Yellowstone Day 3

Finally! Today we had one of the best Yellowstone days ever! On our way out through Lamar Valley, we spotted the wolves. There were seven of them, and we could easily see them with the naked eye. Four were black, one was gray, and two were light brown and white. Through the binoculars, they were so easy to see. We watched them for over an hour, driving from lookout to lookout as they ran along on the other side of the river. During this time, they interacted with the buffalo, making them stand up or chasing them to see if they were weak, but they didn’t really attack anything. We declared this our best wolf sighting ever. Meanwhile, as we puttered along watching them, we spotted several coyotes. The baby buffalo were everywhere. 

We were thrilled to see the wolves so well. 

Checking out the bison.

A coyote ran right past us while we were watching the wolves.

Then we saw another one come running by, too.

We watched the wolves for a very long time.

This buffalo was very brave!

It was the best sighting ever!

Finally, we got to Trout Lake. This really is our favorite hike in Yellowstone, and it was so peaceful. The boys spotted cutthroat in the water, and we enjoyed the walk around the lake as always. 

This bison was walking right down the road. 

Checking out the birds at the lake.

We love Trout Lake!

Not sure what they are, but Mark would know.

We saw a ton of fish.

It was hard to get a picture, but they were all hanging out by these logs.

Love these boys who love Yellowstone like us!

This is our happy place!

So cute!

On the way back through Lamar Valley, we finally saw the coyotes out of their den. There were two adults and three pups. They were playing and running around the day just like children. As we watched, two other adults came back to the den. All of them greeted each other just like dogs do, leaping around and wagging their tails. It was a fun reunion to watch! The pups were so small and cute, and they weren’t very far away, so it really was a perfect sighting. 

I thought this picture was hilarious.

The coyote pups were darling.

They were running around having a great time.

We also spotted a baby elk between the coyotes and Trout lake!!

Since we’d loaded the van early for the move to Old Faithful, we started down toward Canyon. Just before reaching the Canyon Junction, we stopped to try a new hike called Cascade Lake. This one ran 2 miles each way, but it was relatively flat. We passed through beautiful country, spotting a white-tail along the way. We also passed some huge buffalo off to the right of the trail. We were sad we couldn’t get too close to the lake. About 100 yards away, the ground got really soft. The water was around 2 inches deep, and it became impossible to pick a path down to the shore, even with our waterproof hiking shoes. On the way back, we did have a scary moment. The buffalo had moved on to the trail. As we approached, the largest came toward us, but we backed up, and it crossed the trail without giving us any trouble. 

Seth took this pic of Mom.

Mom took this pic of Seth.

The two of them bringing up the rear together!

The trail started to get really wet!

So we turned around in sight of the lake. 

It really was a lovely trail.

Lots of great photo spots!

The buffalo was closer than this for a bit, but we kept backing away.

We continued down through Hayden Valley, spotting several bears along the way. We didn’t really make any major stops other than pullouts. Finally, we got checked into a much warmer cabin at Old Faithful. We made tacos for dinner, and then drove over to Grand Prismatic. 

Momma grizzly and two cubs. They were rally hard to see, but both cubs popped their heads up for one sec and Mom tried to catch it!

We saw a beautiful bald eagle while we were watching the bears.

This hike seemed long after the long day, and when we got to the overlook, we spotted an unlucky buffalo that had fallen in the pool a week before. Mostly it was obscured by the steam, but when the wind blew, you could still see him. We cheered ourselves up with ice cream after that sighting.

Grand Prismatic!

We spotted this little sandpiper in the river on the trail.

Mom and Dad and Seth were finished. They walked over to see Old Faithful. Dax and Mark decided to hurry through Geyser Basin. They saw Riverside and Daisy erupt and still made it back just as it got dark. This day had definitely been what we expected in Yellowstone.

Dad literally watched Old Faithful like this!

