The mournful howl of a lone wolf floated over a snow-blanketed meadow in Yellowstone National
Park's Lamar Valley. My husband and I had come to see the splendor of frozen waterfalls and
steaming geysers. We hadn't expected wolves, but we should have. As of August, 1998, 119
wolves roamed the park in ten packs. In winter, they're easy to see.
The pitiful howls in the distance raised goosebumps on our necks. Then, right in front of us, an
entire pack of wolves rose one by one from their afternoon nap. They stretched languidly and sauntered
over the hill to renew feeding on a recent elk kill.
A ranger told us that the lone wolf had tried to join this pack repeatedly. Sometimes he was allowed
in, but for now, he was out. His howls let us know hoe he felt about being on his own.
This was our second encounter with wolves in two days. The day before, we had watched a black wolf pup
harass a small group of elk, chasing first one, then another, as he snapped at their heels in deadly play.
We had great luck with lodgings as well as wildlife on this trip. On the first night, we stayed at
the historic and dog-friendly Murray (no relation!) Hotel in Livingston, a scant half-hour from the
airport in Bozeman. While the exterior of the old brick building didn't look very inspiring, the
lobby positively dripped with old West ambiance. We rode the ancient, hand-crank elevator with
glass doors to our beautifully appointed Victorian suite. Before turning in, we soaked in the hot
tub on the snowy hotel roof. We were joined by Edie, a Hollywood movie dog who was between films.
Edie had spent the day romping in the nearby national forest, and now waited politely outside the tub
while his handlers had a relaxing soak.
The Murray Hotel was enjoyable, but the Chico Hot Springs Lodge, located in the Paradise Valley halfway
between Livingston and Gardiner, was incredible. Dogs are very welcome in the hotel, on the spacious
grounds and on the hiking trails around the lodge.
The 1897 lodge features a huge pool that is fed by a continuously flowing hot spring.
The volume of water flowing through is so great that no chlorine is needed. The pool is encircled
by walls, but open to the sky. We shed our coats quickly, tiptoed carefully across the ice-encrusted
concrete and slipped gratefully into the steaming water.
The thermometer at pool-side read minus three degrees! Our hair was soon coated with a frosty rime and
my eyelashes froze shut. The only thing that prompted us to get out of the heavenly water and back into
the frigid air was the promise of a fabulous gourmet meal in the dining room.
Yellowstone in the winter offers surreal scenes. Masses of steam rise from hundreds of steam vents,
fumaroles and hot springs. The steam freezes on every nearby twig and blade of grass, transforming
the Gardner River, Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley into a frozen fairyland. A deep blanket
of snow brings the bison, deer and elk into the valleys for easy viewing. And when the elk come down
from the high country, the wolves follow. A winter vacation in Yellowstone is one of the best
adventures possible.