Day 1 - Monday, October 4

After a short drive from Bozeman, MT, I checked into my campground and got my RV all set up. I then headed off for my first day in Yellowstone. There was a short line of cars waiting to get passed the entry gate, which was really promising, as I was hoping it wouldn’t be very crowded. After entering on the north side of the park, the drive follows the Yellowstone River for a ways. I didn’t stop to take pictures of the river today, but there definitely will be some in the coming days. A couple miles into the park there was a pull-off and I decided to stop, not realizing until I got out of the truck that I was at a marker for the 45th Parallel - marking halfway between the Equator and North Pole.

Venturing on, I came to Mammoth Hot Springs, I found a parking spot, grabbed the camera, and headed off on the mostly wooden trail around the springs. The Coca-Cola and Oreos quickly caught up to me as I huffed and puffed while climbing the stairs, while strenuous for this old man, I kept climbing until I got to the top which made the rest of journey a little more tolerable. The springs were interesting and pretty. As I got close to my truck I noticed there were several elk grazing near the parking lot, and while there were a lot of people around, the crowd didn’t seem to phase them at all.

My next stop was the Norris Geyser Basin. I took the 1.6 mile Back Basin Loop Trail which went by several different geysers and springs. While none of the geysers erupted while I was there, many were active as evidenced by the amount of steam eminating out of the ground. The water color in a couple of the springs was beautiful. As I finished the trail there was another trail which led to another geyser basin…it looked interesting, but I would have to descended a hill, which would have meant climbing back up when I was finished and I had walked enough for the day. Besides, it was almost 5 o’clock, so I decided it was time to head back to the campground, which was a good 45 minute drive.

About 5 miles from the the park entrance traffic slowed, which I knew meant there must be some type of wildlife ahead, and sure enough as I got closer the beautiful bull elk with a huge rack of antlers was walking near the road. Cars were slowing, but not stopping, so I grabbed my camera and took a quick picture through the windshield.

When I arrived at the campground I found two elk laying beside the RV about five spaces from me.

Day 2 - Tuesday, October 5

Got kind of an early start this morning, entering the park at 7:45 a.m.  Just before reaching Mammoth there were some elk grazing alongside the road, so I pulled into a turn-off and shot some pictures.  When I started driving again, I went about 0.25 mile and a good-sized elk came out of nowhere to cross the road in front of me, I slammed on my brakes, which sent everything in my passenger seat, including both cameras, flying onto the floor.  But I didn’t hit the elk.  I stopped at the next turn-off and got myself and all my things put back in order.

When I got to Mammoth the sun was hitting the hot springs making them really stand out, so I pulled into a parking lot to snap a couple pictures.  Soon I heard the bugling of what I assumed was a bull elk.  I started searching the hills for signs of him and saw some females, then just across the road I saw some commotion, and there he was, a beautiful bull elk, who followed a female across the street, bugling all the way.  There were several people gathering to take pictures of him, and when he stopped and stared at us, most of us sought safety, mine was my truck.

From there I started driving a big loop in the park, stopping at interesting places all along the way.  I saw many geysers and springs, including Old Faithful.  I stopped at three different waterfalls which were beautiful, if only I would have timed my stops so the light would have been better (hopefully, return trips in the future).  I about killed myself at the Brink of the Lower Falls, when I thought I overheard a gentleman tell some others that the trail wasn’t that bad.  3/8 of a mile and a descent of 600 ft later I was overlooking the falls.  I probably would have enjoyed the views better if I wouldn’t have been worried about walking 3/8 of a mile and climbing 600 ft to get back to the top.  The falls were at the beginning of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, which was breathtaking. 

I was in the park for about 11 hours.  It was a great day, and I now have a list of places I want to go back and spend more time at.

Day 3 - Wednesday, October 6

Decided to take it a little easier today, entered the park around 9:30 a.m. When I got to Mammoth Hot Springs I turned and took the road to the Northeast Entrance which, because of road construction, I knew was going to be a one-way trip out and then turning around driving the same route back. The route would be 47 miles out, and tehn 47 miles back, but I had read this was the route I wanted to take if I wanted to see wildlife.

My first stop was the Urdine Falls. According to the map my next stop was going to be Wraith Falls, just a short drive from Urdine Falls, but when I got to the Wraith parking lot it was full with people standing with binoculars and telescopes looking north. I’m pretty sure these people were scouting the moutain sides looking for bears or wolves, so I drove on. I then stopped at Forces of the Northern Range trail, a boardwalk trail with signs explaining the landscape and wildlife of the area. In spite of it being mostly cloudy, the landscapes were beautiful.

