yellowstone — try out an Eyefi card. It works in many cameras that use SD cards.” The Eyefi card sends photos directly to your iPad where they can also get in the Photo Stream and upload to all devices, including your computer.

Ready to print? Using an app like “F11 Photo Print and Share” or an html website like f11photo. com makes that simple.

Editing photos on an iPad can feel a bit like making magic — as does Yellowstone itself.

The third menu option offers filters like chrome, fade, or black and white. Scroll through to see how each changes your image. Choose one or none.

Sure, you can also edit photos on your iPhone, Jenna Caplette learns about photography but the screen on your iPad is bigger, allowing by writing about it.This tip was written with you to see a lot more detail — an essential feature the assistance of the staff at F-11 Photographic when editing images. The iPad Air 2 has a camera Supplies in Bozeman.

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Summer 2017 | 13

A tourist hangs out a car window to photograph a bison in Yellowstone National Park last summer.

BRETT FRENCH, GAZETTE STAFF

2016 featured

Tourist took baby bison for a drive

BY BRETT FRENCH

french@billingsgazette.com

L

ast year Yellowstone National Park tourists seemed to hit new heights for weird behavior. In a couple of instances, it was even deadly.

One tourist loaded a baby bison in the back of his vehicle and drove it to the nearby ranger station because he thought it was cold and abandoned; a woman was filmed petting a fullgrown bison on the head; a roving band of filmmakers captured their illegal romp on a delicate thermal feature on camera and posted it online; and one man’s exploration for a place to soak in hot water ended with him falling into a steaming, acidic pool and being boiled alive.

“You kind of hit your head and 14 | Summer 2017

ZANY ANY ACTS A in Yellowstone wonder, ‘What was he thinking?’” said Norma Nickerson, a research professor at the University of Montana and director of the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research.

Why is such foolishness on the rise?

“There are a few different theories going around,” Nickerson said.

One is our society’s attraction to the point of distraction with social media – platforms like Facebook, Twitter and SnapChat. Posting a selfie with a bison may encourage others to take a similar risk. Or feedback glorifying a person’s behavior may embolden them to take ever greater risks.

People taking selfies also will make the mistake of turning their back on wildlife so they can both be in the photo, said Linda Veress, Yellowstone spokesperson. The park re-

quires people to stay 25 yards from most mammals, but in 2015 two people were gored by bison after they walked within 3 to 6 feet, she said.

Another possibility is that because more people than ever live in cities, far removed from animals in general and wildlife in particular, they don’t know how to act.

“The bison do seem docile, it’s hard to believe they can run 30 mph,” Nickerson said. “They look pretty friendly.”

More tourists than ever are taking photos with cellphones or iPads.

Without a zoom lens they often get closer to their subject to take a good shot, putting them at risk of falling off a cliff or being gored by a bull elk.

As Nickerson noted, it only takes one person to wander closer to a Please see ZANY, Page 15

If you go

Yellowstone National Park begins opening to vehicle traffic on April 21 when the route from Mammoth to Old Faithful, Madison to the West Entrance and Norris to Canyon open up.

Dates that the park’s other roads open include: May 5: Canyon Junction to Lake; Lake to East Entrance (Sylvan Pass); May 12: Lake to West Thumb, West Thumb to Old Faithful (Craig Pass), and South Entrance to West Thumb; Tower Junction to Tower Fall; May 26: Tower Fall to Canyon Junction (Dunraven Pass).

A seven-day pass to enter the park costs $30 per automobile. An annual pass is $60.

Yellowstone Park Guide

Zany From 14

black bear to prompt others to follow, what she called “group think.”

Veress said that at times so many tourists will surround an animal that it feels threatened and acts defensively.

“You can’t have a ranger at every bear and bison crossing,” she said.

“So you’re on your own.”

Surveys of Mandarin speaking tourists in West Yellowstone revealed that some of them thought that if the animals, geysers or fumaroles were dangerous, the government would fence them off because that’s what they do in China.

“In their culture they feel it’s not dangerous,” Nickerson said.

Another reason could be as simple as statistics: More people are visiting the park so it is more likely that there will be people who are ignorant about proper behavior around free-roaming wildlife and hot pools.

Last year was another record year for visitation, with more than 4.25 million people mixing with record-high populations of bison and more distracted drivers.

BRETT FRENCH, GAZETTE STAFF

Signs warn of bison on the road as a line of cars slowly crawls along the Grand Loop Road in Yellowstone’s Hayden Valley.

Those distracted drivers create a hazard by stopping in the middle of the road, jumping out of their cars or backing up traffic that can lead to other drivers dangerously passing.

