Monday, July 2, 2012

WE LOVE YELLOWSTONE!

Friday, June 29 -- Carrie arrived around 6 Thursday evening and the nonstop fun began.

Carrie and Bella

This is our second time here but Carrie's first. This park has a little (or maybe a lot) of everything. It just gets better and better.  We spent twelve hours in Yellowstone National Park today and left tired and in AWE!

Yellowstone arch

park info

We saw so much beautiful scenery. The geography changes at every turn. There's the mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, forest, meadows, geysers, mud pots, aqua blue steam pools, and more.

Norris Geyser Basin.
Norris Geyser Basin

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.yellowstone grand canyon

Grand Prismatic Spring. These are the true colors, no enhancing done. GORGEOUS!
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Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hot Springs

Old Faithful was right on time.old faithful

Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone lake

We had great expectations of seeing some wildlife and those expectations were exceeded by a huge margin! We saw the following wildlife:

  • Bison by the thousands
  • Elk by the hundreds
  • Several Pronghorn
  • A WOLF.....yep, a wolf.
  • A Silver Fox
  • A GRIZZLY BEAR with 2 cubs
  • A Black Bear
  • Mule Deer
  • Big Horn Sheep
  • Trumpeter Swans

This Black Bear was no more than 15 feet from our car. Black Bear

Pronghorn
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This walked in front of our car for several hundred feet.DSC07580

Bison everywhere!
bison

Wolf
wolf

The Grizzle Bears were far off in a meadow. The Ranger would not allow us to get any closer, AND we didn't want too!grizzle bears

There is so much to see that we just have to let the photos tell the story. To see so many more photos of this fantastic 14-hour day, click here.

Saturday, June 30 – We returned early this morning to Yellowstone to do some hiking. Yesterday was a tour marathon to see as much as possible, today is more tranquil with hiking as our goal.

We chose to hike the Slough Creek Trail.

Slough Creek Trail

It is rated moderate with a strenuous first 1.5 miles uphill. We were huffing and puffing a little but overall it wasn't that difficult. Actually, we were surprised on the return hike how steep it actually was. We only hiked a portion of the trail because we wanted to do several shorter hikes, as well.

downhill hike

This trail is a dirt road which leads way out into the wilderness. We encountered two horse-drawn wagons coming into the park for supplies.

wagon

DSC07659

On this trail is where we encountered the famous Anise Swallowtail Butterfly. WOW is it big and beautiful.

Anise swallowtail

We then walked the Tower Falls Trail and the Wraith Falls Trail.

Tower Falls
Tower Falls

Carrie and Paul

Wraith Falls
Wraith Falls

After those hikes and a short ride to see more of the park, we stopped at a pullout for a picnic lunch. It was another delightful day weather-wise as we sat near the babbling brook and enjoyed our sandwiches and fruit.

Each time we saw a group of vehicles pulled off the side of the road, we stopped. Each time we were rewarded with another glimpse of nature.This time is was a Black Bear and a cub. We sat and watched for a long time. The cub was in a playful mood rolling around on the hill and running around mom.

black bear and cub

We caught this guy taking a swim.
wildlife swimming

Another grooming himself.
wildlife grooming


i am so happy

Our daughter, Carrie, had a memorable experience here in Yellowstone. We are happy we changed our plans. We really enjoyed sharing the weekend with her.

park sign

Another day full of memories. Again, the photos must tell the story. To see so many more photos of this exciting day, click here.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

20 comments:

  1. So glad you got to see so much wildlife. That really adds to any trip to Yellowstone. Great pictures.

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  2. Great shots,Nature makes people better people.
    I herd you like waterfalls-WE try to hike them all,take a look www.danyshula.blogspot.com
    Enjoy

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  3. What wonderful memories to share with Carrie! Gorgeous scenery, lots of wildlife, so much beauty in God's creation, sightseeing and hiking. What a great weekend!

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  4. Great pictures of the park. It is one of our all time favorites. Thanks for a great look at its beauty again:)

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  5. great pictures and wonderful memories that you shared with your daughter..a time to cherish!!.spectacular!!

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  6. Wow! What an exciting time you had! I would have loved taking all those pictures. Terry has never been to Yellowstone and I've only been once when in high school. Thanks for the memories! Now go rest. It sounds like you probably need it!

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  7. Very nice. I'm glad I stopped by.
    Those colours at Prismatic Spring are just crazy!

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  8. What a wonderful day. Beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife. What could be better?

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  9. I sure enjoy reading your blog. Wonderful photographs!

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  10. You hit the JACKPOT on the animals, that's for sure! Wonderful photos, thank you for showing us your trip!

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  11. What a great adventure you all had at Yellowstone. Your pictures sure captured the beauty of the park along with all the wildlife. It looked to be a spectacular weekend.

    I'm sure Carrie will cherish those memories for the rest of her life.

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  12. We're jealous! We've been to Yellowstone a couple times and never saw a bear. You had quite a day!

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  13. I enjoyed looking through all of your photos. Yellowstone has been my favorite place in this country. I hope to return again some time.

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  14. Wow!! That's what I call a perfect day loving time with your family, making memories , out in the nature as god made it "* living life to the fullest *". (Really enjoying the pic's ).

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  15. Wow. . .you chose the perfect day to show up. ..fabulous!

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  16. What a great collection of pictures and a wonderful weekend making memories. I can't believe how many of the parks animals showed up to greet you.

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  17. Enjoyed looking at all your photos. We love Yellowstone. Where were the wagons coming from?

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  18. Love the blog! So happy you changed your plans and we were able to meet up. Def will always remember that whirlwind trip! Pretty stellar! :)

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  19. Yellowstone is amazing, great photos

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Thanks for leaving us a comment. We enjoy reading them. Have a great day!