Ridiculous Road Trip #1, Part 25 - Yellowstone, bison, bear, elk, marmot

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July 19
We woke up for our first full day in Yellowstone a little later than we planned, so we missed dawn and the early wildlife viewing we hoped for. As we drove out toward our first hike, we pulled over at a lookout to find out what folks with the spotting scopes were seeing down in the valley. We got to see some dark colored grey wolves and some grey colored grey wolves. You can just make out a wolf in this photo.

Then we headed to the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" and hiked along the lower canyon starting at Artist Point.

After the hike, on the way by to camp, we ran into some more bison.

And we also saw some elk.

We also stopped off at the Fishing Bridge, where fishing is oddly not allowed.

June 20

We did manage to get up at dawn on our second day, and within a few miles on the road, we stopped to greet some friends. 

 

We saw a couple of black bears.

We also saw a couple of marmots.

Then we hiked the boardwalks around and over Mammoth Springs.

We were also hoping to take an evening hike to Lake Shoshone, since we still hadn't seen any moose yet in the park. Just as we got to the trail head, rain slowly started to fall. We decided to hike in anyway, since we were prepared with rain jackets. As we hiked in, we saw this sign.

We decided to hike in anyway, armed with our bear spray, bear bell, and super awareness turned on.

And the wind started to blow. Then some trees fell nearby. So after about a mile, we turned back, since the trail seemed intent on freaking us out. Or killing us.  :)

Up next, Part 26