Yellowstone SPOTR

C. Leadaman

About this app

Yellowstone SPOTR contains information on selected Pullouts in 4 areas of Yellowstone NP - Northern Tier (Base, Antelope Valley, Swan Lake), Dunraven & Canyon, Hayden Valley & Yellowstone Lake East. Standalone functions include Search (by name or a Map location) & Browse. This app also communicates with Yellowstone Wolves apps to relate Pullouts & Wolf Packs.

SPOTR stands for Sights & Panoramas Observed Traveling Roads & alludes to the spotting scopes used by wildlife watchers. Pullouts are designated places where you may pull off the road. The Panoramas show what the wildlife watchers see using their spotting scopes. Sights are physical features that can be seen from Pullouts or on Maps & might be a large area (e.g., a mountain, meadow, river or forest) or might be a single object (e.g., a tree or a rock). Many Sight names were created by the wildlife watchers to communicate locations of wildlife. Some names used in this app are unofficial & not shown on approved NPS Maps.

Version 7.1 content:
- Northern Tier Base - 117 Pullouts, 297 Pullout Sights, 87 Map Sights, 12 Maps, 41 digiscoped images
- Antelope Valley - 34 Pullouts, 57 Pullout Sights, 22 Map Sights, 2 Maps, 3 digiscoped images
- Dunraven & Canyon - 20 Pullouts, 27 Pullout Sights, 30 Map Sights, 3 Maps, 4 digiscoped images
- Hayden Valley - 56 Pullouts, 112 Pullout Sights, 26 Map Sights, 3 Maps, 10 digiscoped images
- Yellowstone Lake East - 19 Pullouts, 28 Pullout Sights, 25 Map Sights, 3 Maps, 1 digiscoped image
- Swan Lake - 13 Pullouts, 16 Pullout Sights, 26 Map Sights, 2 Maps

You can select any part on the Yellowstone NP Map & see the section Maps. You can use the Spot Me function to show the current location on Maps used in the app. From the section Maps, you can select a Pullout. Alternatively, you can Search for a Pullout by name. After you select a Pullout, the app presents details, incl. Panoramas showing the Sights there & Latitude/Longitude. You can select the Spotting Scope icon in the app bar to see digiscoped images of selected Sights. You can navigate from the selected Pullout to a different Pullout. For example, you could select Footbridge P/O from the section Map & swipe through the 6 images taken from that Pullout. You could then swipe to either Hitching Post LOO or Soda Butte Cone. There are a few named Pullouts, identified as "Lat/Lon only", where no photos were taken.

On the Pullout details, you can touch the Yellowstone Wolves icon in the upper right corner. If installed, a list of Yellowstone Wolves apps is presented. You can select from that list & show which Wolf Pack(s) might be seen from that Pullout for that year. Conversely, while viewing a Wolf Pack in a Yellowstone Wolves app, you can touch the Yellowstone SPOTR icon in the app bar. You see the Pullouts in Yellowstone SPOTR where that Wolf Pack might be seen.

You can Search for a Sight by name. The app shows the Pullouts from which the Sight can be seen. For example, you could Search for the Bear Meadow Sight & learn that it can be seen from several Pullouts. You could select one of these Pullouts & swipe through its Panoramas. You could then select any of the other Pullouts. The USGS Maps used in the app show features where wildlife might be seen. These features are called Map Sights. You can Search for these by name. The app shows the feature highlighted on a Map. Some Map Sights can also be seen from Pullouts so the Search result contains both.

First-time users, unfamiliar with the names of Pullouts & Sights, should start with the Browse function. You can Browse through:
- Pullouts, starting in the Northern Tier Base & continuing through Antelope Valley, Dunraven & Canyon, Hayden Valley, Yellowstone Lake East & Swan Lake,
- Sights, in alphabetical order
- Latitude/Longitude list, same order as the Pullouts.
Choosing each of these Browse functions & perusing the images presented provides familiarity for using the Search function.

Wi-Fi access is not needed to use the app.

Ratings and reviews

I have lived and worked at Yellowstone N.P. for over 35 years. I use the app to help me remember the names of various pullouts and features that wildlife watchers use to discuss where they are seeing animals. I love the fact that the app doesn't ask for all kinds of "permissions" on your phone. Just GPS, so that it can give you relevant about where you are. A great product at a fabulous price, FREE!

Great app C and C! Thanks for "de-mistifying" these locations. We as wildlife watchers sincerely appreciate the hundreds and hundreds of hours that the two of you have invested in developing this app. It brings Yellowstone closer and clearer to those of us who love it so much. Thanks from David and Stephanie!

Fails at the first hurdle. Searching for the Yellowstone falls - nothing. Same for Grand Prismatic and other major sights in the park. Clearly a lot of work gone in to it but not good for the first time visitor (I have been 3 times before).

What's new

What's new in Version 7.1
- Additional Sights & Digiscoped Images
- Updated Panoramas for selected Pullouts
- In SpotMe dialog, Area names are now selectable on the YNP Map tab to see the Section Maps & Pullout names are now selectable on the Section Map tab
- Minor corrections