Then we saw
this crazy, wild animal in our side mirror. :-)
As always,
the views as we drove around the park was beautiful – this is Mount Holmes
(10,336 ft) in the distance.
We walked a
couple trails at Norris Geyser Basin – this is the most active earthquake area
of the park with one of the most acidic hydrothermal areas in area. Steamboat
Geyser is here, and is the tallest active geyser in the world, however it is
unpredictable.
There was
definite evidence (as there is throughout the park) of the 1988 fires…….
Mudpots, of
course
We continued
our drive to the Mammoth Hot Spring area, passing yet another waterfall.
Elk are (were) quite common in this area. We say “were” as since the wolf has been reintroduced, the population of elk has diminished to more reasonable numbers. We were here in 1998 and saw tons of elk all over this area, this time, we saw two elk, but dozens of signs ! :-)
Limestone is
the dominant underlying rock and the hot springs here deposit travertine, which
is pretty cool! Whereas we’ve seen lots of blues, greens, and terra cottas so
far, this area was quite white, which some additional colors – really quite
beautiful.
Mammoth Hot
Springs is like a little village – here’s a view – quite cute!
We also saw a
magpie………..
And one last
really cool formation before starting our trek back to West Yellowstone.
But of
course, we came upon a traffic jam – was it another bald eagle? Hmmm….no – it was a grizzly swimming! Not a bad photo given that he was about a
mile away……
We continued
along, enjoying more scenery
Until we ran
into another animal jam……
This one
revolved around elk – some females, calves and a bull elk who was looking for
some love! As there was nowhere to pull off the road, Suzanne took these photos
while hanging out the window and taking the photos over the roof of the truck –
not too bad photos considering! :-)
Easy and affordable - no matter where you are!
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