August 11, 2016
We began our day with the intention of getting up early enough to hopefully see wolves in the valley. Our first sight upon the road is…buffalo balls. This guy just meandered down the road, like he owned it. Which, if he wanted to, he could have done some damage to any of the cars here, so he had the right of way, whichever way he wanted. We followed him down until we got close to the Mud Volcano area where he veered off to have a spa day.
Thankfully we hit this spot at the exact right time. We saw a crowd gathering and knew it meant wildlife. We were in the perfect spot to see the wolf pack go by. A pair split off to head over the ridge while two more came towards where the cars were parked.
Wolves are big. I can’t even describe how awesome – in the true sense of the word – this is to see.
The white wolf’s partner, following behind. They were intent on getting out of sight and knew where to cross the road. Apparently this is a frequent sight in the park. A park ranger had stopped traffic at a certain point and the wolves headed right for it to cross and head off to wherever they were going.
Definitely cooler than buffalo balls.
This morning’s plan to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. By no means as big as the actual Grand Canyon, or as stunning, but apparently one of the must-see things of the park. I’m definitely worn out right now. Not enough coffee in the world to make me perk up after seeing the wolves. I think, with the combination of cold, the elevation stress, and the lack of sleep due to national park campground crowding, I’m finally succumbing to whatever had JA sick for a few days in Portland.
I present to you the Grand Canyon! …of Yellowstone. A giant split in the ground with pretty colors.
Oh! And waterfalls! This is a pretty iconic waterfall in the park. People were fighting for space to snap off a picture when the rainbow was supposed to appear. This is the Lower Falls and you have to drive around to the other side to get close to it.
Pff, I’ve seen rainbows. I don’t need another waterfall-rainbow picture.
Actually, the Canyon is really pretty. A whole new set of colors thrown in the park. And all of this is very, very fragile – even the formations aren’t as solid as they appear.
A really cool fire-leftover.
One of favorite pictures from the trip.
Waiting in the parking lot was this…
A fancy old tour bus or something. We, of course, had to stop and stare.
There are two good sized waterfalls in the canyon. The Upper and Lower Falls. The Upper Falls is the smaller of the two and therefore the less popular.
Which means you can get really close to it.
I swear these colors are real. I don’t have any photoshop skills.
After enjoying the Upper Falls, we head over to the Lower Falls parking lot. This is the one we saw at a distance earlier. The parking is pretty packed and apparently you hike down to a viewpoint.
Switchbacks. So a ‘quick’ hike down…and then you have to make your way back up.
The beginning of the Lower Falls.
A ‘platform’ has been set up to get close to the Falls.
I’d say the view is pretty damn good.
Another area you can view the Falls from.
The edge.
Love the green here. We had to wait for a position on the fence to see it this close up – the sheer force of water is pretty stunning. I lingered here longer than other tourists were happy about…but I wasn’t looking forward to the hike back up. I’m definitely sick.
More driving. Today is mostly driving. We’re doing the upper loop in the park with Mammoth Springs as the main focus. This part of the park is wide open range and feels like a western movie setting. And for someone who has lived in western movie settings most of her life, that’s saying a lot.
I wish we would have known more…I would love to stay in this part of the park next time, at the Roosevelt Lodge maybe. They have horse pens and do horseback rides/stagecoach camping out in the wilderness which just sounds heavenly. When not sick.
…maybe I should get a guide job out here…
We stopped briefly near the Roosevelt Lodge/Tower Falls visitor center to eat sandwiches out of the cooler and take a break. I bought a pair of moose earrings here and almost bought some pajamas with the butt-flap opening…maybe I’ll buy them online later. We didn’t bother to go see Tower Falls – just not enough time to see everything in this park on this trip. It’s too big. And there’s too much driving.
Volcanic cliff formations near the falls.
Tower Falls is down there somewhere. It’s just a pretty landscape as far as I’m concerned.
Moss, for KL.
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