“That’s something we see just about every day,” Veress said.

Last year a woman was so excited to see a bald eagle perched in a nearby tree that she pulled over, stepped out in front of an oncoming vehicle, was struck and died. Veress said that incident points to a lack of situational awareness in a different environment.

“Another thing we see quite often is people disregarding signs,” Veress said, everything from orders to stay on boardwalks to not walk on thermal features.

Calendar items Spring — Sometime in late March or early April, depending on how soon the road becomes snow free, the route between Yellowstone National Park’s West Entrance and Mammoth Hot Springs is opened exclusively to cyclists and other nonmotorized travelers. It’s a great time to see a portion of the park without the bustle of vehicles. Many cyclers ride from West Yellowstone to Gardiner on one day and return the opposite direction the next. On weekends it’s not unusual to see costumed groups of friends.

May 5 — The historic Old Faithful Inn with its massive wood beams and three-story tall rock fireplace opens to visitors. Check out the ice cream shop, sun yourself on the upstairs deck or have dinner in the expansive restaurant.

May 20-21 — Jackson Hole, Wyoming, ElkFest, a weekend of activities built around the 50th annual world famous Jackson Hole Boy Scout Elk Antler Auction, a time for celebrating nature, outdoor skills, and hunting and ecological education and awareness. https://www.jacksonholechamber.com/ events-calendar/elkfest/ May 26 — The Beartooth Highway usually opens the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, providing a beautiful route from Red Lodge to Yellowstone’s North Entrance. Take your skis and make some turns down the Red Lodge Headwall.

Yellowstone Park Guide

Some parks with limited access, such as Zion in Utah and Denali in Alaska – have already restricted visitation by requiring entry by bus only. Having tourists crowded into one confined space allows tour guides or interpretive rangers to educate travelers about proper behavior. But Nickerson doesn’t see that happening in such a large place as Yellowstone or Glacier national parks, with their multiple entry points, anytime soon.

“I’m pretty sure parks don’t want

to go that way because parks are for the people,” Nickerson said.

Yet the National Park Service is also charged with protecting the natural resources under its care.

What is the tipping point?

“You are always going to have some people who go around the rules,” Nickerson said, but social media seems to have embolden more people to take those risks, she added.

“It’s very powerful and immediate.”

Livingston

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Summer 2017 | 15

The golden eagle may not get much attention from Yellowstone National Park visitors, but the big raptor has carved out a unique niche in the mountainous ecosystem, possibly due to the availability of elk carcasses, according to recent research.

DYLAN SCHNEIDER

GOLDEN TREASURE Big eagles focus of recent study predator species whose stronghold is the western United States, including a talon-hold in the ention Yellowstone National Park and Northern Range of Yellowstone. golden eagles are not a species likely to spring to mind like bison, elk, wolves or High count bears.

Considering the mountain habitat and high Doug Smith is hoping to change that percep- elevation of Yellowstone’s Northern Range, the tion. region would appear to be marginal golden eagle “Yellowstone is a large-mammal park, so habitat. They are more at home in the desert, there’s not the money invested into bird (re- grasslands or tundra — areas with wide swaths search),” said Smith, Yellowstone’s senior wild- of open ground inhabited by rabbits, marmots, life biologist. “We’re trying to build birds up to ground squirrels and other small mammals. the level they deserve. We’re trying to elevate Yet the raptor initiative found 28 golden eagle the status of some of these bird species.” territories, the majority of them in the Northern For five years Smith led the Yellowstone Rap- Range — which is the area roughly between the tor Initiative, a study designed to collect base- North and Northeast entrances to Yellowstone. line data on golden eagles, red-tailed hawks and “We didn’t think there were six to eight parkSwainson’s hawks with a lesser focus on Ameri- wide, so that by itself is really huge,” Smith said. can kestrels, prairie falcons and owls. That study “We were really wrong.” ended last year.

The park’s previous bird biologist retired in This year Smith cobbled together funding to 2007. No one was hired after that to save money. enable wildlife biologist Dave Haines and an And golden eagles were never a studied species intern to intensively examine golden eagles, a in the park, with emphasis instead given to

BY BRETT FRENCH

french@billingsgazette.com

M

16 | Summer 2017

BRETT FRENCH/Gazette Staff

Doug Smith, a senior biologist in Yellowstone National Park, scans a hillside with a spotting scope in hopes of finding a nesting golden eagle. monitoring peregrine falcons, osprey and bald eagles.

“Doug did such a good job on wolves they gave him all of the other wildlife,” wolf researcher Rick McIntyre joked.

