Jun 27 (Sat) Yellowstone – Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces

Today was a long drive to the northwest corner of the park to see the Mammoth Hot Springs.  Along the way we saw elk,

a herd of bison in the distance,

another bison traffic jam,

and a baby bison up close.

We also saw what we thought/hoped was a wolf.  But when shown this picture to the ranger he said it was a coyote.

One of the areas we passed through had many fumaroles (steam vents) in the rock hillside.  

The road took us through an area called the Golden Gate Canyon.

It was noticeably hotter in this area as we hiked around the hot springs.  Josh, Jessica and the kids headed down from the top. 

Unfortunately there were a lot of stairs so Paul, Mary and Mom headed down to the bottom where there was a boardwalk that allowed Mom easier access to at least part of the springs. 

The calcium carbonate terraces were very pretty with some being vividly white.  There was water running down parts of the terraces but there weren’t many pools.  Usually these types of formation have lovely turquoise pools that make for Technicolor views. 

We then headed to the Visitor Center.  Mammoth Hot Springs is the headquarters of the park and many of the buildings were the original one used by the US Army when it was in charge of managing the Park in the late 1800’s. 

Right outside of the Visitor Center was a small herd of 10 or 12 deer, lazing away the hot day laying in the cool shade of the surrounding trees.  There were rangers around to keep people from getting too close.

After lunch at the packed Terrace Grill we headed down the east side of the park road loop.  There were a number of great sights along the way including a narrow canyon… 

A water fall…

 And the best part…a mother black bear...

and her cub. 

Cars were parked along both sides of the road and dozens of people were out taking pictures and enjoying the bears. 

At one point the mother bear climbed over a fallen tree which everyone seemed to have designated as the imaginary line between “it’s great to see the bears” and “better safe than sorry…let’s get out of here.”  So we left, although some stayed.

The vistas along the return drive were pretty spectacular.

Much closer to home we ran into another massive bison jam.  There were even ranger cars with lights flashing and the loud speaker blaring “don’t stop in the road”.  Not that anyone paid any attention.

This evening Chloe and Jessica saw deer right outside their hotel window.  And Mary went out to take pictures of the hotel and saw a couple more deer.  Unfortunately there were quite a ways away so she couldn’t get any good pictures.