Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Yellowstone National Park

 Yellowstone - September 3, 2023 (Back on track with the date)

But it is now September 12 as I post this, so I think I am messed up with actual dates again (doesn't matter, the pictures are all that really matter)!


Entering Yellowstone.....you can't imaging how long I had to wait in line to get a picture of the YS sign!


Storm approaching and Ernie, who claims watching a storm is one of the joys of life, had to watch it come across the lake!


OLD FAITHFUL!



Ernie and Denny came through here about 10 years ago.  They made a special trip to see this famous geyser!  They were unimpressed back then, as it only last a few seconds and as Denny said, my hose in the back yard sprays higher (I think he had a few other choice words to add, but I won't include them here)!

But, Old Faithful delivered for us, lasting a good while and spurting pretty high in the air!


There is a whole geyser field near Old Faithful and surprisingly, the other geysers here spray longer and higher, but are not as predictable as Old Faithful, hence the name, I guess!


SO many boiling pools of water, it is amazing, but smells awful!


Grand Prismatic Spring......
After Old Faithful, we started for Grand Prismatic Spring, but when we got there, the TRAFFIC WAS HORRIBLE!!!!!!!  NOWHERE to park within a mile of the trail!  We decided to wait until the next morning (that was a tip a ranger gave us, go early to avoid crowds)

Headed there and saw a bison (we saw alot of bison)!


Only a few cars in the parking lot the next morning at 8am, so we were golden!  


Prairie Chicken on the path!


Hiked to an overlook to get a good look, it is MUCH more colorful in the sun light, but it was a cloudy day!  Still, pretty impressive.



Next up Firehole River (never heard of it, but was a pleasant surprise)!




Had to run into West Yellowstone and on the return, saw some Elk


And quite a few anglers in the river (there is a white dot int he middle of the river....that is the angler)




Day 3 - Artist Paintpots

Bear spray in hand, walked trail to Artist Paintpots (Yes it is early morning to avoid crowds)






Bubbling mud!  Ernie said it looks like potato soup!


South Rim Trail

I honestly didn't know that Yellowstone had a Grand Canyon, but they do!

This is the South Rim trail and Artists Point.  I will let pictures tell the story because there are no words!

Except....another bison strolling down the road!

























I went a little crazy with the pictures of the Upper and Lower Falls!

Day 4 - Lamar Valley - Wish you could see what I saw through the camera lense!






Ok, funny story!  Now we had been hoping to see a Grizzly, so whenever we saw a lot of cars pulled over, we stopped.  Everyone says "what do you see", and they tell you (usually a bison or antelope) so when you finally hear GRIZZLY, you get excited!  There were a hundred people pulled over with major telescopes/binoculars!  Our binoculars are about the size of the palm of Ernie's hand!
SO, not sure what we expected to see!


Better perspective below....ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  How are you supposed to see ANYTHING WAY up there (especially with our tiny binoculars)  There was a guy who let Ernie look through his GIANT telescope (not sure what it is exactly called, could be a monocular, I don't think it is the kind you use to look at stars and I don't want to ask Ernie as I write this because I don't want him to make fun of me)  ANYWAY, Ernie DID see the bear.  He said, "I see a dark furry thing up there and it moved"  The guy said "That's it!"

I looked too, but I had NO idea what I was looking at, but then again, I am no hunter!

Heading back to the truck, some of the people at the bottom part of the hillside asked Ernie if he saw it.  Ernie said, Yeah I saw it!  This lady says, "WOW, what's your name?" and proceeded to take Ernie's picture!  LMAO!  Ernie asked if she took his picture and she said "I want YOU to get credit for seeing the grizzly!"  She then proceeded to start typing something to her phone!  Ernie was like I didn't find the bear, I just saw it through some guys lense!  Anyway, if you happen to see a blog out there on the internet that gives Ernie credit for seeing a grizzly bear at the top of bumfuck mountain, you will know, he was NOT really responsible for finding it, and to be honest, he is not even sure he saw an actual bear, just a dark furry thing that popped their head up for a sec!



On to Beartooth Scenic Highway, but first MORE bison (I am so rolling my eyes)  They are everywhere, but no grizzlies!


Beartooth Scenic (man is it ever) Highway and Beartooth Pass





YES, it still works, but at $6.15/gal I was glad we didn't need gas!


Could have used a sauna, but no time!  AND, I didn't want to get stared at by the 4 people stopped at the top of this mountain!











People ACTUALLY bike up this enormous mountain!  That would be something my cousin Al would do!



This is looking up at the road we just drove on (tried to circle it in blue)


Instead of going back the way we came, which was nail biting for me so had to be double for Ernie since he was driving, we took the long way around through Cody, Wyoming!  Home of Buffalo Bill!

Buffalo Bill Reservoir


Buffalo Bill State Lake


Buffalo Bill Pass


Buffalo Bill State Park, you get the picture, he was very famous here!


Back at Yellowstone, it was a long driving day, but saw a lot of beautiful sites!


And and ELK instead of bison!




Day 5 - Norris Geyser and North Rim


Steamboat Geyser is one of the largest geyser's in the world, but it is the most unpredictable!  It can blow anywhere from 4 days to 50 years!












Oh, and YES, another bison!


North Rim Lower Falls





North Rim - Upper Falls






North Rim - Inspiration Point




I should have took a wider angle, but this is a giant glacial boulder in the middle of the woods!


Back at camp for our last night......


My woodsman!


Bye to Yellowstone!  THANK YOU for such a great and memorable trip!  Fun fact, we used every entrance and exit to and from Yellowstone, South, East, Northeast, West, and North!  That is a lot of miles!


MULE deer for a change!








Glacier National Park........coming soon (I hope)


























































































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