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21 August: Yellowstone

21 August 2022 | Postcards from the Road

West Yellowstone, Montana: The national park is so large and so diverse, it would take a lifetime to see Yellowstone. Luckily, we have been here many times. We have visited all the highlights many times, hiked many of the trails, have seen bison, elk, black bear, grizzly bear, moose, wolves and coyotes. Still, every time there is something new to see. Different weather. Different crowds. With devasting flooding in June of this year, many roads are closed (some for possibly three years) and two northern entrances to the park are closed to traffic. In such a vast area, things constantly change. Visitors need to roll with the flow.

So we did.

We drove the southern loop today. We were away from the bus for nearly eight hours, stopping at many sights. I will post 22 photos tonight - mostly with only captions because I am only one woman.

Old Faithful: Thar She Blows!
Old Faithful Inn
Lone Bison, slowly moving across a meadow.
Our view at lunch: Nez Perce crossing - Yellowstone River
Our lunch: basically a Greek salad with garbanzo beans and farro.
We brought our folding chairs and sat along the river.
The view up the river
The view down the river
A dozen or so bison, many with calves
Another group of moms with babes
We watched a massive bull climb to the top of this ridge -
took him 20 minutes!
Yellowstone Lake - the largest high-elevation lake (above 7000 feet) in
North America. 400 feet deep, with 141 miles of shoreline.
Female elk
Flora
Flora - with butterfly and insect
Upper Falls on Yellowstone River
Lower Falls - at 308 feet - is nearly twice as high at Niagara Falls
DT at Lower Falls
DT and me at Lower Falls
Colorful canyon walls below the falls
We saw two black bear! In a parking lot!
(Please note the honey bees on their noses.)
The raven in Yellowstone are monster-sized!
Back to our campsite at 6p for a Trader Joe frozen pizza.
It was like a gourmet meal after our long day!

Until my next update, I remain your national park correspondent.

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5 thoughts

  3. Lovely photos! Thanks for the tour, we haven’t been to the Park since before 2020 due to crowds. Were there lots of people?

    1. Yes. More than I can ever remember. Crowds at Old Faithful; 1% wearing masks. Many tour buses with international travelers. I think a few of the lodge restaurants have been turned into cafeterias – probably due to crowds, staffing issues, and COVID?

      1. Thanks Terry! YNP is such a special place and so close to our summer home but we just don’t want to fight the traffic or crowds.

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