Day Two in Yellowstone - staying three days

Good Morning,
There is so much to do and see in _______Yellowstone (this seems to be our mantra). We have decided to stay another two days. Visitors recommend 4-6 days or longer to see just the best sites.

We started the day off by driving along Yellowstone Lake. It is just beautiful and the water is a deep blue; nearly turquoise. This is more of what I expected from Yellowstone. We saw a couple of mule deer along the side of the road this morning, along with a doe and fawn later in the morning. They stand along the roadside, with no fear of people or cars. One could even say there is an regal arrogance associated with their behavior.

We then walked up a steep trail to see large pools of bubbling mud and rolling steam. We overhead a ranger telling stories of animals falling into the boiling pools and quickly being boiled to bones. Not what you want to hear right after breakfast. We then continued on the park road, only to be in the middle of a traffic jam. Ken stopped, rolled down the windows and said, “I wonder if this jam is because there are some wild animals along the roadside up ahead?” I had a couple of business calls to make and since reception is poor here…I was on the phone talking business when a Bison bull strolled right by the car, calmly walking down the road on the other side...cars following closely behind with delighted children and adults snapping photographs. Ken snapped a couple of shots (you will see them posted). Little did we know that we would soon be approaching entire herds, laying near and crossing the road. These are truly majestic animals – with absolutely no fear of ... well, anything (despite their seemingly easy-going nature, we are discouraged from stepping outside our cars for photographs).

Update: As we drove down the road further, you will see by the photos, there were huge herds of bison, walking down and alongside the road. The park rangers were out hitting their lights and sirens, trying to move them off the road. They were taking little concern and as cameras were snapping from every vehicle, we hear the ranger’s loud speaker, “Sir, move your car…if you leave a gap, the herd will fill it crossing the road…sir, that means you…please move your vehicle!” Oops, that “sir” was us! I was excitedly snapping photos of bison families who were stopped next to and blocking our CRV. In Yellowstone, we are the “caged” animals, while the wild roam free. Just how cool is this?! I have seen such photos before and certainly it is not the same as being right next to these massive, yet seemingly gentle creatures.

Photos to come later. We have absolutely no reception in Yellowstone, unless we are high on a mountain. Ken drove to the top of Mt. Washburn in order to get reception to drop in these posts. Photos are spectacular. There is no way to take a bad photo at this place.

Join us in a couple of days for the photos and follow up posts for Yellowstone. Later...we are now headed down the mountain. Carol and Ken