By Lew Freedman

Cody Enterprise

Via Wyoming News Exchange

CODY — The grizzly bear frolicking along the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway threw everyone off schedule.

If you’re headed to Yellowstone National Park to view wildlife on the opening day of the East Entrance, how can you not take advantage of a gift sighting on your way?

The grizzly that prompted many Cody drivers to halt before their destination was roughly 5 miles from the Park entrance Friday, early on a still-subfreezing morning.

Indeed, the bear appeared to be doing its start-the-day stretching, rolling around on the grass below the road, sticking one paw skyward, then stretching another arm out as if performing calisthenics.

“Yoga the Bear,” quipped ranger Brian Perry, the new East Entrance supervisor, of this new fan favorite’s routine while bestowing a name to rival Yogi the Bear.

While all of this was going on, someone who cared about being first in line for entry to the nation’s oldest national park on this holiday-like day, sneaked ahead.

“This is an annual tradition with us,” said Nancy Gilmore of Powell and two friends from that community, who said being first in line for entry on opening day, “is a feather in your cap.”

Gilmore, Velda Shick and Cassandra Luckett did not arrive at the “Road Closed” gate until 6:45 a.m., later than usual for a first-comer.

“She was on a mission,” Luckett said of being first.

Gilmore and Shick have done this together for years and Luckett joined them two years ago. Gilmore and Shick make a habit of keeping track of how many animals of which kind they see on their treks.

“Our top day was 11 or 12 bears,” Shick said.

Gilmore said she saw 19 in one year. That may be more than some visitors see in a lifetime. Perhaps guide-book authors should consult her.

“We have our routes,” Gilmore said.

Shick added, “We do very well on wolves, too.”

Perry replaced Dennis Lenzendorf, a longtime familiar face to Cody drivers, who retired last fall and for the previous 10 years declared the gate open at 8 a.m.

Perry manned the main entry booth and said the beginning of his speech to everyone at the wheel of a vehicle would be the same: “Welcome to Yellowstone.”

While some other entrances opened in April, the traditional opening for the East side is early May.

It is still well before high season, when tourists from around the world fill the Park in June, July and August, recently helping attendance top 4 million annually.

Another early arrival, before ranger Kimberly Kain actually swung the gate wide and staffed a second booth for entries, was Daniel Bradford of Cody.

Bradford also likes the idea of being first in line (he was third this year and first last year). He takes a day off from work to tote his cameras into Yellowstone, pleased to beat the later-season crowds.

“It’s kind of tradition for me,” Bradford said.

He said he would have reached the Park earlier, but stopped to observe the grizzly playing on the North Fork and obtained good pictures.

“I come more in May,” he said. “And I come more in September and October.”

This summer he is expecting two groups of relatives from Florida, one in June and one in July, so he will have to venture into the Park with them and defy the crowds.

“We’ll see how that goes,” he said.

It wasn’t completely clear how last Friday would go for motorists from Cody.

Depending on what time they started, the potential for traffic jams was inordinately high. Anyone venturing from Cody to the north section of the Park faced an obstacle course.

There is still construction near the Buffalo Bill Dam. This was the first day of work on the renovation of Fishing Bridge. The road between Canyon Village and Tower Fall was closed due to a high volume of snow at Dunraven Pass. The road between Norris and Mammoth is churned up and a pilot car must be followed for several miles.

Each advertised possible delays of 20-30 minutes.

At the front of the car line during a Norris delay, some people played with a hula hoop rather than count the rings of a nearby tree or read a book.

Gilmore could have added a steamshovel count to her wildlife totals.

Also, while the Northeast Entrance at Cooke City was technically open, the road beyond it was not.

In addition, the sun was bright and the Park Service warned of an afternoon meltdown at Sylvan Pass that could result in a road closure due to an avalanche.

This all created the possibility that the only way back to Cody would be exiting the Park through the North Entrance and driving five hours from Montana, instead of 50 miles on the Buffalo Bill.

“That would be unfortunate,” Perry said.

However, it did not occur, although it has recently. A pile of debris slid down a mountainside, taking out a chunk of guard rail above Corkscrew Bridge and rocks are cleared regularly.

By 8:30 a.m., a half hour after the entrance opened, it was clear of traffic, a little bit faster than last year. Visitors paid $30 per car, with the price set to rise to $35 June 1. A previously proposed increase to $70 was met by 100,000 negative comments. While $5 does not seem like a big increase, Perry said it will still be noticed.

“It’s human nature,” he said. “Folks are always going to complain.”

If there was any complaining about traffic in the Park last Friday, it was because of a photo-op gathering around a popular animal.

In-between construction projects, there were bears, elk, mule deer, bison (some with babies), goats and wolves available for viewing.

A coyote was seen wrestling with a bison carcass not far from Fishing Bridge.

A grizzly mother and cub created a massive traffic jam a few miles from Norris just by poking around and casually scrounging for food.

While the roads were clear and dry, snow berms were piled many feet high on both sides of the highways.

There was so much snow in Hayden Valley, no bison were visible. They were hanging out in the grassy Lamar Valley in singles, clusters or herds.

The day warmed to the 60s at Mammoth, snow-capped peaks sparkled against the blue sky, and even the clay seemed to bubble more vigorously at Mud Volcano.

“You have the mountains with the snow on them,” Perry said. “The bears are just waking up. Be safe.”