Please see EAGLES, Page 17

Yellowstone Park Guide

Eagles From 16

Wolf tie

In addition to being prime territory for golden eagles, the Northern Range also is the premier region for gray wolves in Yellowstone, home to the majority of the park’s packs.

The link between the two very different predator species may be elk. The Northern Range once held a population of almost 20,000 elk before wolves were reintroduced in 1995. Following wolf restoration, the elk population steadily declined before rebounding to about 4,000 last year.

Since golden eagles are a longlived species — up to 30 years — Smith theorizes that their population may have grown so dense in Yellowstone thanks to the availability of elk that died during the park’s harsh winters prior to 1995, providing a carcass food source.

With wolves’ return to the landscape, the big canines started accounting for more elk deaths in the park. Smith’s wolf staff has documented golden eagles — along with a variety of other predators like coyotes, foxes and bears — feeding on those wolfkilled elk.

“Now most carcasses are derived from carnivores,” Smith said.

“We monitor wolf kills all winter,” he added. “Virtually every wolf kill gets a golden. And we think there may be an influx (of goldens) in the winter tied to wolf kills.”

An Alaskan researcher who has radio-tagged golden eagles in Denali National Park and Preserve has recorded some of those birds traveling to Yellowstone or farther south to spend the winter.

“They’ll wander, and once they find prey they’ll sit,” Smith said.

One of the big questions the Yellowstone researchers face is whether the declining elk population and a relatively low rate of Yellowstone Park Guide

nesting success by Yellowstone golden eagles are indeed related.

If so, it could mean that the park’s golden population may soon decline as older eagles die and aren’t replaced by new ones.

Down nationally

Nationally there is also a concern about a decline in the golden eagle’s once robust population in the American West. Some environmental groups have blamed the drop in golden eagle numbers on an increase in wind turbines. The turbines are sometimes placed in areas that are ideal golden eagle hunting grounds.

“When they are foraging, they’re less aware of their surroundings because they latch on to prey and don’t pay attention to the blades moving around,” Haines said. In a stoop to catch prey, golden eagles may reach 150 mph. “And actually, the end of the blade is moving pretty fast.”

Increasing development on the golden eagles’ hunting grounds — whether it’s housing developments, oil and gas drilling or wind turbines — could also displace golden eagles since they like solitude and as their prey base decreases or disappears. Wildland fires that destroy habitat for prey animals are another factor. Studies have also documented elevated lead levels in raptors that have eaten from big-game carcasses killed by hunters who use lead bullets.

Three years ago the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the Western Golden Eagle Conservation Team to study the variety of threats golden eagles face and to recommend ways to reduce unnecessary deaths.

Surrounded

Yet on two sides of Yellowstone — in the Bighorn Basin to the southeast and in the Livingston area to the north — separate studies have documented relatively strong populations of golden eagles, although their numbers can ebb when there’s a decline in the

food base.

“This is a conundrum: why we’re flanked by two productive areas but we have a super high density,” Smith said.

“We never should have reached that density based on our prey base,” Haines added.

Typically, Haines said robust populations of golden eagles are associated with a strong prey base that allows the big birds to concentrate on that one mammal.

“In the places where they are most successful, they tend to specialize,” Haines said.

Part of the Yellowstone golden eagle study is focused on what prey helps the golden eagles build up enough calcium to lay eggs.

“We think it’s carcasses,” he said.

Although combing through golden eagle nests has shown they are generalists in Yellowstone following egg laying, eating everything from pronghorn and deer fawns to bluebirds and owls.

Hanging on

Although this year’s study of golden eagles was put together on a shoestring budget, Smith is hoping to extend the work for at least one more season.

“Essentially we get a data point a year,” Haines said. “To miss a year would have thrown off our analysis.”

More information will help the scientists reach a better understanding of why so many of the eagles are using this high mountain landscape, as well as establish a point of reference for any future studies of the big raptors as Earth’s climate changes.

“Golden eagles need to be on the lips and minds of visitors,” just like other wildlife in Yellowstone, Smith said. “If people know about them, conservation follows.

If people don’t know about them, nobody cares.

“It’s a big thing for me. I cut my teeth on wolves, and now birds are part of my job.”

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS musical entertainment and a wide variety of refreshments. Pancake breakfast, artist demonstrations and lively musical acts are on the grounds of Moss Mansion. Call 406-256-5100 or see Mossmansion.com.

Here is a listing of events in communities surrounding the Yellowstone National Park area during the summer:

ABSAROKEE

15th Annual Montana Barbecue Cookoff

Montana Renaissance Festival

June 25: Absarokee hosts some of the region’s best ribs, chicken and other smoked delights. Events take place in downtown Absarokee and will include beer, a food truck round-up, live music and a kid zone. www.montanabbqcookoff. com

June 3-4: Revel in the atmosphere of a 16th Century European Country Festival at ZooMontana, 2100 S. Shiloh Rd. Explore the bustling market place, attend a royal wedding, interact with costumed characters and enjoy full-contact armored jousting tournaments.

