Yellowstone Trip Part 2

[c&d]

Day 4: Tuesday

In preparation for our day of fishing, I picked up our fishing licenses early in the morning. We needed some fishing supplies so we headed over to the marina to buy some and get some info on boat rentals. It turns out that most people who fish in Yellowstone fly fish so we were pretty much out of luck for getting lake fishing supplies. We decided we’d head out to West Yellowstone and buy our stuff there. We had a hard time finding non fly fishing supplies, but we managed to get enough for our needs. We headed back into the park and headed north, stopping by Gibbon Falls. When we got to Norris Junction we took a right and started heading back to Canyon Village. About halfway there we were in another “animal jam” this time caused by the bull Elk. He was a beautiful animal to look at and we were once again surprised by the stupidity of people. They were walking to within 10-15’ of the elk. Don’t people realize that these are wild animals and can do great bodily harm? We watched him eat for a bit and then started heading back to our hotel.

We stopped off at the Mud Volcano on our way back. As we were hiking up the hill we noticed buffalo on the hillside but figured they were far enough away so it would be safe. Once we arrived at the top there was a ranger standing there holding everyone still. There were 3 buffalo who were almost standing on the boardwalk and not moving. I had gotten a little ahead of DS and DH and so I was able to cross, however, as I’m crossing by the buffalo he points to his back and says that your safe out. So now I’m on this little offshoot with no where to go if the buffalo decide to head in my direction. After about 15 min. the buffalos decided to head back to the field, freeing all the tourists. Everyone was just standing in place, not moving, not talking, just waiting for the buffalo to move on. I must say being within 10’ of a buffalo is a little intimidating.

On our way back we stopped off at the Lake Hotel for a cocktail or two and enjoyed the beautiful scenery from the lounge. We are now completely into Yellowstone mode, not hurrying anyplace just taking time to enjoy the beauty of everything. As we headed back we could see people pulling off the road, so naturally we did too. Down below by the river bank was a moose just lying right next to the river. I know I keep saying this but it was amazing.

Day 5: Wednesday

Fishing today. We got up, had breakfast and then headed over to the marina. We got our boat and headed out to catch some fish. It was a beautiful day when we started out, in the low 70’s. We dropped our lines and waited for the fish but they never came. Not only did the fish not bite, but the weather turned cold and windy so we headed back in to shore. We stayed out about 2 hours with not a single bite, but we really enjoyed being on the lake. We then headed back up to the Tower area where we grabbed a quick bite and then continued up to Roosevelt. It was an amazing drive along the Yellowstone River and we saw bald eagles flying in the canyon. We continued up to the petrified tree and then started our journey back to the hotel. On our way back we got stuck in a “jam” at Dunraven Pass at dusk. We looked to see what everyone was looking at and it was a black bear not 20’ from the road. We quickly parked and walked back over to the ranger and watched the bear eating his dinner. What we found we enjoyed most about our animal jams was the ranger being there to talk about the animal, how they lived, etc. and answer any questions you had. Of course, they were there to make sure that the animal remained safe and the people behaved themselves.


Day 6: Thursday

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon hike. The south rim was closed for refurbishment so we decided to hike the north side. Approximately 3.5 miles each way. On this hike today I realized how little most people see of Yellowstone. All the North Rim attractions can be seen by driving from one parking lot to another and after our hike I realized how many people do that and how much of the beauty they miss. We started out on our hike and the trail as usual was pretty empty about 45 mins. into our the hike there was suddenly hundreds of people hiking down to the brink of the upper falls. After we hiked down and up and continued our hike we realize that there was a parking lot right there and people were just hiking down and leaving. Once we cleared the parking lot area on the trail we talked about how much they had missed. The falls further back and all the amazing views of the canyon as we hiked to Inspiration Point. The colors in the canyon were so pretty and I loved that although I couldn’t get there, I got to see Artist Point. When we go back to WDW in April and eat at Artist Point, I’ll be reminded of how pretty Yellowstone is. It took us about 2 ½ hours to go one way and DS said that he was really tired. Can’t blame him, we had been walking him all over for the past couple of days. DH walked back to the car and picked us up at the parking lot. We drove up to Tower Falls where we grabbed a bite to eat. Once again we were lucky enough to see the moose hanging by the river. We ate at the restaurant tonight and had a wonderful meal. It was nice to have a nice sit down meal instead of a buffet.