Riverside Geyser

Yellowstone Day 2

The temperature on Day 1 had been only around 40 degrees, but we woke up to the high 20’s. After breakfast in the cabin, we did another drive. This time we saw the bighorn sheep at Calcite Springs. Unfortunately, Lamar Valley was disappointing again and it started to snow. Trout Lake was far too muddy to hike. We continued out to see if we could see the mountain goats, but it was too foggy, and more and more snow was accumulating on the road. Along the way, a buffalo snorted and stamped at us from the side of the road. We turned, and finally spotted a bear on our way back toward the valley. Other than the bucks we always see near Trout Lake, there was little else.

It was a cloudy, snowy day.

This guy didn't like when we stopped to take picture.

We saw these guys every day in Lamar valley.

It was fun to see this little bear by the road.

The snow wasn't bugging him.

We certainly weren’t going to attempt a hike in the snow, and after 10 miles the day before, that was okay. Instead, we drove down past Canyon into Hayden Valley. Things were a little better there. We spotted a grizzly bear and watched him for a while. There were also black specks across the valley that were supposedly a black bear and wolf, but there weren’t too exciting.

The snow was melting by lunchtime, and we pushed our way into a seat in the diner at Fishing Bridge. We always eat at the little bar there, even though it is difficult to find a spot. We also stopped for our traditional picture at Lower Falls. We parked right up front because there just weren’t that many people moving around on this snowy day. 

We spotted the big horn sheep way across the canyon.

How do they just live up there like no big deal??

It was a beautiful snowy day.

We were grateful for sweatshirts!

We watched this bear for quite awhile.

You could see him pretty well. 

Love fishing bridge!

On the drive back through Hayden Valley, the same bear-jam was slowing traffic. We also briefly glimpsed a grizzly and her cubs on Mount Washburn. Then we regrouped at the cabins, hopeful for a better outcome in the evening. 

Mom quickly made some ramen on the Coleman stove, and then we did a hike with the Webbs. We shuttled up to Petrified Tree and walked back to Roosevelt Lodge. The hike was really nice and all downhill. Along the way we saw a coyote and some mule deer. We even stopped and played at the lake. The kids loved spotting different bugs and crustaceans along the edge, marveling at the variety. 

It is a tradition to take a picture here!

Mark's favorite place is Yellowstone.

It was pretty with a little snow on the mountains.

We spotted this big black bear on the way to our hike.

We all stopped to watch him for awhile.

I didn't take many pictures on the hike, but the flowers were still pretty!

The Webb and Ockey kids!

Sisters!

Randy is always walking on logs into the water. Always!!

After Lost Lake we made one more animal drive. There wasn’t a whole lot to see this night either, so we stopped and hiked a short way up Specimen Ridge. Mark ran up to the junction, but Seth and Dax stayed in the van, where they saw a bear near the road. Still, it had been an unspectacular day.

Spotted the big horn sheep again!

And a bald eagle!

Slough Creek is our new favorite spot to look for animals. 

We saw a ton of pronghorn this year in Lamar Valley.

Pretty rainbow!

Mom had to document that she saw the rainbow, too!

Finally, back on the Grand Loop Road, we had a good bear sighting. This little black bear had a cub, and they crossed right in front of us. The cub climbed up a narrow tree and walked out on a limb. It was so tiny and cute that the day was finally made. We decided to go up to the next pullout and turn around, but before we even got there, we came across another bear in the road. Again, there was no one around, and after he crossed, he came right toward us. In fact, Dad had to move the car so he didn’t get too close. We watched for a little while longer, and then headed back toward the cabin. We made a quick stop at the Petrified Tree and there was another bear. It was a little ways off the road, but it was right by the trail we had hiked earlier. We went back to the cabin happy after three great bear sightings.

The little cub kept popping up!

Look how little he is!! So cute!

We could have watched him all day.

He was crazy in the trees, though!

Then we came upon a black bear.

Just walking down the road.

This is the bear by the trail (see it in the background). Glad we didn't run into him while hiking!