We got our Bear spray!

Currently outside Yellowstone National Park
Next Up: Grand Teton NP
We will have a couple of transition nights in Wyoming on our way to Loveland, CO
After that  we will be outside Colorado Springs, then to Southfork, Bayfield and Antonito, CO
Late August you will find us in Questa, NM on our way to Santa Fe and Albuquerque

Our first day in Yellowstone was a long one.  Lots to see and do here.  We started out at the Visitor Center at the West Entrance as we usually do, to get some ideas on hikes.  The Ranger was horrified that we hiked in Glacier without bear spray! We definitely need it here. So that was first on the docket.

Yellowstone is very crowded in the summer.  There was a 10 minute traffic backup about 3 miles into the main road.  Here were the culprits.  Everyone wants a photo of elk!

We were driving through Canyon Village when this little family came trotting through the woods. The Bison are back in the Park!

We took the South Rim drive out to Artist's Point, so named because it is the second most photographed vista in Yellowstone.  This area is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  And you can see why!  It is breathtaking!

At an overlook on Dunraven Drive we saw the Canyon from a distance.  The white area on the right is the Washburn Hot Springs. You can see the Absaroka Mountains in the far background.  The landscape here is so pretty.

The Tower Fall was our next stop.  You think all waterfalls are the same until you see something like this - the stone towers that surround the water are unique.

Our next stop was the Roosevelt Lodge named for Teddy Roosevelt whose picture is above the registration desk framed by the antlers.  Of course he was instrumental in establishing the National Park Service.

 The lodge was built in the 1920's and is very small, essentially the dining room for the numerous cabins in the area.  The fireplace is original.

The best part os the front porch!

Back on the road again, we saw several cars pulled over with cameras and binoculars out.  That could only mean one thing - wildlife!  The black bear below is leaning his back against the tree on the left side with his snout in the air.

Before we left the Roosevelt Lodge area, we checked out the petrified tree.  It is a redwood, like the ones we saw in California.  There used to be 3 petrified trees, but the others were destroyed when people pulled pieces off as souvenirs.  Now the remaining one is behind a locked gate.

We saw these horseback riders on a trail as we were leaving the petrified tree.

And then look who showed up.  Always on Bear Watch, I thought this was a Grizzly, but learned later it was a Cinnamon Black Bear.  He's pretty easy to spot below - center left, big, round and brown.

We eventually made it to the Lamar Valley where the animals are abundant.  We saw lots of bison - close and far, alone and in huge herds.

Here they some more with their young calves.

We also saw a bald eagle, a coyote, and these prong horned antelope.

We stayed into the evening to see wildlife come out at dusk.  Johnny used binoculars to see a grizzly bear and a wolf - too dark for photos.  People line up with all kinds of cameras to catch a glimpse!

On our way out of the Valley there was a traffic jam of a different kind!  The bison were moving from the low ground where they graze to higher ground where they are out of the sight of wolves.

We drove out of the Park in the dark that day and got home at midnight.  Well past my bedtime!  But so worth it to see the beauty of Yellowstone.