We are two states away from Yellowstone National Park! We are staying in an Idaho SP about 15 miles from the West Entrance to Yellowstone which is in Montana and Yellowstone is in Wyoming! Once we are inside the Park we have our first “brake to see wildlife!”
Traffic Jam!
Wildlife viewing is big here in Yellowstone. Out of nowhere the traffic ahead will just stop. Some will pull to the side, get out of their cars to get that photo and others will just stop in the middle of the road to have a good look. This guy here wasn’t blocking traffic, he was just ambleing along the left side of the road, yet traffic was stopped for about a 1/2 mile.
Small herd of Elk in the woods eating the grasses
The big Daddy!
We also had a stop to view a momma black bear and her two cubs eating on the mountainside. They were pretty far up on the ridge and I could only see them through binoculars. Wildlife is everywhere. We had one traffic jam where people were watching an Elk carcass on the banks of the river that wolves were feasting on. By the time we got there it was only the carcass but people were waiting for the wolf to return! Not me! The Elk and Buffalo seem harmless and everywhere. Wolves sound scary! I would like to see a moose.
The other big attraction in Yellowstone are the water features. They have rivers, creeks, waterfalls, springs, geysers, hot springs, mudpots, and fumaroles. The park definitely is full of water.
Gibbon Falls
Tower Falls
We saw our first geysers or maybe they were hot springs! I can’t tell the difference!
Spring? Geyser?
Norris Geyser Basin
Sometimes the landscape around these basins looks more like devastation that beauty. It is very cool walking around the area and seeing all the steam and boiling pools.
It started to rain so we took to the car and drove through the Mammoth Hot Springs area deciding we will return here when you can walk around! The landscape is spectacular.
Looks like snow melt!
Watch for more photos of Mammoth Hot Springs as we will be back here later this week. We were close to the Mammoth Campground and Paul decided to drop in and and meet a couple that we have been following their journey since before we started ours! Howard and Linda, RVDreams didn’t seem fazed by our unannounced visit! We had a nice chat and then on their recommendation we headed to Boiling River where the hotsprings flow into the Gardiner River!
Staying close to the edge where the springs flow into the chilly river
Ahh!
This was a definite on my list of must do’s while in Yellowstone. It is the best hot tub experience because when you get too warm you only have to move an inch or two and you will instantly be cooled down, sometimes you don’t even have to move. Enough with the relaxing, back to the car and seeing some of the Yellowstone backcountry.
We continued along the main route enjoying the sites and then we took a 6 mile side road before reaching the Tower-Roosevelt area where we were sure we would see some wildlife. We saw lots of wilderness and only 1 other vehicle. The wildlife was as scarce as the traffic! We saw two small wild turkeys and a chipmunk! Back on the main road is where we hit another traffic jam and saw the bears on the ridge! Go figure! Stay tuned, we will be in Yellowstone a few more days.