jenniferhF8715WW
Jul 2021
In this review I will explain three things: 1) why taking a professional tour of Yellowstone is superior to planning your own trip in your family car, 2) why our guide, Jeff at Brushbuck Wildlife Tours, is awesome, and 3) the animals and sites we saw at Yellowstone in just one day!
We were traveling from the east coast to the west coast to start a new life. Stopping at Yellowstone only added 150 miles to our trek across the Oregon Trail. We only had one day to see Yellowstone which initially seemed darn near impossible until I came across Brushbuck’s 12-hour tour. Don’t fret, the 12 hours fly by. The tour started when Jeff picked us up at our hotel at 5:45 AM. The van was a Ford 350 Transit Passenger van tall enough to stand inside with powerful air conditioning throughout and ample space. There were 3 couples on our tour. The tour guide knew all of the “secrets” to get in and out quickly to see the sights. I had to chuckle to myself at what a great idea it was to book this tour when I saw the bumper-to-bumper traffic for 2-mile stretches in the park.
The tour guide, Jeff, provided each of us with binoculars and he brought along a spotting scope. He was able to take photos through the scope which was especially appreciated since my smart phone does not have a telephoto lense. Jeff is an awesome tour guide because he is friendly, punctual, organized, helpful, articulate, interesting, funny, intelligent, knowledgeable about history and the sciences. He is also very appreciative of mature and well-behaved tourists. He’s also a good driver! Speaking of punctuality, he had just educated us on bear safety before we spotted a grizzly. When we came face-to-face with the grizzly, who had just ascended a knoll, Jeff calmly said, “Get back to the van now.” Safely inside the van we took videos and photos of the grizzly. The grizzly even mossied in front of our parked van to cross the road! Another reason why Jeff is awesome is because at the landmarks, such as Grand Prismatic, he dropped us off at the walk, parked the van, caught up with us, took our photos at each landmark with our prospective cameras. Then he went ahead, got the van, and picked us up at the walk. Before he hopped back in the driver’s seat, he offered us all a cold drink and snack each time. He also knew where all the restrooms were and how long it would be until the next restroom.
We started the day spotting a bull moose, then a cow moose and calf. We saw a coyote, a mating pair of storks, swans, otters, osprey, North American Bluebird (good luck omen), stag horned antelope (very interesting animal by the way), bald eagles in their nest, cow elk, elk calves, huge bull elks, bison galore, and Uinta ground squirrels. We also saw the Grand Tetons, Old Faithful (due to Jeff’s punctuality we got there just minutes before the eruption, then headed to the next sight). We saw Grand Prismatic, Grand Falls and canyon, mud volcano, mud pots, Dragon’s Den, and Lewis Falls. The only way we could have had a more perfect day was if we had seen a wolverine! Jeff, if you are reading this, at the end of the tour you forgot to quiz us on the specific bullying behavior of the bald eagle - kleptoparasitism.
I highly recommend this company, this tour, and this guide! It was a trip of a lifetime strategically compacted into one day. I am looking forward to taking BrushBuck’s coastal brown bears Alaskan tour next year and an African tour in 2023.