Day 13
Yellowstone
States: Wyoming
Total Miles: 3900'ish
Time Zones: still in Mountain, 3 total
Spent the entire day in Yellowstone. Quite a treat. I got up early, well, I didn't have much choice, it was either get up and get the heater in the car running or freeze to death. Was good to get up early as I had to head all the way to the Northeast entrance to look for wolves. When I got over there there were a few trucks and some people with really long lenses, but they were just standing around not doing nothing. After 30 mins of no wolves, I left. On my way back towards Madison, I stopped off at a few spots for pictures and hiking. The first hike, Hellroaring, was interesting in that it went over a suspension bridge across the Yellowstone. Had I continued that way, I would have ended up in Gardiner 18 miles away outside the park. I chose to head back to the Hellroaring Creek. Hit a few other spots like Wraith Falls and Endine Falls. Eventually I got back to Norris and checked out the geyser basin there and then headed off to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Due to all kinds of ugly construction, I never made it to the north rim, so all pics are from the south rim.
Gibbon Falls early in the morning:
Gibbon Falls from closer:
Came across a herd of Bison on the way to the wolves. This guy got left
behind and was galloping to catch up:
Hellroaring Creek hike, Yellowstone river visible:
Suspension Bridge:
A view from the bridge:
Osprey nest on bridge:
My one artist picture, I call it "Osprey on an Ugly Day":
Wraith Falls:
Bison protecting the trail at Wraith Falls:
Coyote:
Casualty of human interaction. This guy just ran up and down the road begging
at car windows for food.
Elk:
Orange Spring at Mammoth, just about the only thing worth looking at there
nowadays (and it ain't much):
Artist paintpots:
Spring at Norris Geyser basin:
More springs:
The basin:
Steamboat Geyser, the biggest geyser in the world. Major eruptions can go off
anywhere within 4 days to 50 yrs of it's last eruption. I didn't wait (last
eruption in October of 2003, just missed it):
Another geyser:
2 different colored bacteria streams:
Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River from Uncle Tom's Trail:
Lower Falls from Artist Point:
Upper Falls from the South Rim:
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone:
Last Yellowstone picture, I think of Mt. Washburn which was closed. I was
looking forward to hiking this:
Next up, leaving Yellowstone, picking up a hitchhiker in Bozeman, MT and heading to Glacier.