They call it “blue hour”. Just when the sun has gone down behind the Absaroka Mountains, the snow in the valley turns blue, the pine trees turn black and the sky, still lit by the hidden sunset, catches fire. The temperature plummets to 20 below.
I was within sight of Old Faithful Geyser Basin when my breath started to freeze on my bandana and the sweat-patches on my jacket started to crackle. It was definitely time to get indoors, close to the stove.
Our cabin was a boy-scout sort of affair in the heart of Yellowstone Park, close by the beautiful, historic Old Faithful Lodge that was then closed for the winter. The whole building was made of crooked, honey-coloured timbers and had a very large, open lobby area with a huge fireplace. I looked in through an icy window to see a magical Christmas scene: The entire interior was glistening with hoar frost, like the inside of a freezer. Two pine martens were chasing each other around the counter area, scattering fine crystals of ice as they went. All this was happening in total silence but my memory can’t help adding the Disney sound of twinkling fairy dust.
Now, as the first stars appeared, I found my way blocked by a herd of bison that had taken up residence in the warm patches around the hot springs where they might find some greenery. Hunched down and strung out in snowplough mode, they were jet black against the deep snow and almost inanimate, looking deceptively like rocks. A bison’s brain only has two modes; “Off” and “On”, so you can get really close to them until they suddenly “light up” and jump around like broncos. They expressed no interest in me, but the ranger-naturalists had told me that they injure quite a few tourists who pose for a snapshot with the “buffalo”.
The highest point on a bison is the huge, muscular hump at the shoulders from which its head and neck are suspended. The humps were all I could see of them as they bulldozed through the snow by swinging their heads from side to side. The power of each sweep was apparent from the amount of snow shifted, so it was not hard to imagine the damage that those horns might cause to anyone who got too close. Bison-powered flight came to mind.
With my way home blocked, I decided that a detour was in order. The edge of the woods would offer cover so that I could pass close enough to the bison for a few pictures before I totally lost the light. What I didn’t realise was that the run-off from the geysers created small gullies, now hidden by deep snow. Nearing the warm water, the melted snow would stick to my skis then freeze again in seconds. It took several minutes to scrape the rough ice off so that I could get any glide into my stride. I had to do this quite a few times so by now it was getting seriously dark and I was starting to shiver. The photo opportunity had passed but I could hear bovine grunts and breathing close by and a familiar tinkling sound like Christmas bells. Had the rangers been fitting the bison with reindeer collars?
Safely back indoors; I sat up into the early hours talking with my wife’s family about our varied adventures and experiences during the day. We had all seen coyotes, elk, bighorn sheep, squirrels, ravens, bald eagles, Clarke’s nutcrackers and grey jays. Along the Firehole River we had watched otters, dippers, barrows goldeneyes and trumpeter swans, all able to survive at the top of the National Divide because of the warm water from the geysers.
Before dawn, the sound of scuffling and chattering in the loft and on the roof woke us. We had pine martins in residence and they were feeling frisky. I brewed coffee and stayed awake because I couldn’t wait to find out about the bells.
The bison had moved on a few yards into shallow snow where I could see their necks and most of their legs. There were no collars, but I could still hear a faint tinkling. The sleeping animals must have melted the snow around them, which then refroze as they stood up because, attached to the long hair of their underbellies were balls of ice that rattled together. I found several icicles with hair attached, so the mystery of the bells was explained.
