Need a Yellowstone National Park Guided Tour?
A chance to glimpse the real Yellowstone...
One of our team members took a recent vacation with friends to Yellowstone National Park and finally found what he was looking for. Having been to Yellowstone twice before in the last decade, he saw some amazing wildlife and stunning scenery which is usually par for the course there. However, it took an unexpected surprise by friends to open up the true Yellowstone experience. Here's his story...
When you visit Yellowstone National Park, it's waaaaaay too difficult to explain it to those who haven't been there. If you can somehow avoid the crowds, there is a chance to see sweeping vistas, to feel like you are on another planet, to see wildlife that you only see on a book/screen and a chance to be like a National Geographic Photographer. Most of us experience parts of the Grand Loop (Lower & Upper Loop) coming in from the West, South and North Entrances and usually head through the park by car to see Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, the unworldly Geyser Basins, Canyon Area (Lower & Upper Falls), the beautiful Hayden Valley and to drive along Yellowstone Lake with all the crazy Alp-like mountains in the background. That's just a a tiny bit of the park. If you're lucky and get your timing right, you can have run-ins with the majestic American Bison (Buffalo), Grizzly & Black Bear, Wolves, Elk, Pronghorn Antelope, Cougar, Wolverines, the elusive Moose, Sasquatch (had to sneak it in there just in case), Mountain Goats, Mule Deer, tons of birds and the list goes on and on. If you just get a tiny little glimpse of any of these, then you've had a pretty dang good park experience.
Ya gotta do the tour...
On this trip to the park, some friends from abroad joined us on our journey. A couple weeks before, they decided to surprise us with a guided wildlife tour on one of our days there. There is a tendency to avoid "formal" tours especially when it comes to viewing wildlife either due to high costs, being locked into a routine and/or because you're just along with the Jones' which usually ends up being disappointing. If you aren't familiar with the area and the local wildlife behavior, you either have to do some exploring, go out early or late in the day or just get lucky with timing. You can't count on anything and you're just winging it. As we found out, experience and knowledge greatly reduces all that wishing and luck. Now we know that on occasions like this in a place such as this, ya just gotta do the tour.
Guiding the way...
Since we only had a few days in Yellowstone National Park and we were trying to get in as much as we could before going to other places. Our compadres decided on a private guided wildlife tour since viewing wildlife was one of the big factors visiting this place. We didn't have time to hike or pack into remote areas of the park with all kinds of gear so we chose a private Summer Bear & Wolf Watching Tour that goes into the northeastern part of the park by van. Our friends did some searching online and discovered Yellowstone Wild Tours based in Gardiner, Montana. We liked their website, tour options and the fact that they were a local family-based business. We were also staying in the Gardiner area which is at the North Entrance of the park so it was ideal. We also appreciated their approach stating "Our mission is to engage curiosity for the wonders of the natural world through hands-on, inquiry-based excursions in Yellowstone National Park."
Kyle Moon took us on a ride!
We met our Yellowstone Wild Guide, Kyle Moon, at 5:00 AM in Gardiner before we headed off on our tour into the park. As we mentioned, our tour was going to be about 8 - 9 hours long so we knew it was going to be a full day. Kyle was already waiting for us when we pulled into the parking lot in their beefy Ford Touring Van. He gave us coffee, hot chocolate and warm Danishes while giving us the low-down on what to expect for the day. He also asked us what other specific wildlife we wanted to see and what we wanted to focus on. Obviously, we wanted to see every dang thing we could even though we knew that was overly optimistic and unrealistic. It's not like the animals come out to pose for us right? We had driven a lot of the park on our own the previous couple days so we had already seen plenty of Buffalo (at least we thought we had), Elk and Pronghorn. Besides Grizzly & Black Bear and Wolves, we wanted to focus our efforts on Raptor Birds and the almighty elusive Moose. We were hoping Kyle could cook-up a rare Wolverine for us, but we didn't want him to have that kind of undue pressure which was nice of us. That's really a lot to ask, but Kyle laid out "realistic" expectations and how we could try and find what we were looking for. Luckily our guide is a wildlife photographer and naturalist with a degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. We were naturally a curious bunch and would have tons of questions along the way which he also encouraged. We knew we were gonna be in good hands from the start so bonus for us! Before we started out, Kyle went through safety protocols and told us we would be heading thru the North Entrance of the park and into the Lamar Valley for a big chunk of the day.
We drove into the North Entrance and headed towards our destination just as it was getting light. And wouldn't ya know just a couple miles in, we immediately saw a Cinnamon Bear (Black Bear)! None of us were prepared with our cameras so the shots came out as clear as a foggy day on a stormy beach. Not bad right out of the gate Kyle! As we we drove along the windy roads, you couldn't help being in awe of the the sun just starting to come up to hit some of the mountain peaks. Then another couple miles in, we came upon three Moose including a mother and her calf who slowly passed over right in front of us! Two checked off the list already Kyle! Maybe we should have requested the Wolverine? Our guide took us down a few gravel roads to show us some awesome vantage points and to check out some wildlife on the spotting scopes (which Yellowstone Wild Tours provides). This was at the point that we were glad to have a knowledgeable guide with us. When you don't know the landscape, the written/unwritten rules and where to look for wildlife then you might as well stare into the sun. Kyle was able to point some things out that only his trained eye could see. He was able to record video on his phone of the close-up footage we were seeing on the spotting scopes---and yes he shared them with us electronically so we could have them for our records. We all really loved that! We got to see Buffalo, Elk, Pronghorn, Great-Horned Owls, a Golden Eagle on it's nest, another Black Bear and yes....we got to see the Wolves!!! When you get to see a couple wolves running through a valley and playing in the water with all kinds of Buffalo around, ya kinda feel like you are in another time...and you feel blessed. BTW, that Black Bear just strolled right past us as we were looking through the scopes at the Great Horned Owls. It was a WTF moment!
