A Yellowstone Traffic Jam

I was on the lookout for bears, elk, wolves, antelope, and bison. I saw antelope on the way to the park, usually a bit too distant for a good photograph. If they were close enough, we were going too fast to get the photo. We didn't see any bears or elk. We might have seen a wolf - we couldn't be certain whether it was a wolf or a coyote. The color appeared a bit light to be a wolf, but it didn't seem scruffy enough to be a coyote. But what we did see plenty of was bison. They are just about everywhere except in the canyons. You can see their footprints all around the geysers and hot springs. (All the places where humans are warned to stay on the path.) Clearly they don't fear those warning signs. They are responsible for most of the traffic jams in the park. The speed limit in the park never exceeds 45 mph. Safer for everyone. But when people see bison, either in herds or one or two along the road, they stop. Most of the folks who are stopped are taking photos. Eventually the traffic moves. However, if one or more bison decide to get in the road, everything stops. It stops until they decide to move. If it's an entire herd crossing the road you could be in for a wait. They have the right of way and they don't seem to be afraid of people or cars.

Water in Yellowstone

Lake Yellowstone is the largest lake in the park. Lewis Lake looks small on the map but huge when you're looking at it, plus there are a number of other smaller lakes and ponds. There are also rivers - Yellowstone River, Firehole River, Snake River, and Gibbon River to name a few. And almost all of them have a waterfall or two on them.

If you go to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, you'll see the falls on the Yellowstone River. Again, I know we just scratched the surface of what is there. We had our hiking boots but given the altitude, we were reluctant to hike much of anywhere. What we saw are the things that are easy to get to. I can only imagine that there is so much more.

Yellowstone National Park - Hot Spots

Yellowstone National Park - the nation's first national park. Sometimes it's hard to top the original. It is vast. It is unique. It is stunning. We decided to divide our visit into sections - the thermal features, and then the water features. The thermal features include geysers, fumaroles, hot springs and mud pots. Some are clear blue and appear to be very deep. You can see the water boiling, just like it would at home on your stove. Others appear to be a cauldron of steaming mud. Some smell of sulphur and others have no smell at all. In many places you see mineral deposits that have the appearance of snow at a distance, but as you get closer you realize it isn't snow. We spent four days in the park and I feel that we barely scratched the surface. A good reason to go back!

Old Faithful - the park's most famous geyser

One of many hot springs

Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs

Hot water from the springs making its way to the Firehole River

The Grand Prismatic Hot Spring

Boiling mud

The Dragon's Mouth

The ground appears to be dusted in snow

Jenny Lake

Jenny Lake is beautiful. And the story behind the name is beautiful, as well. It seems that Jenny was a Shoshone woman married to an English trapper named Richard "Beaver Dick" Leigh. (Leigh Lake is named for him.) Jenny and their 6 children died of smallpox in 1876 but her gentle nature had left such an impression on the surveyors that they named the lake in her honor.

Jenny Lake Boating offers a scenic cruise three times a day on Jenny Lake. We booked the tour online for Sunday afternoon. This was the Sunday before Labor Day. We thought we'd better figure out where you were supposed to catch the boat in advance of our 2 pm cruise time. We sort of arrived at the Jenny Lake Visitor Center around 11:30 am. I say "sort of arrived" because you haven't actually arrived until you've parked. We cruised the parking lot and not only was it full and overflowing - people were parked all along the road that ran from the main park road to the parking lot. Even worse, people were parked for about a mile in either direction on the main park road.

While it may have been possible for us to make the 2 pm departure time if we'd parked on the main road and started walking at 11:30, the prospect of that was not appealing. The elevation was nearly 7,000 feet. I have four stents. Mark is seriously anemic. Walking several miles wasn't really a viable option in that altitude.

I called to cancel. I didn't think the prospects would be much better for Labor Day and Yellowstone was on the agenda for Tuesday. I cancelled with the idea that we would take pot luck on whatever day we felt we had time to go back.

We did make it back but the scenic cruise was not to be. It was booked up. All day. But I was determined. I went there with the intention of getting on a boat. The only other option was the round trip shuttle trip. I don't think it was as good as the scenic cruise would have been, but it was better than no boat at all.

As we were heading back to the car, we saw the people heading toward the dock for the 2:00 cruise. Most of them looked like they were in worse physical condition than us. We probably should have waited on the dock. There were a few of them that looked like they might not make it onto the boat. 😉

The Grand Tetons

The Grand Tetons are absolutely stunning. There are the mountains themselves, the Snake River and several lakes. The views are awe-inspiring. And while I could wax lyrical about their beauty and grandeur, I'm going to let the photographs speak for themselves. (And we all know that photographs are never as good as the real thing.) Even though I took dozens of photos, I'm only going to include ten here. And unlike those food bloggers who make you read through 20 paragraphs of nonsense before they share the recipe - those photos are right here! Enjoy.