Day 7: Friday, Geysers and more geysers.

We decided that we would do all the geysers down in the main basin. We kept driving by them and saying we need to stop there and finally we did. We headed down towards Old Faithful and the upper geyser basin. From there we headed down to middle and lower geyser basins. The water in all these basins is such an amazing color. The water is so clear and the colors so bright, I can’t even explain. My favorite is always the mudpots. I can just stand and watch them bubble for hours. Who knew that watching bubbling mud could be so much fun?

Day 8: Saturday, Junior Ranger and Norris Basin

Today DS became a junior ranger at Yellowstone. He had one last thing to do, a ranger led talk. We got to Madison and the talk by the ranger was about Geysers, Mudpots and Fumeroles. The park ranger Kelli, gave the best talk about them and had all the children involved in the talk. After the talk DS went inside where they read thru his booklet and asked him several questions about what he had done and seen in the park. It’s nice that they check to make sure that the child did the work, not the adult. After he was cleared, she had him raise his hand and take the Yellowstone oath. It was such a great moment, we were so proud of him for completing the tasks necessary.

After that we headed up towards Norris. As we were heading up we stopped once again to see if the wolves had come any closer, but alas, even through our binoculars they were just dots in the distance. We continued our drive up to Norris. After 7 days here, I’m still amazed each time we arrive at a new spot. The scenery and the colors are so dramatically different in each area that it’s as if you are arriving at a new park with each new place we visited. While we were there we were hoping that the geyser, and I can’t remember the name of it would erupt. According the signs it erupts every 3 days or 50 years, quite a time span. We weren’t lucky enough to have it erupt but it was still neat standing there hoping it would. On our way back to the hotel, we looked across Yellowstone lake and there was this remarkable cloud of smoke. It turns out that there had been a fire burning in the park for a while and in all the times we had driven by we never once saw smoke until today. It was just a change in the wind that allowed the smoke to be seen. There were approximately 43,000 acres burning in another part of the park. While we were stopped looking at the smoke, there was a coyote in the field hunting so we stayed and watched until he left. Back at our hotel where we had dinner reservations again at the restaurant. The food was once again wonderful and after that we headed to the 5 stool bar and a nightcap. It was there we decided we would come back in 2 years and see all the parts of the park we missed. We headed back to our room and started packing up. I can’t believe that our trip is almost over.

Day 9: Sunday, I can’t believe it’s over

We got up, grabbed our final breakfast overlooking the lake and then headed back to our room to pack the 9 bazillion pieces of luggage into the car. As we headed out we stopped and took our picture and the Continental Divide and slowly drove out of the park. We then headed back to Salt Lake and onto Fresno and Sequoia National Park.

This was the most relaxing and amazing vacation I’ve ever been. It’s so hard to explain just how beautiful everything was.

[disneydrmr]

Wow! Again, you have me wanting to see this park even more! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Congrats to our son on becoming a 'ranger' .. how neat!

And I know what you mean about people around wild animals.. when we were in the Smokies back in May we were lucky enough to see several mama bears and their cubs and I was horrified at how close people would get to them...one mama even reared up at them and they still just stood there!

Anyway.. glad you had such a wonderful time!

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks again! Isn't it amazing how WL named their restuarant after a landmark in Yellowstone? How detailed their theming is! You're braver than I if you hiked all the way to Inspiration Point-that's not a place for anyone with a fear of heights. Anyplace else you'd reconnend be avoided if you're afraid of heights? Glad you enjoyed the trip.

[Nate's Grandpa]

This trip report has to be one the best written post I have ever read. A joy to read.

I have always wanted to visit Yellowstone, and now I want to even more.

Thank you!