We headed for Bozeman by driving one last time through Yellowstone, and were rewarded with seeing an amazing bull elk. Of course, by the time we arrived he was tired of all the attention and headed for the woods, but Richard managed to capture an image that shows how big the guy was.
We started off early this morning to try to avoid the crowds we encountered at Old Faithful the day we entered the park. We did avoid the crowds. We also froze since it was not only cold but windy. I hate wind. But we did experience Old Faithful, which was a treat. Later in the day I asked Thomas what he thought were the highlights of the day. One was the hot chocolate we had after we watched Old Faithful!
A stop near at the geyser field near Yellowstone Lake gave us an opportunity to see geysers and scenery together.
We stopped at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to look at the fall from Artist Point. While it looks sunny and bright, the wind was blowing and it was still cold.
We decided to picnic after buying lunch in one of the Park’s many stores. It sounded like a good idea-a nice lunch outside in the sun near a river. Well. we picked a spot off the map near a waterfall…but the picnic area was nowhere near the water. However, it WAS windy (what a shock after all the other wind we experienced during the day) and so cold that I could barely get my salad on the fork because I was shivering so hard!
One thing you look forward to in the park is a traffic jam-it usually means wildllife nearby. Sometimes it means a slow moving vehicle in the roadway….like a bison! In this case the bison was in the oncoming lane and the traffic was backed up behind him and following him. He was all wet, and probably coming back from his bath in the nearby river.
The first day of our adventure was….long. But the second day landed us in Jackson Hole (see post below) and then on to Grand Teton National Park. Where the first thing we ran into was a moose mama and her baby.
That wasn’t the only moose family we found. This baby was just cute.
We finally found our way up to Yellowstone, where Grandson Thomas did the requisite pose in front of the entrance sign.
Waterfalls were a focus along with the continual search for wildlife. Lots of elk, what looked like a coyote, some antelope, and lots of geysers. The one below is Mammoth Geyser field.
The one mishap occurred near the end of the day. There was this buffalo….and…well….
He didn’t bleed too much, Mom.
Actually what happened was that we got out of the car to take a picture and Thomas slipped on the gravel by the side of the road. It was some really mean gravel, since it scratched his leg up pretty good. We’re pretty sure he will live, though. Really.
Travels with Billie 