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!