Story tellers, musicians, jousters and villagers welcome all while the air fills with scents of foods and ale from the Renaissance period. It happens 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Montanarenfest.com

BIG SKY

Gallatin River Fly Fishing Festival July 1-2: The Gallatin River is the site for a fun-filled weekend of rafting, running, biking, eating, dancing and, of course, fishing.

This festival raises funds to support conservation and restoration efforts by the Gallatin River Task Force within the Upper Gallatin River Watershed. Gallatinrivertaskforce.org

Yellowstone Highland Games

The Great Gallatin Guide-Off and Pedal, Paddle, Run-Off July 1-2 : As part of the Gallatin River Fly Fishing Festival, The Great Gallatin Guide-Off pairs master fly fishing guides with people who want to have a good time, catch fish and support a healthy Gallatin River. Event concludes with Guide-Off Olympics, a fair, music, food and more.

The race finale included live music at Town Center Park in Big Sky that evening. Activities will include product demonstrations, casting clinics and competitions, fly tying, kids’ activities, guided nature trips to the river and educational booths At 6 p.m. Sunday, Hooked on the Gallatin Banquet at the Gallatin Riverhouse offers a 18 | Summer 2017

DAVID GRUBBS

Tourists gather around the boardwalk to watch Old Faithful geyser erupt in Yellowstone Park. As time passes the eruption become further apart.

Now the geyser spouts it’s steam and water every 90 minutes or so.

BBQ and wine from Natalie’s Estate Winery, along with live acoustic music, and a live and silent auction to benefit the Task Force.

Gallatinrivertaskforce.org

BILLINGS

Alive After 5 June 1 – Aug. 24: The annual outdoor concert series happens 5 to 8 p.m. at a different venue every week. Each evening combines live

music, adult beverages, fresh food and favorite downtown locations such as restaurants, breweries, cultural venues and South Park.

Call 406-259-5454 or see downtownbillings.com.

June 3: These Scottish-Irish-inspired Yellowstone Highland Games happen in conjunction with the Montana Renaissance Festival. Saturday, June 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., featured events include athletics, song and dance on the grounds at ZooMontana. For information, call 406-652-8100 or visit zoomontana.org.

Strawberry Festival-Billings

June 10: Held 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the streets of downtown Billings, the long-cherished community event opens the summer season with a rich diversity in arts and crafts, interactive children’s area, fresh produce and strawberries, SpringFest at food-truck fare, live street entertainment and a 60-foot strawberry Moss Mansion shortcake. Call 406- 259-5454 or June 3: This juried art festival see downtownbillings.com. features handicrafts and art by regional artists, antique booths, Please see EVENTS, Page 19 Yellowstone Park Guide

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Events From 18

Festival of Cultures June 11: From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the campus of Rocky Mountain College, celebrate diversity and culture at thousands sing, dance and sample ethnic delicacies during this free, public event. Enjoy free children’s activities, ethnic crafts, food and drink. Contact 406-657-1042 or peacestudies@ rocky.edu.

Heart & Sole Race June 17: The 38th Annual Heart & Soul Race features people of all ages and abilities. Choose from 5K, RRCA 10K, or 2-Mile Health Walk; all start at St. Vincent Healthcare and are a fundraiser for the YMCA and Billings TrailNet. 406-2547426, Heartandsolerace.org

Stay After the Race Montana Active Life Festival June 17: Held before and after the Heart & Sole Race, this festival happens 8 to 11:30 a.m. at Dehler Park, home of the Billings Mustangs. This free healthy lifestyle event features live music, more than 40 interactive booths, kids events and family fun. 406-2547426, Heartandsolerace.org

Symphony in the Park June 25: Live, symphonic music comes to Pioneer Park for a relaxing evening where you can sit on your blanket or lawn chair while enjoying a picnic from food vendors. Take in the Instrument Petting Zoo, Billings Community Band Concert, Young Conductors’ Contest and the Billings Symphony Orchestra Concert.

Reserved parking ($5) and reserved seating ($10) are available by calling 252-3610 or visit www. billingssymphony.org.

Yellowstone Park Guide

LARRY MAYER/GAZETTE STAFF

An aerial view shows Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park.

