Up again with the sparrows and back again on the road into Yellowstone National Park.
The morning was very cloudy and we even had a spot of rain and although the sunrise was not as spectacular as yesterday, it was still very beautiful.
Lots of photo stops along the way, Elk spotting, following beautiful rivers and a brief stop at Tower Falls.
The scenery was stunning driving through the mountain passes and very different from the landscapes of yesterday.
And then we began the drive into the Lamar Valley. It was amazing and we saw Bison everywhere, in the fields, crossing the road, it felt just like a safari. A few got a little too close, and it was difficult to move to the safe 23m viewing distance. We believe they can become quite aggressive, or so the footage from the visitors’ centre shows…
Time to turn around and drive towards Mammoth Hot Springs.
A small stop along the way at the Petrified Tree, which as per a google definition is as follows: Petrified wood is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having completely transitioned to stone by the process of permineralization.
Now you just need to google the definition of terrestrial vegetation and permineralization…
Next, onto Mammoth Hot Springs. A stop at the visitor’s centre, a sandwich eaten under the shady trees outside the General Store and then a lovely steep walk up the boardwalk, to view the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces.
A walk back to the car with Elk resting right in front of the houses.
By leaving early we had managed to miss most of the crowds and in some spots had them completely to ourselves. Now that we were edging close to midday and the crowds were building, it was time to look at returning to West Yellowstone and the RV Park.
Pete has been fabulous driving us around for the last two day and we certainly have covered some distance and seen lots of amazing sights. Another wonderful USA National Park.
On returning to the RV park Noah and I went for another lovely bike ride and we also managed another load of washing…
Out for dinner at a casual Chinese/American Restaurant (Park One Restaurant).
On our return walk back to camp, we saw unattended fires in fire rings (in the middle of summer, with the wind blowing, in dry surrounds, with bushfires burning out of control throughout the country. I could go on) outside one of the hotels. They may be bear aware but they are certainly not fire aware…
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