Back to Yellowstone

We had to make a second trip to Yellowstone because there was no way we could see the entire park in one day. We traveled back through Idaho to the west entrance of the park. On our way, we took a small detour to see Mesa Falls which was recommended by an Idaho Park Ranger. Boy were we glad we took the Rangers advice, because the upper and lower falls were spectacular.


Lower Mesa Falls


Upper Mesa Falls


Rainbow at Mesa Falls


Our first stop in the park on this day was to see Artists Paintpots. It's very colorful and there are areas that are boiling.


What is that walking along side of the road? A BISON! I wanted to get my dash in the picture, so you would have an idea of just how close we were! From what we learned at the Junior Ranger talks, Bison are the most aggressive animal in the park...even more than the Grrrrizzly!


The next stop was at Mammoth Hot Springs. We didn't hike up to the springs for a few reasons: 1. Parking was horrendous here, 2. the kids were anxious to here the Ranger talk about Elk so they could earn their Yellowstone Junior Ranger patch, 3. we had a lot more to see at the park and 4. I had a momentary out of body experience.


We then got a chance to see a petrified tree.


What's that? Another Bison walking down the street!


I can't remember where exactly this photo was taken, but it was somewhere near Tower Falls.

I have another handful of Yellowstone photos that I want to share, but this post is getting a little long, so I'll save them for another day!