July 29th - Yellowstone National Park

​Since our campground was at 8,000 feet in elevation, the air was cool when Hank awoke at 6 am to walk the dogs. He had to don a jacket for the first time in ages.

Angie decided that we would spend our first day exploring the North loop of the park. We got an early start, but were soon stuck in a "buffalo jam". A herd of about 400 bison were scattered across Hayden Valley and many of them were crossing the road to reach the flats along the Yellowstone River. A cow and calf stopped in the middle of the road directly in front of us! The cow was trying to get the calf to cross the road, but the calf wasn't having it. The cow kept turning nervously, sizing up the cars stopped on both sides of the road. We slowly inched forward as the cow brayed loudly, close enough to Angie's window that I was surprised it didn't fog the glass!

We drove through Canyon Village and Tower-Roosevelt in our eagerness to reach Lamar Valley - where Angie and Joe had seen the largest assortment of wildlife - including bear. Somewhere around Dunraven Pass, Angie spotted a bear running across the road a couple of cars ahead of us. We stopped and photographed a single, small grizzly meandering through a field of tall grass, occasionally scratching the earth or a dead tree trunk. Spectacular! We learned that grizzly stay with their mothers for two or three years, so we expect that Momma was nearby, but we never saw her.

We were later disappointed to find that the road to Lamar Valley was closed. A ranger told us that the flooding this spring had washed out the road. Only construction vehicles were allowed through. Undaunted, we continued north to Fort Yellowstone, where, prior to the establishment of the National Park Service, an army garrison manned the park entrance and enforced the rules. There was a massive, white rock formation on the hills above the fort. As we pulled up to a parking lot across from the barracks and chapel, we saw three elk cows and a couple of calves, grazing lazily on the shady lawn of the barracks.

The Fort Yellowstone Visitor Center had very informative historical and wildlife exhibits. Great photography, taxidermy and placards kept us entralled for about 30 minutes. We learned that the white rock formation were terraces of travertine, a rock composed of calcium carbonate that was deposited from the water bubbling out of Mammoth Hot Springs. We were able to drive through the upper section of the terrace on a single-lane road.

We turned southward on the Northern loop to return to Canyon Village to explore the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We drove along the North Rim Road, where we got several vistas of the upper falls and the canyon. Then we drove to the Upper Falls, where a short hike took us to the brink, which was beautiful and impressive, but left us wanting to see a more complete view of the bottom of the falls. We drove to the South Rim where we found the vantage point we wanted.

We returned to the trailer for some "linner". We filled the cooler with drinks and headed back to the beach with the dogs, who had been patiently riding in the back seat, awaiting their turn at some exericse. Sadly, dogs are not allowed on the trails and boardwalks in Yellowstone.

Angie was determined to find us a larger, more private beach on the lake. We found the beach that she and Joe and visited previously, but learned that no dogs were allowed on that beach. We kept driving south along the west shore and were rewarded with the discovery of a small, private, sunny cove a short, steep walk down from the parking area. It was Idyllic. Charlie transformed into a river otter, as she speedily paddled to retrieve her toy again and again - never seeming to tire. We enjoyed soaking up the sun and the scenery, dipping our feet in the cool water, until the late afternoon sun dropped below the treetops.