Yellowstone Bison
This BIG guy was right on the side of the road. See the yellow line? We were in the other lane driving when we saw this bison. He was HUGE!!
Our new base was Idaho Falls. Our original campground was about 25 miles outside of Idaho Falls. After experiencing sprinklers coating our coach with hard water during the night, we moved to another campground that was near downtown Idaho Falls on the Snake River. When Andy checked in he received the following gift:
My "birthday" snake
He promptly declared this to be an early birthday gift. Most of you know I HATE snakes so you can appreciate the sarcasm in this "gift". :)
We did do some exploring along Idaho Falls and walked along the falls and Japanese gardens downtown. Idaho Falls reminds me a lot of the falls in Sioux Falls, SD.
Falls in Idaho Falls
The Tetons are magnificent. There is nothing like seeing these peaks that rise directly from the prairie.
Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park
A common photo op with cabins in the forefront
Small Episcopal Church in the park - what a view from behind the altar!
Grand Tetons rising above the clouds
View of the Tetons from the top of the Gondola
A side trip we took was to the Jackson Hole Ski area where we took the gondola ride to the top of the mountain (34 degrees at the top). This was the first BEAR sighting of the trip as those on the right side of the gondola were able to see a bear moving up the side of the mountain. (I, alas, was on the left side of the gondola.)
For my birthday we took an overnight trip to West Yellowstone, stopping at Mesa Falls in Idaho along the way.
Mesa Falls, Idaho
We purposely visited Yellowstone in the evening, because the animals are more active at night and there is a better chance of seeing wildlife. Anytime something is spotted, there is usually a backup on the road from people stopping. Our first sighting was a moose, although he was too far away to get a decent picture. Our next sightings were of pronghorn antelope.
Again, Andy sees a bear but by the time he tells me, we are past it and I have missed it. (In case you're counting, that's Andy bear sightings 2, Jean 0.) But we hit the jackpot with the buffalo. Our best and close up view was the first picture (above). It's amazing how close we were, and just how big an animal they are. Technically, we were closer than park rangers recommend, but we were in the car and just happened upon that big guy walking along side the road. The following morning we also saw buffalo close to the road. and huge herds in meadows.
Another picture of how close they get to the roads
We also pulled off at a turnoff and this time they were right up close to the parking lot. One gal was no more than 10 feet away from one of them! We choose not to get out at that stop. We also saw deer and bighorn sheep, and maybe an elk (too far away).
On our first trip to Yellowstone, we concentrated on the west loop, seeing Old Faithful and the many geysers on that part of the loop. This time we took the east and south loops and were able to see the Grand Canyon area of the Yellowstone River.
On our first trip to Yellowstone, we concentrated on the west loop, seeing Old Faithful and the many geysers on that part of the loop. This time we took the east and south loops and were able to see the Grand Canyon area of the Yellowstone River.
Yellowstone River Canyon
Mud hole in the park
Yellowstone gets my vote for being one of the most diverse national parks. You can see geysers, hot springs, mountains, rivers, canyons, lakes, and valley's, not to mention all the different types of wildlife. We were disappointed that we didn't see more bears, but maybe we will see some at Glacier National Park when we go there. So far we've been to 8 national parks this summer! Up next, Montana and Glacier National Park.
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