Yellowstone National Park

       

It was travel day so we went southeast from Glacier National Park to Bozeman to pick up Janette and Shane at the airport. From there we drove to Gardiner (right outside of Yellowstone) to check in to our hotel.

We had enough time to check out Mammoth Springs. It was not inspiring but at the end we ran into herds of elks. We couldn't escape them, even in town.

   

We had pizzas and Greek salads for dinner.

The next day we started with a nature lesson. A bull elk tried to slink away with three elk cows from a harem. The Alpha Bull finally discovered this and gave chase. The pretender fled and the Alpha reunited the three cows with the rest.

Next we went to finish off some of Mammoth Springs we had not done the day before.

We then went to another springs area, Swan Lake and a few other quick stops.

We then made our way to Norris Geyser Basin and did both loops.

We saw some waterfalls and bison before going to Yellowstone's Grand Canyon. (I didn't know it had one)

We hiked the Brinks, the South Rim and the North Rim. At the end we were conveniently very close to the Canyon Lodge where we stayed.

The next day we started for Lamar Valley and drove the length of it. We found bison early on and had a close experience with the second herd we encountered. By the end of the day we were quite jaded about seeing them after running into about 20 herds.

Waterfalls and other scenic spots were included in the day as were snow, rain and hail, all at the same time.

We also had a nice encounter with some Pronghorns.

After lunch we headed south and saw some hot springs and mud holes. We went the length of Hayden Valley, saw a white coyote and arrived at Lake Yellowstone. We drove around part of the lake, saw a brown bear and deer playing in the woods.

The next day we drove to Artists Paintpots, then to Beryl Spring, Gibbon Falls and Firehole Canyon Drive and then its falls.

Next was Fountain Flat Drive, the Lower Geyser Basin and Fountain Paint Pot.

On to Midway Geyser Basin and Grand Prismatic Spring.

Next we headed to Old Faithful where we had a short wait for its eruption. We saw the Visitor Center and checked into The Old Faithful Inn, which was old in every sense of the word; no elevators, no television, no wifi, no refrigerator.

The next day we explored the Upper Geyser Basin and we were incredibly lucky in the timing of our hiking circuit. We witnessed eruptions at Castle Geyser, Grand Geyser, Daisy Geyser, Rocket and Grotto Geysers, Lion Geyser and Riverside Geyser.

We also saw Biscuit Basin, Black Sand Basin, the Keplar Cascades and West Thumb Thermal basin.