Summer Christmas Aug. 24-25: Shop for the holidays early with 70-plus vendors at the Shrine Auditorium, 1125 Broadwater Ave., and have lunch with Sandees. 406-545-9711

Bozeman

Bozeman ChamBer of CommerCe 2000 Commerce Way, Bozeman, Montana, 59715 (406) 586-5421, www.bozemanchamber.com

Summerfair-Billings July 7-9: Yellowstone Art Museum hosts the region’s largest arts and crafts festival featuring some of the best artisans, craftspeople and entertainers in the area.

More than 100 artists, community groups and food vendors are at Veterans’ Park, 13th Street West and Poly Drive. This year, the weekend event is open Friday night, 4 to 9 p.m; Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults, free for children ages 12 and younger. Artmuseum. org Please see EVENTS, Page 20

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Events From 19

Big Sky State Games Opening Ceremonies

musical shows how a wanna-be educator turns his class into a guitar-shredding, mind-blowing rock band. www.novabillings.org

Brews and the Big Sky

Magic City Blues

June 9 – Sept. 8: From 6 – 8 p.m. on the second Friday of the month June through September and a special “Winter” Art Walk in December, art galleries and businesses display artwork located along Main Street and at the Emerson Center for Arts and Culture. The galleries feature artists’ openings and receptions, and often provide hors d’oeuvres and complimentary refreshments.

Music may play as you stroll along Main Street in Downtown Bozeman. For more information, Downtownbozeman.org

Montana Fair Aug. 11- 19: MontanaFair is an agricultural celebration in the historic tradition of fairs. Held at MetraPark, the nine-day celebration has livestock, arts and crafts, a carnival and food. Stages provide entertainment that can include music, comedy, hypnosis, kid’s entertainment and variety acts.

The Supercross motorcycle event happens Aug. 15, and on Aug. 1719 there is the PRCA rodeo event.

Night shows feature internationally known artists. Montanafair. com

School of Rock

Apr. 25: Brews and the Big Sky: Agriculture and Ales explores growth and success industry paired with Montana brews. This installment highlights brews from Katabatic Brewing Company and looks at the history with the Montana College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts (now Montana State University). The 6 p.m. event happens at the Museum of the Rockies, 600 W. Kagy Blvd.

Admission is $8; must be 21 or older. Museumofrockies.org.

Art Walks

Music On Main June 29-Aug. 17: Every Thursday evening 6:30-8 p.m. from late June to mid-August, businesses along Main Street offer live music, food and fun in downtown Bozeman. Food vendors are on site and area restaurants are always an option. Many downtown stores stay open late. For more information, go to downtownbozeman.org.

Jul 21-23, 28-30: At 7:30 p.m. in the NOVA Center for the Per- Sweet Pea Festival forming Arts, the School of Rock Aug. 4-6: Celebrate the arts and 20 | Summer 2017

June 17-18: Cultural celebration and competitive dance competition, Center of the West’s Robbie Powwow Garden on the grounds of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. 307-578-4102. www.centerofthewest.org

BOZEMAN

July 14: See the kick-off for this Olympic-style amateur sports festival at the afternoon an evening offerings that lead up to the 7 p.m. Opening Ceremonies of the 32nd Annual Big Sky State Games.

The begins with family entertainment at Daylis Stadium beginning at 5:30 p.m. Autographs with an Olympic athlete, food trucks, cash giveaway ($3,200 total), sponsor booths, sport demonstrations, athlete t-shirt pick up, souvenir sales and other interactive events will happen. Admission is $5 for adults, free for ages 6 and younger.

Bigskygames.org

Aug. 4- 5: Bring your ID for this 18and older Montana Urban Music Festival happening on the 2500 block of Montana Avenue with gates opening each day at 5 p.m.

See featured acts at Magiccityblues.com.

Plains Indian Museum Powwow

Cody/Yellowstone Extreme Bulls BRETT FRENCH, GAZETTE STAFF

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, houses a huge collection of firearms that were used in the West and also throughout the world. No trip to the area would be complete without a stop here, but plan on spending some time — it’s huge.

June 30: PRCA’s top 40 bull riders matched against the PRCA’s best bucking bulls at 8 p.m. to compete for well over $45,000 in cash.

Stampede Park. Codystampederodeo.com

Cody Stampede Rodeo

July 1-4: Gates open at 6 p.m., rodeo at 8 p.m. The best of the best rodeo athletes compete on the community through events for the toughest rodeo stock for a payout whole family. Start with the Chalk of more than $400,000. Codyon the Walk, Aug. 1; the Bite of stampederodeo.com Bozeman, Aug. 2; Music on Main, Aug. 3; Adult Run, Children’s Run Buffalo Bill and Parade, Aug. 5. For more in- Invitational Shootout formation, Sweetpeafestival.org Aug. 11-12: Learn firearms history and present-day shooting sports.

