Days 7 and 8: Yellowstone National Park

On Wednesday morning, we woke up bright and early to try and beat the crowds to Yellowstone. However, we were hindered by road construction, so we arrived later than expected.

Our first impression of the area made us feel as if we were in pre-historic times, and a dinosaur was about to come around the corner. Our first stop was at Old Faithful. We ate breakfast at the Old Faithful Inn. We also watched Old Faithful erupt. After the eruption, we drove the lower loop of Yellowstone. Our favorite section was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which had breathtaking views, similar to its cousin in Arizona.



One of our last stops of the day was at the Mud Volcano. As with all the other attractions in Yellowstone, there was a huge crowd. Luckily, we found a parking spot and started walking on the sidewalk which looped through the mud volcanoes. The walk was about 3/4 mile long on a heavily-traveled, paved path. As we were walking along, we noticed bison footprints and excrement close to the path and around the volcanoes. As we were coming to the last leg of the loop, we saw a girl running down the path with her camera. We were headed that way anyway, so we continued walking down the path to where the girl had ran. As we rounded a hill, we were greeted by the sight of 4 bison approaching us from below. If we could've turned around without them noticing us, we would've. However, it was too late. We decided to slowly walk another 15 feet to where a group of 4 guys were standing on the path. At this point, the bison were about 20 feet away from us. We also realized that the animals' path was only about 5-10 feet from our paved route. We had just watched a movie at the Visitor Center about an attack by a bison on a little girl. It was amazing how fast the bison ran and how far it flung the girl. This was going through our heads the whole time. We stood as still as possible and avoided eye contact. (Of course, Jeremy had to take the camera from Marissa and start taking pictures as the bison passed.) The pictures below show the bison coming up from near the road, and one of the bison as it passed us. These pictures are NOT zoomed in! After a few tense moments, the bison finally passed, and the 6 of us made our way to safety. One of the guys we were walking with told us that someone had been killed 2 weeks ago when a bison gored him. It happens to be mating season, and they are especially hostile right now. At the end of the paved loop, we saw a warning sign mentioning the bison and their propensity to gore people at 30 mph! We wish they would've had a sign at the beginning of the loop.






After getting our heart rates up, we decided to check into the Lake Lodge Cabins. This was on Yellowstone Lake. (Today's nature lesson: Yellowstone Lake is the largest high altitude lake in the US.)



Today, we spent about 10 hours on the road. Most of this was scenic driving. Our first stop was Mammoth Hot Springs. On the way there, we saw a black bear foraging in the woods. We tried to get a good picture, but there were too many trees in the way, and we weren't about to get out of the car after yesterday's event with the bison. Also along the way, we saw a wolf walking along a creek bed. Below is a picture of him (or her).





After Mammoth Hot Springs, we headed out of Yellowstone through the northeast entrance near Cooke City, MT. We decided to make a pit stop here because there would be no towns for about 3 hours afterward. The only restroom options available were port-a-potties (PP). We stopped at a gas station, and Marissa asked to use their restroom. They gave her a key to the locked PP. She went in, lifted the lid, and quickly came out gagging. It was completely full of excrement and the visual was not pretty. So, we walked across the street to some other PP's. This time Jeremy went in first. Jeremy had no problem using the urinal. He said, "It isn't bad in there." So, trusting him, Marissa went in and lifted this lid, and quickly came out not only because it was full but also there wasn't any TP. She went to the other 2 PP's. Same story.. gagging each time. Someone needs to actually empty those things occasionally! Normally, they aren't so bad.

After Cooke City, we drove the Beartooth Scenic Highway. This was a very pretty drive. There were a few waterfalls, lots of switchbacks, and gorgeous views of mountains in the distance. There was also a Forest Service Fire Tower that we walked up in order to get a better view of the area.



Coming off of Beartooth Highway, we made our way to I-90 in Montana. We drove through Livingston, MT, which was where the movie "A River Runs Through It" was filmed. Tonight, we're staying in Bozeman, MT. They happen to be having "Music on Main" festival, so we partook of that after supper.



Next up: Great Falls, MT (and laundry day!)