Yellowstone

On Sunday the 22nd we drove the short distance to Yellowstone and arrived at Fishing Bridge Camp. We saw buffalo and otter at the river as we crossed into the camp. Fishing Bridge is re-doing their electric so we had water and sewer but no electricity for the five days we were there. The Airstream performed perfectly and we always had enough battery to keep the refrigerator and hot water and lights on. The first afternoon we took a pretty strenuous hike up the Elephant Trail overlooking Yellowstone Lake. On a clear day we could have seen the Tetons but it wasn't so we just enjoyed the view of the lake.

The next day we had breakfast tacos at Don and Kathy's before heading up to Canyon to the falls and then on up to Tower Falls. At Canyon Falls you walk down 328 steel steps into the canyon to get views of the falls. You can see the steps and the beautiful falls in the pictures. The canyon is gorgeous and many of the pics were taken that morning of the canyon and falls trying to capture the magnificent beauty. You have to see it in person to really appreciate it.

From there we went on to Mammoth Hot Springs to view the many bubbling pools and unstable earth. If you read enough about what is happening under Yellowstone you start to get nervous enough to want to leave.

The buffalo were thick and loved to get on the road and stand stopping traffic. As you can see in the pics we also saw elk and coyote. The elk were really pretty and majestic.

Everyone wants to see a bear but not too close. That afternoon heading back to fishing bridge driving along the Yellowstone River, I saw a grizzly bear on the left side of the road, I couldn't hardly get the words out to Judy to take a look but I finally did and managed to grab my camera as he crossed the road right in front of the pickup and then continued on down the side right by Judy. I got out and continued to take pictures as he headed into the woods. The next morning in the same area Judy saw a bear swimming the river and grabbed the camera and jumped out and took a number of shots. The bears never paid us any attention, but we were always ready with our bear spray.

After the bear we went on to Old Faithful and many of the geysers and pots. The next day we climbed Mt. Washburn to 10,243 feet (see the pictures). This day was clear and we could see the Tetons. Later that evening we joined our group and had dinner at the Old Faithful Inn.

Part of the reason to come to Yellowstone was so Judy could have her picture taken in front of the cabins she used to clean when she worked there the first summer out of high school.