Date: 24 May 2001 (Wednesday)

Start: Absaroka Bay RV Park, Cody WY

End: Fishing Bridge RV Park, Yellowstone National Park, WY (80 miles)

We got up to a beautiful day – high 50’s and not much wind.

Breakfast in the trailer and away to Yellowstone.

The trip to our campground had great scenery, nine miles of slow going in a construction zone, a summit of 8,530’ just inside the park boundary, some hissing/steaming/venting smelly things that remind you that the inside of the earth is close to the surface here, and a beautiful scene of Yelllowstone Lake and mountains.

The campground here is quite adequate with full utilities, but the sites are rather close to each other. Just down the road is the "general store" with about everything you could possibly need. We had lunch in the snack bar there after investigating the groceries available.

The store sells its own little oval signs such as we see on the East Coast (OBX = Outer Banks, etc.) with their chosen acronym (YNP = Yellowstone National Park).

The roads in YNP form a figure eight with stubs off both loops of the "eight" to the park entry gates. We came into the east side of the lower loop from the east. Jackson, Wyoming, is reached by going south off the lower loop. Gardiner, Montana, is reached by going north off the upper loop, etc.

We did some of the lower loop in the afternoon today. We went up the east side of the lower loop, where all the side roads are that allow you to view the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (River)". It is very impressive. The upper falls of the Yellowstone drop 109 feet, but the lower falls drop 308 feet (taller than Niagara Falls).

As we made our way up the east side of the loop, we started seeing wildlife. First, some bison, then more bison, then a bunch of bison. Then we encountered a "bear-jam" – the gathering of cars along the road with all the people looking in the direction of a bear. Sure enough, when I asked someone with a spotting scope (I couldn’t see it), he showed me the grizzly bear in a stand of trees. As we watched, the bear started roaming around and eventually went from that stand to the next across a patch of grass – then you could really see it. It was a beautiful brown and moved so fluidly for its bulk across the land.

There was a thermal activity zone next, so we stopped there and did the half-mile hike around it. There were bubbling caldrons and hissing vents, and all sorts of steaming pools that remind you that you are actually in the caldera of a massive volcano.

We continued and took all the little side trips and hikes to the canyon for more photos.

After we made the turn into the road west across the middle of the "eight" we saw a herd of elk crossing the road and galloping up into the trees on the other side. Then we spotted a lone deer.

The trees on the east side of the lower loop of the "eight" are normal spruce and white pine. Going across the center, we came into the area of the big forest fire of several years ago. In most areas there, all the big trees are dead and fallen, but the new growth pines and aspen are coming up and reforesting beautifully. I didn’t mind seeing the burnt area, because you can see the mountains and horizon better.

We started down the west side of the lower loop of the "eight", just to finish the loop and preview what we’ll look at later – we quit taking side roads and hikes and just went down the road.

Two elk dining at the edge of the road stopped everyone in turn as each driver decided whether these things were going to go across the road right in front of him or later. They forced their crossing two cars behind me. They’re big!

Later, we spotted an antelope grazing in a little field off the road.

Other wildlife we saw at various times were squirrels, chipmunks, trumpeter swans, and common ravens.

We finished the loop, and stopped into the store to get a book or two to read up on what we’ll see in later trips.

Dinner in the "little house in the national park", with an Australian Chardonnay, then a hike around the campground. Then back to read and to bed.