What can I say about Yellowstone other than it exceeded all of my expectations for beauty, nature, wildlife and geology? No wonder it's the first and probably the most famous national park in the America, designated as such by President Ulysses Grant in 1872.
Since it's the peak of summer, we wanted to beat the crowds and see the bison during their early-morning feeding and mini-migration from the hills to the valleys, so we left Bozeman at 4 AM and drove 2.5 hours to the Lamar Valley at the north end of the park. Our timing couldn't have been better, as the bison were everywhere.
Bison calves have the nickname "red dogs" because of their rust colored coats. This one was probably born in early May, so it's only a month or two old.
This guy looked right at me!
We were lucky enough to get stuck in two bison traffic jams...
As dozens of adults and babies moved together from the hills to the Yellowstone River as the sun rose and the valley floor warmed up.
In case you're wondering, we took these photos from the truck or very near it. Bisons can charge if they feel threatened.
The weather was perfect all day, cool and sunny with blue skies.
Wildflowers were in bloom all over the park.
Look who else we stumbled across by the side of the road!
This black bear was helping itself to roadside flowers, grass and whatever it could find digging in the dirt. As we slowly passed, he smelled like wet dog.
We stayed away from most of the geysers and fumaroles because of the crowds, but we did walk around some fascinating mud pots, in which the mud was boiled by steam and sulphuric gasses that arise from deep under ground.
These mudpots are highly acidic, so much so that they literally dissolve the earth around them. The pH (power of hydrogen) in Sulphur Cauldron is 1, nearly as low as battery acid. As with the bison, you don't want to get too close.
Yellowstone River
Picnic spot on Yellowstone Lake.
Spent the night at a campsite in Flagg Ranch, between Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Park, forthcoming. With so much to see and do in Yellowstone's nearly 3,500 square miles, we hope to visit again, but for today, we are so grateful.
No comments:
Post a Comment