Many Glacier Road--Potholes and Animals

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PeteE
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Many Glacier Road--Potholes and Animals

Post by PeteE »

Here's a 5 minute lame video from when I drove in Friday June 22nd.
New visitors, what kind of bears are these?

I say so in the video, but I'll say it again.
The "Rough Road" signs mean just that.

pete
:wink:

PS
SmugMug videos may not load as fast as YouTube.

Runs 5 minutes
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-jRp ... M-1920.mp4
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

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thorn726
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Re: Many Glacier Road--Potholes and Animals

Post by thorn726 »

great video, gives and excellent idea what the road is like// now i dont feel so bad i cant make it up that way, looks like a slow ride... great catch of the bears my guess is black bears by the head shape. we got to catch a mom and 2 cubs digging thru a log in Yosemite couple days after you, Jun 24.
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Re: Many Glacier Road--Potholes and Animals

Post by PeteE »

thorn726 wrote:great video, gives and excellent idea what the road is like// now i dont feel so bad i cant make it up that way, looks like a slow ride... great catch of the bears my guess is black bears by the head shape. we got to catch a mom and 2 cubs digging thru a log in Yosemite couple days after you, Jun 24.
I don't want to mislead you, or anyone about that Many Glacier entrance road.
There are some really rough stretches of road. But the road's not all like that.
The underlying geology is the reason the road is perpetually sinking in.
There is no repair, just constant maintenance--when they get to it.

The road condition aside, people should drive slow going in anyway.
The "Range Cattle" are mostly black, hard to see at night.
They can step on to the road at any point up to the dam--and do.
If you're new to GNP, be very careful on this busy road, especially at night and/or bad weather.

That said, the Many Glacier road is one of the best places in GNP to see bears, moose, and many of the small animals.
If you see Big Horns, don't feed or approach them either. There are signs to that effect when you get up around Windy Creek.

So drive slow, allow 30 minutes, and enjoy the views and animals;avoid the potholes 8)
Don't be selfish and rude and stop in the "middle of the road"if you see a nice view or an animal.
Pull to the side and make sure you leave room for people to pass by you--safely!

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
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thorn726
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Re: Many Glacier Road--Potholes and Animals

Post by thorn726 »

good advice.. we'll need to do the same on the road to polebridge but we just wont have time for many glacier this trip anyway///i drive the Sierras regularly so i am very familiar with driving slow to avoid wildlife, but i hate to admit i found out the hard way about "open range" at the North Rim in the pitch black dark going 45mph... fortunately a police officer was going the other way, he turned on all his lights just in time for me to see them and slam on the brakes// took a cow on the front fender... better than head on anyway, the cow never stopped and we were able to continue on, just a dent and broken marker light.. i was going under the speed limit but the Officer yelled at me to go WAY under the limit after dark in "open range" areas.. he was overall really nice and totally saved us from a much worse accident. You really don't expect a herd of cows to cross a road with a 50 Mph limit... // but otherwise i have been well aware of how to drive in the Forest and Desert for some time. Still end up hitting a lot of jackrabbits no matter what you do. Hit a bat last trip that was a new one. Anyway i learned to slow it down my first trip across Yosemite years ago... first i see their "speeding kills bears" signs. Each year they post one at every spot a bear is hit by a car. Then the fact that going fast only means catching up to the slow RV sooner... it is not worth it. There were already 4 dead bear signs out last week. That's also 4 wrecked cars. I don't comprehend the idiots who approach or Feed? wildlife? no. i will smack a mosquito or fly if it attacks me but otherwise im looking at wildlife from afar not approaching handling it. Worse, im the Thorn who will say something when people do these things in front of me. I leave the snakes alone too. When i saw the bear last week i was the one who had to tell people "If you can't park off pavement you need to drive on" .... i think ill post my recent trip video in the off topic section as there is a bear, relevant Park advice and some other cool stuff in it... you might laugh if you watch the last minute or two i basically say the same thing about driving as you just did.... good to know im not the only one that tries to drive safely in the Parks...
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Re: Many Glacier Road--Potholes and Animals

Post by Deb1741 »

The two bears are cinnamon phase black bears.

The last 5 years there has been quite an increase of cinnamon phase black bears in Yellowstone Park. I've seen a black bear sow with two cinnamon cubs a few times. I've also seen a black bear sow with 1 black cub and 1 cinnamon cub. This year, there is a cinnamon black bear sow with two cinnamon cubs. We kept missing seeing them by a few minutes so was unable to get a pic of them. My friend that was in the park at the same time got some awesome pics of them..

Yikes! That is one BUMPY road! I thought some places in Yellowstone were bad but they are like riding on air compared to what you video taped.

Deb
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Re: Many Glacier Road--Potholes and Animals

Post by thorn726 »

i have seen bear like this but had not heard the term "cinnamon phase", some interesting reading thanks./
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