Fourth day at Yellowstone NP

We moved towards Lamar Valley after enjoying the short trails around North & South Rim of Yellowstone Canyon. Yellowstone river cuts across the canyon. We came across large varieties of wild life. Huge herds of bison came and blocked road near Hayden Valley. Ducks and Swans in  Madison River were eye catching. We could catch glimpse of a Grizzly family with cubs at a distance. As the cover of darkness spread its veil, animals tend to come closer. Mule deer group was grazing by the roadside almost oblivious of passing cars.

It was dark while we were on our way coming back to hotel. I was driving at 45 miles per hour. A fawn sprang from nowhere and almost flew across the street. I slammed the brakes scaring the kids in the back seat. Deer missed our car by a whisker. Wild animals die in the park after being hit by oncoming cars. Other day we saw the ranger removing the carcass of a dead deer from the middle of the road. Kids were extremely sad to see it.  Fortunately we could avoid the situation.

Today we will plan to visit Grand Teton National Park.

Need to be lucky to see a grizzly?

Once wild life is sighted, park visitors slow down or stop their cars by the side of the road - at times in illegal ways. Observing the commotion among the visitors gives the first inkling about the presence wild life. Buffaloes and deer come very close. So slowing down or stopping is necessary based on circumstances.






Yesterday after crossing Hayden Valley, we came cross such a commotion with cars and people all over the place. Families were scampering towards a roadside hill top. Others peering through their binoculars or setting up tripods. Upon asking we found that a grizzly bear mother along with two cubs were sighted at a distant hill top. We jumped out of the car rushed with our binoculars. The bear family was outside the range of our camera. Zoom lens of the video camera picked up something - not very perceptible. Binoculars came very handy. Quite clearly we could see the mother with two cubs. They were looking for something in the grass. After a few minutes the mother decided to move on, looking back and making sure that cubs were following her.Kids were absolutely elated to see these two fur balls. Now they wish to see such a family up close.

We spent rest of the day going around Old Faithful loop. Many geysers, mud pots, fumaroles are there.  One such is named North Google Geyser - not sure if it was paid by search engine giant. I wish there is a geyser named Yahoo Geyser as well (lol).

Vista points for Yellowstone river, upper and lower falls were easily accessible from the parking lot. While coming back, the road construction work at Norris delayed us by more than an hour.

Bison, bison and more bisons.....

We didn't see any of them till the road to Old Faithful. We traveled towards Yellowstone lake hoping to catch a glimpse of them. There is no shortage of them in the park. But they are more abundant away from west entrance.

They came in herds. They blocked the road. Park rangers had to come in to get the traffic moving. They can be quite aggressive when calves are around.

Our elder daughter, Lily, could take a snap of two calves frolicking around.












The weather goddess behaved nicely. There were rain showers and hail storms but in very isolated spots. That didn't persist for long. We completed Grand Loop around the park. The journey back from Norris was delayed because of construction work and one-way road. Today the weather is expected to be bright and sunny. Our plan is to visit Mud Volcano, Canyon of Yellowstone and move towards Lamar Valley.

Old Faithful & wild life in Yellowstone

All observation benches around Old Faithful were occupied almost an hour before the eruption. It was a blessing in disguise. We sat on the floor in front of observation benches. Kids got unhindered view. The eruption last for 3+ minutes. As Old Faithful went into quiet mode, Lion Geyser (which was visible from Old Faithful's observation area) started spewing water & steam. We were at a distance to hear the rumbling noise of  the geyser as it erupted. The name "lion" comes from the rumbling noise. But it is not as predictable as Old Faithful. Yesterday "Lion" was in "feast" mode erupting frequently. We had the desire to walk along the path way leading close to Lion Geyser. Dark rainy clouds and few lightning streaks spanning across the sky encouraged us not to be adventurous.

So far we haven't come across much of wild life in Yellowstone except chipmunk and deer on our way out of the park. Tomorrow our target is to visit Lamar Valley where bison is a common sight.

First day at Yellowstone NP

The morning in Yellowstone was partly cloudy. The park doesn't have any shortage of geysers, fumaroles and mud pots. We have been to Lassen Volcanic Park before. But Lassen is no match to Yellowstone - after all it is a mega-volcano. We stopped to see Firehole Fall, Fountain Paint Pot and many other geysers. Some of them required short hike. Finally We could make our way to the most visited spot in the park - Old Faithful. The eruption started @1:41 P.M. By that time dark clouds started moving in.

After the eruption, one of park rangers explained the reason behind so much geothermal activity in the park. As thunder started rumbling we decided to call it a day.

The forecast suggests that thunderstorm is likely tomorrow as well. We may visit Grand Teton tomorrow to avoid  encountering thunderstorm.

Journey to Yellowstone National Park - West Yellowstone, Montana

Yesterday morning we started from Twin Falls, Idaho.Kids lend us a helping hand in getting things packed. All through out the trip they were extremely cooperative and amicable.

Our first stop was at vista point overlooking canyon formed by Snake River. Here are some pictures of river and canyon as observed from vista point.

We reached our hotel in West Yellowstone, Montana little after 4 P.M. covering more than 350 miles from where we started. The road leading to West Yellowstone looked really beautiful under afternoon sun.

Two bad news greeted us. The first one is the possibility of thunderstorm in coming days. The second is was more disturbing. Couple of convicts have taken refuge in Montana's part of Yellowstone (Convicts in Yellowstone). Yellowstone Park has not been closed down till now since this is the peak season when visitors from across the country come here.

We keep our fingers crossed.

Journey to Yellowstone National Park - first stop Twin Falls, Idaho

We started our road trip from Fremont, California to Yellowstone yesterday morning. Everything went as per plan so far. We had very limited number of stops to stretch our body and get our lunch. Kids were exceptionally cooperative in the back seat. The movie "Dumbo" (the flying elephant) kept them entertained for a while. The barren views on both sides of US-93 would make even a sane mind go crazy. The positive side was - large stretches of I-80 and US-93 have 75 miles as speed limit (and not 65 or 70 as in California). Last night we stopped in Twin Falls, Idaho after covering 692 miles (as per Google maps). It took us 14 hours. That includes all stops, refueling breaks and losing an hour because of time zone change.

The hotel in Twin Falls is a luxury one - newly-built, exceptionally well maintained and had lot of amenities including a very big indoor swimming pool. Family went out for a swim after 10:00 P.M. They were full of energy!!!

Today morning after breakfast we start for West Yellowstone in Montana. It will be another 5+ hours journey. Hopefully the views will be more enticing.