Day 85

Yellowstone Here We Come

Jul 30, 2013, 9:13 AM

We are on the road to Yellowstone this morning. Oh it is just stunning! The early morning sun is softly kissing the mountains, and they are all around us. We are driving down Route 89 from the campground and it follows the Yellowstone River, I looked out the side window in the car and there was an eagle flying above the river. He put his talons down and I thought he was fishing but he landed in a tree instead. It was such a site to see. So at this point everything else will be icing on top. My day has already been a huge success. It is wild the way the light plays with this road. We are traveling south, so the sun is on the driver's side and we are litteraly ringed by mountains and the sun peaks through in the gaps and then just as fast is gone again. It has a beautiful effect on the mountains to the west. Sometimes they seem to glow. I want so badly to stop and get some photos, but I want to get to the park too, so I'll wait, but it's killing me. 

Jul 30, 2013, 12:54 PM

Old Faithful was so cool. We got there and it must have just erupted cause we had an hour till the next one. We got some lunch at the Old Faithful Inn and we finished up perfectly to be coming out the door with about ten minutes to go.  I'll tell you what, the little guy underground with his hand on the valve knows how to make a show. The smoke gets thicker and you think it's ready to go, then it dies down. Then it starts up again and this time there will be some sputtering of water, and you think this is it, then it dies down again. There is such a buildup of anticipation, then it GOES!!!!!!! It is a beautiful sight to behold. 

Then we went a bit further along the loop and we went to the Continental Divide. Well we got a picture of Spanky next to the sign. From there we started back and tried to stop at all of the places we had to forgo to get to Old Faithful. That didn't work real well cause now all of these spots were mobbed. They were crowded before but nothing like they were as the day went on. We then hit a wicked rain shower. So much for making some of my stops. Oh well, we had already decided we were going to go back tomorrow. We are going to do the eastern loop, we were told we are much more likely to see wildlife. Today from a real distance I saw either a buck or elk and another eagle. However, this park has it going on, as we were going through the gate this morning. There was an elk right by the gate and we didn't stop because we thought we will see plenty more and it is a mad scene cause of the Yellowstone sign and all, then nothing pretty much the rest of the day. Steve and I joked that the one at the gate is tethered to impress people as they come in. Then as we are leaving there is about eight of them, again right at the gate. Now one of the rangers told us we had a better chance to see wildlife on the eastern loop cause there aren't as many people on that one, but come on, the GATE!! That's a madhouse with people. I think they are fake elk, or maybe pet elk, or maybe trained elk, so that when you get to the gate you don't mind the fee. Suckers, there aren't anymore anywhere on their 2.2 million acres. I better see animals tomorrow.