Heart of the West Art Individual and team competitions, Show & Live Auction limited to 100 participants. The Aug. 10-12: This high-quality, public is invited to observe shootcontemporary Western art show ing at the Cody Shooting Complex. and sale combines with contem- 307-578-4025. porary Western online auctions CROW AGENCY at the Grantree Inn of Bozeman.

About 50 premier contemporary Little Bighorn Western artists will be on hand Reenactment for demonstrations, educational presentations, live auctions and June 23-25: Real Bird’s Battle of sales of their latest artwork. For Little Bighorn Reenactment hapmore information, Heartofthew- pens 1 to 3 p.m. each day, with the Real Bird family showing troopers estart.com and braves as they rush through CODY, WYO the Little Bighorn River, just as they did 139 years ago. The battle is held at Garryowen, a portion of the Cody Nite Rodeo Sioux camp where soldiers are beJune 1 – August 31: Gates open at lieved to have attacked the village.

7 p.m. for 8 p.m. event at StamLittlebighornreenactment.com pede Park. Codystampederodeo. com.

Please see EVENTS, Page 21 Yellowstone Park Guide

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Events From 20

Crow Fair Aug. 16-21: Celebration features parades, a four-day powwow, a rodeo and horse races. This largest Native American event in Montana has one of the biggest powwows in the country and is held by The Apsáalooke people of the Crow Indian Reservation just South of Hardin. teepeecapital.com

FISHTAIL

Tippet Rise Art Center

Various Dates, Season Two Online at Tippetrise.org, see these renowned musicians set to play a 9-week session during summer, 2017. Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail offers intimate concert settings for audiences of fewer than 150 people. Children under 18 attend free; audiences are fewer than 150 people, with each household limited to four tickets per concert for up to a total of six concerts for the 2017 Season.

July 7 - Yevgeny Sudbin, Solo Piano Recital; July 8 - Alexander Chaushian, Solo Cello Recital; July 8 - Yevgeny Sudbin and Alexander Chaushian Duo Recital; July 14, 15 – various events with Caroline Goulding , David Fung and Joshua Roman; July 21 - Jenny Chen Solo Piano Recital; July 22 - Jenny Chen and Jiacheng Xiong Duo Piano Recital; and, July 22 - Jenny Chen Solo Piano Recital.

Aug. 4 - Adam Golka Solo Piano Recital; Aug. 5 - The Ariel String Quartet; Aug. 5 - Adam Golka and the Ariel String Quartet; Aug. 11 Jeffrey Kahane Solo Piano Recital; Aug. 12 - Jeffrey Kahane, Xavier Foley and the Ariel String Quartet; Aug. 12 - Matt Haimovitz and the Ariel String Quartet; Aug. 18 - Natasha Paremski Solo Piano Recital; Aug. 19 - Natasha Paremski, Paul Huang and the Escher String Quartet; Aug. 19 - Natasha Paremski and Zuill Bailey Piano Cello Recital; Yellowstone Park Guide

Aug. 25 - Pedja Muzijevic Solo Recital, with Matt Haimovitz Joining for the World Premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis’ New Work for Cello and Piano; Aug. 26 - Jessica Sindell, Alex Klein, Mark Nuccio, William VerMeulen and Frank Morelli; and, Aug. 26 - Pedja Muzijevic, Jessica Sindell, Alex Klein, Mark Nuccio, William VerMeulen and Frank Morelli.

Sept. 8 - Anne-Marie McDermott Solo Piano Recital; Sept. 9 - The St. Lawrence String Quartet; Sept. 9 - Anne-Marie McDermott and The St. Lawrence String Quartet; Sept. 16 - Vicky Chow, Piano, and Doug Perkins, Percussion, with Percussionists Timothy Feeney, Todd Meehan and Stephen Versaevel; and, Sept. 16 - Michael Brown Solo Piano Recital.

GLENDIVE

Buzzard Day

HUNTLEY PROJECT

Threshing Bee Aug. 19-20: The South Central Montana Antique Tractor and Machinery Association sponsors this weekend of steam- and gas-threshing, and events for all ages. There’s static engine displays, plowing, hay bailing, binding, sawmill, blacksmith shop, tractor pull, parade, arts/ crafts, food concessions and more.

Admission is $5 per person, ages 12 and older. antiquetractorclub.org

LAUREL

4th of July Celebration July 4: Laurel entertains more than 30,000 people, starting at the 6-11 a.m. pancake breakfast at Fireman’s Park, followed by The Chief Joseph Run that begins at Thomson Park with races set for 2, 4 and 8 miles. A kiddies parade begins at 10 a.m. at Western Security Bank

Gazette Staff

Laurel’s fireworks display is still considered the largest in the state.

