Yellowstone National Park 7,8,9 June

We spent three very long days in the stunning Yellowstone National Park. It is the World's first national park, established in 1872. There is such an enormous variety of vegetation, geology, flora and fauna. Every where we went was amazingly beautiful.

 

 Our picnic spot on the first day was at Sylvan Lake, after we went over the Sylvan Pass from Cody.The reflections in the lake were beautiful.

 

 

Ducks the American way.

 

 

On the Yellowstone River at LeHardys Rapids, we watched spawning cutthroat trout trying to jump over the falls and migrate up stream. Unfortunately the river was running so fast, none that we saw were successful.

 

Our first sighting of bison (or buffalo). Very exciting.

 

 

That was the first of many. Here are two mothers with their babies.

 

 

An American pika, a small, rodent-like mammals with short stout bodies, big round ears and no visible tail.

 

 

Dragon's Mouth Spring at Mud Volcano, a area full of mudpots, fumaroles and hot springs.

 

 

Boiling mud.

 

 

A hot spring. We must have walked a million miles on boardwalks like this in Yellowstone.

 

 

This herd of buffalo caused a traffic jam crossing the road, a common sight in the park.

 

 

We think this must be woodpecker damage. Didn't manage to catch them at it.

 

 

At the Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone, we took the long and steep Uncle Tom's Trail, which included 328 of these steps.

 

 

Here was the warning sign. We took the advice and rested often on the way up. Wasn' too bad.

 

 

The view of the Lower Falls, which are 308 feet deep, made it well worthwhile.

 

 

Because of a lot of recent rain and snow, the river was really raging.

 

 

Continuing along the South Rim Drive we began to realise why they called the park Yellowstone.

 

 

 The view from Artist Point.

 

 

There is never any shortage of kind Americans offering to take your photo at special places.

 

After that we took the North Rim Drive and took the trail to the brink of the Upper Falls. Very dramatic looking down.

 

 

Looking over the Lower falls.

 

An iconic photo of the Canyon from Grand View lookout.

 

 

We got a shock when looked over to the south rim and saw the stairs of Uncle Tom's Trail we had climbed.

 

 

Unusual geological formations near Tower Roosevelt.

 

 

 

Then, just to make the first day at the park extra special, we saw a black bear.

 

 

That night we stayed in the wild west town of Gardiner, in Montana, just outside the northern gate of Yellowstone.

 

 

An elk at Gardiner.