Jun 25 (Thu) Yellowstone – Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Paul and Mary decided to get up extra early and go back to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for some photos in morning light.  On the way they saw a herd of elk. 

The drive took us along the Yellowstone River, where it was flat and placid.

They also stopped at the Hayden Valley overlook. 

There was another mob of people at the site.  Turns out most of the equipment on the tripods were telescopes and they were all looking for bear and wolves. 

On the drive to the canyon they saw more bison (of course).

The flowers are in bloom, a bonus for Mary who loves photographing flowers.

They stayed for a short while and then headed on up to the canyon.  The light really was excellent and they had the canyon pretty much to themselves.

Watch video in new large window.

The rest of the group was up and ready for breakfast just as Paul and Mary were returning.  The dining room at the hotel has walls of large windows overlooking the lake and it’s a pleasure sitting in the dining room enjoying the view.

Everyone then piled everyone into the car and headed to the South Rim of the Canyon.  The views, particularly of the falls, were spectacular. 

After the first stop we split up with Josh, Jessica and the grandkids opting to walk the length of the North Rim…only a couple of miles.  They did take a detour down a long series of steps to get better views.  In the meantime, Paul, Mary and Mom drove to the end and walked down to the view point.  It was a straight on view of the falls in one direction and the canyon walls in another. 

When we arrived back at the hotel there was a lone bison hanging out on the grounds very close to our entrance.  Only in Yellowstone.

Jun 26 (Fri) Yellowstone – Lake Butte, West Thumb and a Hike to a Natural Arch

We decided to try a slightly shorter day today.  We first drove out to Lake Butte View point that had great views of Lake Yellowstone and the surrounding mountains.  The blues of the sky and lake were incredibly vivid.

We could even see the Grand Tetons in the far distance.

Part of the area around the view point had suffered a significant fire in recent years and there were large areas of burned and downed trees.

There were a lot of flowers in the area.

And we saw a Mountain Bluebird. 

Thank goodness for all of the birders in the park…we are all learning about more of the avian life in the park.

Next stop was the West Thumb Geyser Basin (so named because, when viewed from above it looks like a hand with the thumb sticking out into the lake).  The geyser features weren’t quite as dramatic as those seen in other areas...

although some of the pools were very deep and very blue.

A nice added feature was that the area was right on the lake, making for great views. 

There were even a couple of the geyser vent holds in the water just off the boardwalk.

After lunch we went back to the hotel to drop off Mom and Mary so that Mom could get a nap.  The rest of the group headed back out for a hike to a natural stone arch.

We were finally able to get reservations (at a reasonable hour) at our hotel restaurant.  Yummy food and great time had by all.

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.