Each year more than 30,000 take it in. Arrive early for the best viewing and for free entertainment at Thompson Park. and ends at Firefighter’s Memorial.

The Grand Parade is at 11 a.m. A food and craft fair begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m. As soon as it is dark, one of Montana’s largest fireworks displays takes over. Laurelmontana.org Please see EVENTS, Page 22

June 10: Celebrate the annual return of the Turkey Vulture at this family event at Makoshika State Park featuring the 10K, 5K, fun run, various entertainment, food and fun for all ages. stateparks.mt.gov Badlands Super Con II August 25-27: This “convention” brings together fans of superheroes, comic books, music, monsters, anime, steampunk and many other genres to interact with each other, and with vendors, artists, writers, actors and musicians. Costumed fun is at EPEC (Eastern Plain Event Center.) Organized by Hell Creek Music & More. www.badlandssupercon.com.

HEBGEN LAKE

Yacht Club Annual Memorial Regatta July 15: Classes for cruisers and dinghies. Open to members and non-members alike, Kirkwood Resort and Marina, 1 p.m. start.

646-7200 Summer 2017 | 21

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Events From 21

LIVINGSTON

100 skilled artists and craftspeople.

Nonprofit groups also offer specialty foods, and the Depot continues to host the acclaimed pie booth.

For more information, Livingstondepot.org

Livingston Roundup Rodeo “Company” at Shane July 2-4: Livingston’s rodeo draws Lalani Center 10,000 spectators yearly to see top rodeo cowboys and cowgirls from across North America competing in multiple events. These are the best saddle-bronc riders, team ropers, barrel racers, and bull riders. Fun starts 3 p.m. Sunday at the Livingston Chamber of Commerce Parade held downtown. Rodeos are held nightly at 8 p.m. Fireworks appear July 4 at the Park County Fairgrounds. Livingstonroundup. com or Livingston-chamber.com

Festival of the Arts

July 7-30: Stephen Sondheim’s musical comedy is a summer must-see at the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts. “Company” presents the lives of five married couples through the eyes of perpetual bachelor Bobby on his 35th birthday. Theshanecenter.org

Summerfest July 21: This year’s Summerfest is a daylong event with music and family-friendly festivities along the Yellowstone River. Local vendors and Montana talent add to the show that is held each year by the Livingston Recreation Department.

For more information, Livsummerfest.com

rides, stock auction, commercial exhibitions, family entertainment, farmers market and pig wrestling contest. There are 20 water and electrical hookups for RVs and campers at the Park County Fairground, 46 View Vista Drive, Livingston.

POMPEY’S PILLAR

Clark Days July 28-29: To commemorate William Clark’s stop at the site on July 25, 1806, on his trip down the Yellowstone River, the historical site hosts free interpretive programs, star gazing, black powder demonstrations, nature walks and a main presentation at the amphitheater.

This Saturday night is the only night each year when overnight camping is allowed at the Pillar; Bureau of Land Management rangers are on duty to assist campers. Food vendors on site. www. pompeyspillar.org

Jul 2–4: The Livingston Depot Center’s Festival of the Arts will be held in the Depot Rotary Park, on West RED LODGE Park Street (next to the Depot Center) in downtown Livingston. This Red Lodge Music Festival three-day juried show features Park County Fair works from all media of arts and Jul 26-29: This county-wide and June 3-11: The oldest and most succrafts, created by approximately 4-H fair has a carnival, games, cessful music festival in Montana

attracts more than 200 students annually, with faculty from universities, colleges and symphony orchestras from across the nation.

Now a full-blown, nine-day music festival at the Red Lodge Civic Center, there are five evening faculty concerts, two evening student recitals, and afternoon band and orchestra performances. Redlodge. com or rlmf.org

Red Lodge Songwriter Festival June 22-24: Celebrate summer listening to some of the country’s best songwriters in Downtown Red Lodge, Montana for the 2nd Annual Red Lodge Songwriter Festival. Shows will start late in the afternoon and play into the late night. A portion of the proceeds support Friends of the Beartooths, dedicated to the improvement and promotion of the Beartooth Highway and its neighboring communities. For more information, www. redlodgesongwriterfest.com

Red Lodge Home of Champions Rodeo and Parade July 2-4: Home of Champions Rodeo features some of professional rodeo’s top cowboys and cowgirls.

Celebrate 88 years of ropin’ and ridin’, singin’ and swingin’ with a downtown parade each day at noon and a rodeo at 6 p.m. July 2-3 and 3 p.m. July 4. www.redlodgerodeo. com.

