<= May 21

Index

May 23 =>

Today we just about completed the entire figure 8 Grand Loop. Our morning started with a bald eagle along the Madison River.

We stopped at Golden Gate and took a picture of Rustic Falls. I thought I'd go black-and-white for that "rustic" look.

This would be Golden gate.

We traveled through the Hoodoos, which are not really hoodoos but rocks that toppled off the side of the mountain.

We visited our owl friend and her babies at Mammoth. I hope you're not tired of seeing them because we're not tired of photographing them yet.

This black bear (yes, they can be other colors than black) was seen at Phantom Lake. The bear jam was huge!

We headed out to Little America where the bison were grazing...

...and to Lamar Valley where the red dogs were playfully running and kicking up their heels.

We also saw three "binocular bears" in Little America but I didn't think that you'd be interested in seeing one dot and two smaller dots in a toothpick-sized tree.

Dunraven Pass opened today. As we drove up (and south) over Mount Washburn, a black bear came down off the hillside, walked between stunned motorists (us included), and continued down the other side of the hill.

We ate a picnic lunch at Canyon then drove down the road to see a flood of water pouring over Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River.

Off to the right side from the viewing area is Crystal Falls; it that was very impressive as well. You have to look intentionally through the tree to see it. It is unmarked on maps.

Next stop was Artist Point to photograph the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. At over 300 feet tall, it is three times as tall as Niagra Falls.

Glacier ice and rushing water have cut the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone some 1000 feet deep, up to 4000 feet wide, and I think about 20 miles long. The canyon walls are full of color.

Our trip continued through Hayden Valley where I saw the Alum Creek Great Blue Heron (no picture) -- that bird is always there -- and then stopped at LeHardy Rapids hoping to see some Harlequin Ducks (BINGO).

We continued to Yellowstone Lake, over Fishing Bridge to Indian Pond where there were gorgeous colors refected from the sky and trees.

Yellowstone Lake still has a lot of ice. I would estimate it to be 98% covered still, although probably not very thick in most areas. Only a few bison and Canada geese were hanging around in Mary Bay.

We were going to call it quits as we drove back through Hayden Valley on our way back to the hotel when we saw a crowd of people with scopes and cameras -- yes, a grizzly bear jam. These were our first two grizzlies. We suspect a sow and 2-year old cub. They were at Trout Creek about 200-250 yards off the road so these were the best shots we could get in 2 hours as we patiently waited from them to come out into the open.

A very productive day. God was smiling on Yellowstone today -- it was beautiful. The temps were in the low 60's, yet the sun was penatratingly hot as Sharon and I both got sunburned even with hats and lotion.

Tomorrow we sleep in Gardiner on the Northwest side of the park in Montana. We will be hiking with Y-Net friends on Saturday afternoon.

Oh yeah, and happy birthday Gracie. Our youngest Labradoodle turned 1-year old today.