WE LOVE YELLOWSTONE!

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

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!

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.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

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

Mammoth Hot Springs

Old Faithful was right on time.

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.

Pronghorn

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

Bison everywhere!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Tower 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.

We caught this guy taking a swim.

Another grooming himself.

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.

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!

ON THE ROAD TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Thursday, June 28 – We traveled a couple hours this morning from Butte, MT, to Livingston, MT, and the North end of Yellowstone National Park. Our daughter, Carrie, is going to meet us here this evening after work. She's in Billings, MT, and will drive the couple hours here to spend a long weekend with us.

It was another gorgeous drive. Boy had the weather changed. No rain just a lot of heat.

Can you read the sign through our filthy windshield?

We are staying at Osens RV Park and Campground in Livingston, MT. The sites and roads are gravel with a generous grass area between the sites. We have 30 amp electric, water, and sewer connections. There are no 50 amp sites available. There are nice bathrooms and a laundry room. Marsha did laundry when we arrived and said the washer and dryers did a great job. We are on the south side of town, which is the direction we need to travel to Yellowstone Park. We are only 50 minutes away.

Site B7

Looking right.

Looking left.

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

TRAVELING THROUGH IDAHO TO BUTTE, MONTANA

Wednesday, June 27 -- We continue eastward this morning towards Yellowstone National Park. We will be rendezvousing with our daughter, Carrie, in Livingston, MT, on Thursday, for a long weekend touring Yellowstone.

It was a beautiful drive through Idaho. We had heard that Idaho is a beautiful state and it is true. What a gorgeous drive through the mountain valleys. We drove along a couple mountain streams the entire way. Wonderful.

We then entered Montana on I-90 and enjoyed this section of our drive, as well. Again, magnificent mountains and valleys.

We were up to 7,000 + feet.

It was smooth sailing all the way to Butte, Montana. What a find! This old mining town has a rich history in Copper. The downtown is full of wonderful old buildings and homes. The hill overlooking the city is where all the deep vertical mine shafts are located and that area is just full of historical places to discover.

One of the biggest attractions in Butte is Our Lady of the Rockies. This 90 foot Statue sits on the Continental Divide. Donations of money, land, equipment and hundreds of volunteer hours over six years made this feat possible. The Statue was completed on December 20, 1985. Besides being 90 feet tall, the base is 3,500 feet above the city, and the base alone contains 4,000 tons of concrete. The head is 16 feet high by 10 feet wide. The rest of the statistics are amazing. Find out more about the immensity of Our Lady by clicking on Our Lady of the Rockies.

Now you ask, why didn't they get a better photo of it? MONEY. The only way to get up to Our Lady is to take a tour. Now you know the rest of the story.

Our Lady of the Rockies

Once again, we've found an area that needs additional touring. I guess that's why it's impossible to see everything this great country has to offer. Add Butte, MT, to our list of places to return to some day.

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