Art in the Beartooths

COURTESY PHOTO

Songwriters perform in eleven shows in seven venues during the three-day event.

22 | Summer 2017

July 8: The 44th Annual Art in the Beartooths is 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, July 8 at the Carbon County Depot Gallery. This annual fundraiser begins with 30 artists painting live on the deck of the Depot Gallery and in Lion’s Park. As the artists paint until 2 p.m., viewing is free and open to everyone.

Gates for the ticketed part of the Please see EVENTS, Page 23

Yellowstone Park Guide

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Events From 22

event open at 4 p.m. in Lions Park.

A no-host bar and hors d’oeuvres will be available while viewing the art created that day. www.carboncountydepotgallery.org

Beartooth Motorcycle Rally July 14-16: The 23rd annual Beartooth Motorcycle rally weekend promises lots of rides, food and fun. In the evening you can dance under the stars. Get an official rally shirt to remember the fun. www.bonedaddyscustomcycle.com

Cruisin Red Lodge Car and Bike Show July 21-23 : Red Lodge’s premiere summer car show will have you in awe at your favorite classic cars and motorcycles. A 6 to 9 p.m. Friday BBQ is at Bone Daddys, with a parade down Main Street at 7 p.m.

The Saturday Car Show is all day at Pride Park. Saturday evening is a Drive In Movie at the Fairgrounds, and the Nostalgic Drag Races are Sunday on the airport runway. www.cruisenredlodge.com

Labor Day Arts Fair

Eric Peterson

Not just any cow pasture. The Red Ants Pants Music Festival in White Sulphur Springs mounted shooting, team sorting, camping is available. Rockintherodeo events, a trail course, a pa- rivers.com rade and a barn dance. www.sadWEST YELLOWSTONE dlemule.com

REED POINT

Great Montana Sheep Drive

June 14-30, July 4-29, August 1-16: Bareback Riding, Team Roping, Saddle Bronc, Breakaway Roping and Bull Riding at 8 p.m. each scheduled night. See dates, buy tickets at www.yellowstonerodeo. com.

Sept. 3: Hundreds of sheep take to Reed Point’s main street at 10 a.m. during this Labor Day weekend staple. Enjoy the street fair, parade and street dance, as well as the Classic Car Show and Round Bale Roll. Stillwatercountycham- Shakespeare in the Parks ber.com July 29: “Macbeth,” 6 p.m., West Yellowstone School football field.

THREE FORKS Free.

September 4: Enjoy art and fine crafts from 90-plus artists for one annual Labor Day Arts Fair, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, Sept. 5, in Lions Park, Red Lodge. Stroll the park and stop in the artists’ booths to shop for original creations. Food vendors surround the gazebo, and local groups entertain all day at the Headwaters Country Jam gazebo. Free Admission www.car- June 15-17: The biggest country boncountydepotgallery.org music festival in Montana has three days of country music featuring POWELL, WYO. more than a dozen bands, headliners Chris Young, Randy Houser Jake Clark Mule Days and Frankie Ballard. Fans enjoy ice June 14-18: A Western event in cold beer, a round of horseshoes Ralston, Wyoming promoting or dancing the night away. Held the saddle mule which includes at The Bridge near Three Forks, Yellowstone Park Guide

Wild West Yellowstone Rodeo

Smoking Waters Mountain Man Rendezvous Aug. 4-13: Only one mile from the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park, spend a day or a week experiencing frontier life in the 1800s at this encampment.

The rendezvous is complete with traders’ row, a real encampment,

entertainment and seminars about “life as it was.” See the dangers and excitement of the era during Tomahawk and knife demonstrations for adults and children, black-powder shoots and mountain-man storytelling. Admission is free. Traders must have primitive gear and canvas-style tents. The primitive camp has no water or electricity.

Twoturtlestradingpost.com

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS

Red Ants Pants Festival Jul 27 – 30, 2017: Music, food, camping, beer and more bring thousands to this festival annually.

A free shuttle service between the festival grounds and the town of White Sulphur Springs keeps the party safe. A portion of the profits from the Red Ants Pants Music Festival go to the Red Ants Pants Foundation to develop and expand leadership roles for women, preserve and support working family farms and ranches, and enrich and promote rural communities. Redantspantsmusicfestival.com Summer 2017 | 23

Experience Cody Country

KOA CAMPGROUND Family

Dining

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email: codykoa@aol.com • www.codykoa.com

24 | Summer 2017

Free

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Starting Memorial Day

(307) 587-2777 or 1-800-393-2639 www.codychamber.org Yellowstone Park Guide