Vacation part 3: Yellowstone!

We rolled into Yellowstone National Park Monday morning (we hadn't planned on getting there until Monday night) and spent the day in the Old Faithful area taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. Spent the night in West Yellowstone, Montana, just outside the west gates of the park.
Tuesday we had a "Yellowstone in a day" tour in one of those old buses. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and our tour group was small--only 12--so it was a very pleasurable day. We saw all the major sights and Rick didn't have to worry about dodging wildlife with me reading about the sights. It was an all-day tour and we loved it!

Firehole River

By Wednesday afternoon, a storm system that was expected to stay for a few days (and produce snow overnight) set in. Our reservations were up in our hotel, and we were sad to leave, but we headed south to head to the Grand Tetons. More on that later.

Mammoth Hot Springs

We loved Yellowstone and wished we could have stayed longer. We didn't see any bears or moose, but we saw tons of bison and elk and even an otter eating a fish. Before I began researching this trip, I was unaware of all of the thermal features in such a concentrated area--they were really interesting! And we both love the outdoors and the beauty of untouched nature. We'll be back some day, but hopefully with more time and a longer span without rain.

Lower Falls

Bison in Hayden Valley

Early morning drive

Elk

Thermal pool

Old Faithful

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