Feeling adventurous, after seeing a road sign, I made a split-second decision to take the Blacktail Plateau Drive, hoping it might take me to a spot with a spectacular view of the area. The “road” was a six-mile, one-way, unpaved (meaning very rough rock), winding road. I was thankful I was in my 4-wheel truck built to handle this terrain. When vehicles came up from behind I found areas where I could pull over and left them pass, sometimes I shook my head with how fast they were travelling on this rough road. It was almost 5 miles into the road when I finally found an area I could pull over and take a photo of the area, and it wasn’t really that great of a vista. The excursion was worth it when just before coming to the end a black bear was wandering on the hill.

After getting back on the main road, I soon entered the Lamar Valley. Soon, traffic was pulling over due to a heard of bison. Having not taken any pictures of bison in Yellowstone, I decided I should stop. To my thrill there were four pronghorn wandering in the area. I have developed a love of pronghorn, they are beautiful and graceful, and very fast.

On the rest of the trip to the Northeast Entrance and then back to Mammoth, I stopped at different places to take pictures of the beautiful landscape. Picture stops included Pebble Creek, Wraith Falls, and the Yellowstone River. When I returned to the campground I was greeted by six elk grazing and lounging near the restroom. Later in evening campers were entertained as the elk made there was through the campground. The obviously have been here before and were not skiddish around people.

Day 4 - Friday, October 8

After not visiting the park yesterday so I could finish up things around the RV and run a couple errands, I set out mid-morning to check out the park on this dreary day. I had one goal, to visit Grand Prismatic Spring, which I had to skip on Tuesday because the parking lot was completely full. Other than that I thought I would check out some of the other things I missed on Tuesday. Because of the forecast of showers I wasn’t sure what I would get to see or do.

I wish I could have captured the clouds intermingling with the tops of the mountains, but I will have to work on that skill. I took the Upper Terrace Drive of the Mammoth Hot Springs, and then made my way further into the park. I stopped at Gibbon Falls again, and it appeared to me that there was more water coming over the falls, but it may have just been my imagination.

Not too far past Gibbon Falls I saw a sign for the Firehole Canyon Drive and decided to take it. I’m so glad I did. The Firehole River is beautiful in this area, and the Firehole Falls were spectacular. The next stop was the Midway Geyser Basin, home of the Grand Prismatic Spring. This spring is probably the most well known, and colorful spring in the park. The crowded parking lot is a testament to its popularity. Luckily, a car pulled out just before I completed the parking lots circle drive, so I parked. As I was walking the boardwalk trail steam from the geysers and springs in the area fogged up my glasses. The steam was so thick it was hard to see people coming towards you. The first stop was at the Excelsior Geyser Crater. While it was hard to see the whole geyser, once I got upwind I could see the rich colors of the water. The trail then proceded to the Grand Prismatic Spring, which like the Excelsior Geyser, was hard to see because of all the steam. A young man back at the campground had warned me this could happen and told me about a observation deck along the Ferry Falls Trail nearby, which would give me a better picture of the spring. The observation deck was 0.8 miles from the trailhead. The trail was fairly flat until the last 100 yards, but the climb proved successful with a better view of the spring.

I stopped at a couple other geyser basins, where I was able to capture a couple small geysers erupting, before heading back to the campground. Despite the off-and-on showers and just generally dreary conditions, it turned out to be a fairly successful day.

Day 5 - Saturday, October 9

Woke to raindrops hitting the roof of the RV. Remembering an adage my father used to quote, “Rain before 7, shine before 11,” I got up and lounged around hoping the rain would stop. I decided I would skip going into the park unless the rain stopped. Around 11 it was still cloudy with on-and-off showers. Decided to put this down time to use and use the campground’s laundromat to do a couple loads. On my way back to the RV after starting the laundry the sun broke through the clouds. When the laundry was finished I grabbed my camera and headed into Yellowstone for the last time on this trip.

My plan was to head over to the Lower Falls and Upper Falls on the Yellowstone River. I decided to take the Upper Terrace Drive through Mammoth Hot Springs again. It was considerably more congested today, which I guess shouldn’t have been too surprising since it is Saturday. After snapping a couple pictures I took off for Norris. As I drove I noticed the mountain tops in the not so distance has snow on them, they didn’t yesterday.

The closer I got to Norris the cloudier it got, soon a light mist was hitting the windshield. About 5 miles outside of Norris it started to rain, at times it almost appeared to be sleeting, traffic slowed way down. It was at that time I decided to abort my mission, turn around, and head back to the RV. As I got closer to Gardiner the clouds broke up and I again saw sunshine.

Monday’s weather forecast for Gardiner is 3-5 inches of snow. I don’t want to deal with pulling a fifth-wheel trailer in wintry conditions, so I am leaving a day early when the forecast is for partly sunny and 50°. Yellowstone has been an amazing experience. I want to come back soon.