Kyle was very knowledgeable about the area and wildlife so not only was this an eye candy tour, we also got a good education. Ya know, the more questions you ask, the better your tour will be and you get to open up dialogue which can lead to new directions. We also enjoyed Moon Man's sense of humor which helped with the flow the tour, especially with our group. Why go outside if you don't enjoy the funny things in life eh? As we moved along, we got to see Badgers, Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep, Hawks, Coyotes, Marmot, etc. We were also impressed with how all the tour group guides communicated over their walkie talkies with one another to inform each other on wildlife sightings. That's a very nice thing for the guests. Then we headed into the Serengeti of The West.
The Lamar Valley is quite something to behold when you first see it. Grandeur...pure grandeur. Speechless also comes to mind. You almost feel like you are in the movie Dances With Wolves when they first come across the Buffalo Herd. Come 'on...everyone knows that scene! You do feel that you went back in time when the world was in harmony before people arrived. This is when you know that the Buffalo is King. To see that many Bison spread out across the valley was too cool. We stopped along Lamar Valley in several places so Kyle could help us get glimpses of wildlife along the ridgelines. And low and behold, we got to see Elk, Grizzlies and more Black Bear! Cubs and all! Yeah they were at a distance, but thanks to eagle-eyes Moon Man, we got to see things only a trained eye would get to see. Don't forget to ask him about the BIG Moose that can be spotted overlooking the valley from time to time. If you look carefully, you just might see it in one of these photo collages. Did ya like the selfless bracelet shot??? Just had to do it...just sayin'.
We hit some other key spots in the area that only our guide would know about and just as we were getting a little overwhelmed, he decided to take us back to the Lamar Valley so we could have a little picnic break and just sit and gaze at that wonderful view. You can't beat that view...it rivals the Grand Canyon or Victoria Falls. Kyle pulled out a fold-out table and an Italian checkboard tablecloth from the back of the van and provided some needed drinks, sandwiches and snacks for us so we could get fueled back up for the long ride back to Gardiner. It wasn't a bad spread of grub we must say. It was also an ideal spot just to sit and contemplate the day...it was nice break because we covered some distance this day.
Well, those 8 - 9 hours we had in Yellowstone National Park really flew by! Just when ya think you started getting the hang of things and to finally train your eyes, it was over. We have to admit, along with our guide, that we hit things right as far as timing and got very lucky on all the amazing wildlife and places we got to see. However, you can increase that luck significantly by having someone who knows the lay of the land and how things work in them thar parts. We enjoyed the flow of our day, Kyle's approach to us, towards wildlife and to his craft. If we were to do it over, we'd for sure pick the Yellowstone Wild Tours and would definitely request Kyle as our guide. It was the highlight of our 10 day trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons so a big mahalo and hats off to them! We also want to give a BIG shout-out and deepest thanks to our dear friends, Rach and The Griz, who booked us this incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you get out West, get to Yellowstone, do the dang tour and bring along your Big Surf to the highlands. Aloha!
How To Find Them:
Yellowstone Wild Tours
Ph: 406-224-0001
PO Box 484, Gardiner, MT 59030
Go check out their website and have a gander on the different type of tours they do---fantastic!
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Here's the skinny on our Tour Guide, Kyle Moon:
Kyle Moon is a self-taught, wildlife photographer and naturalist based out of Gardiner, Montana. With a Bachelor’s in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation he has worked many conservation jobs ranging from Florida to Guyana, to Alaska and Montana. Currently, Kyle is working as a Naturalist Guide and Photo Instructor with Yellowstone Wild where he takes clients into Yellowstone to discover all that it has to offer. He specializes in wildlife and has a keen eye for spotting animals in the park all while being able to interpret behavior and anticipate what might happen next. Kyle says, “The beautiful thing about Yellowstone is that this is my office; every day is a new day and you never know what kind of opportunity you will run into.” Yellowstone is truly one of a kind! There’s nowhere else on the planet that is considered a super volcano which hosts more than half of the worlds geothermal features all while being home to America’s wildest predators: bears, wolves, lions, lynx, wolverines, etc. Not to mention that our national mammal, the American bison are denizens of this magnificent landscape too. This is all possible as a result of the protection of large ecosystems that are still connected and intact today which is known as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Kyle’s goal is to bring all this to life for his clients through visualizations and interpretation. He has also served his community as a board member with the Sacajawea Audubon Society in Bozeman, MT and continues to be an avid birder.
BTW, Kyle also does some amazing wildlife photography so we think that we might have to do a future post in the Bar & Bait Shop just on that. In the meantime, go check out his website at https://www.moonman.photography/
Sunrise in the Lamar Valley...simply paradise.
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