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Show Yellowstone excursion leaves Bugway snowmohilers cold photos by Dick Whitaker temperatures and huge depths of snow greeted 37 Dugwayites and friends at Yellowstone National Park for a weekend of snowmobiling. Three Bear Lodge in the town of West Yellowstone hosted .the group.' . v In town the first, indication of what was in store was the huge mounds of snow piled up in front of homes and store fronts, sometimes covering the view of the buildings from the street. Temperatures the first morning hovered around the minus 50 degree mark, delaying the departure of the group into the park. Finally, at about 11:00 in the morning the word came to Take to the machines. At that point the temperatures had "warmed up to minus 25. Every precaution possible was taken to preclude the possibility of frostbite, including thermal underwear, woolen clothing, ski jackets, full length snowmobile suits, two face masks, huge gloves and boots. With very few exceptions the trip from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful was made without anyone complaining of severe cold. Herds of buffalo and elk, flocks of Canadian geese and the relatively rare trumpeter swan were spotted all along the route. One interesting sigjht was three coyotes devouring a yearl-- . ing elk they had just brought down. On the return trip all that remained was a hord of black birds finishing up the bits. Geysers spouted huge clouds of steam, made larger by the severe cold. Warming fires and a warming building the only comfort could be found along the route. The fact that no one suffered frostbite attests to the preparations made by the management of Three Bear Lodge. The cold wasnt limited to the snowmobile trails. Without telling tales outside of school, one well known Dugwayite set two bottles of wine by a window inside his room, only find them frozen solid the next day. This has happened despite the to keep the heat up, gallant efforts of the motel management ' and the pipes from freezing. The second day dawned cold again, but this time only in Bone-chillin- g 34-mi- le . . . , . , the minus 30 range, the actual temperature depended on who you were talking to. Most of the group took to the hills, literally. Guided by. John McClure, they took to trails to the west of town, away, from Yellowstone. The highlight was a climb up Two Top Mountain. Under the watchful eyes of McClure they also tried their hand at hill climbing, and speeding over open meadows. Quite a feat when you consider all but three of the' group had never been on snowmobiles. The other half of the group traveled some 94 miles from West Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and Yellowstone Falls. Included in fihat tour were the falls on the Gibbon River, as well as several of the geyser areas. Again numerous elk and buffalo were encountered. The major dis-- appointment was the complete lack of moose, not one was sighted. Several massive bull elk were spotted very close to the trails. All of this was done with the loss of one windshield, ai tail light, a burned snowmobile suit, but not one bruise. Don Cozad of Ophir who came as a guest of Dick Whitaker, Public Affairs Officer, suffered a small patch of frostbite on his face. Another member of the group was knocked from his chair in a local honky-ton- k by a low flying first class brawl. cowboy during a It may sound that this was one of those trips that you are glad you did not take. Dont believe it. The cold temperatures actually added to the excitement, and certainly added to the beauty of the park. If you have been in Yellowstone during the summer months, just imagine how. it would be if there were no one else there, and if the geysers were ten times more beautiful. Then add to that the beauty of the snow and ice formed by the steam of the geysers, as well as huge numbers of wildlife, and you have Yellowstone in the winter. Ah experience that more than made up for the chilled fingers and toes. Finally I would be remiss if I didnt mention the great hospitality of the Three Bear Lodge, the management and the staff. And the great job that Rick Perez did with the bus over road encrusted with snow and ice, through niear blizzard conditions. Thanks to them we werent really left out in the cold. GARBED TO PROTECT themselves from the 50 degree temperatures and the wind chill factor of this riding on an open snowmobile, the snowmobile suits made it difficult to tell who was who. Incidently is Anne Hanzelka under the muffler and face shield. -- A MAGNIFICENT "royal bull elk, haughtily displayed his rack for the benefit of the group as they toured Yellowstone. ICE ENCRUSTED TREES near a geyser gave a fantasy land appearance to the surroundings. AT ONE OF the rest stops along the trail in Yellowstone, billowing clouds of steam from a geyser area filled the sides and encrusted the nearby trees with a crunchy, frozen icing. folk from getting out on this trail. Tasha Moore takes the THE COLD MAY have been severe, but it didnt stopwhile younger bundled-up Debbie Cozad takes the back seat as they get a the controls of one of the Arctic cat Panther snowmobiles, ready to move out. v OLD FAITHFUL GEYSER didnt disappoint the group and the winter temperatures made the eruption appear much larger than in summer months. At the time the Dugway was 2 group witnessed the eruption the outside temperature . . |