Yellowstone

July 15, 2015

I finally got a shot of a wild bison

It seems that everyone in Yellowstone talks about the animals they've seen. Sure enough, we'll be driving on one of the roads through Yellowstone, and there will be a bunch of cars pulled over to see an animal. The prized collection is seeing a bear. We didn't really need to get close to a bear, but at one of the stops there were two cubs and a mother bear supposedly in the woods. We didn't see them, but we did see a moose crossing the road, bison at a picnic ground, lots of deer, and elk. You gotta be fast with the camera to capture one of the shots; I got this one of the bison.

Dolly finds peace inside Yellowstone National Park

Camping inside Yellowstone National Park is something that everyone should do at one point in their life. I can't describe the serenity and feeling of oneness with nature that I felt there. The campground was mostly filled with tents. I am reminded of my days in the '70s when I did a lot of car camping. The parks have changed and updated some since those days. The bathrooms now have running water, and even hot water for showers. Even though we were in the park with our huge land yacht, there was harmony among all the campers. We all had one thing in common - we were in Yellowstone!

The night sky is amazing

Our campsite was truly amazing. We were deep in the forest, and a path from our RV door led right down a path to Yellowstone Lake. The boys appreciated that they could go splashing in the cold mountain lake. Camping at close to 8,000 feet where the air is thin, you feel so close to the heavens. Walking out of Dolly at night, we are greeted by billions of stars. The entire Milky Way lays out before our eyes, and once again, we get perspective about what a small dot our Earth is in the big scheme of things. One thing about being at around 8,000 feet elevation - the air is so thin it doesn't hold heat. If it's 68 degrees and I'm standing in the sunshine, it feels quite warm, but 68 degrees in the shade feels really cold.

We did the obligatory tourist things - we visited Old Faithful, and sure as shootin', she went off right on schedule. We went to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and saw the Upper and Lower Falls. But most of all, the thing we enjoyed the most was sitting in our campsite enjoying the fresh air and the wonders of Wyoming.

Still remnants of the Yellowstone Fire of 1988

We still did see some remnants of the Yellowstone Fires of the summer of 1988. Many of the forests that had been demolished have been reborn, and standing with the burned out trees is a lot of new growth. Although, you still come across some burned out fields that have not regenerated. Mother Earth will heal and everything will return. We look forward to coming back and seeing where Yellowstone goes next.

Tetons forever!

We could have stayed there for days; for weeks. But it was time for us to roll out. We took one last drive, and this one was South and past the amazing Teton Mountain Range. I remember camping out under the Tetons in my tent all those years ago. It was wonderful to spend some time in their presence one more time. After our visit to the Tetons it was time to Head East.

Beware of Buffalo and Bears in Yellowstone!