Hello from West Yellowstone, Montana! Our trip from Salt Lake City on Sunday, was uneventful (the way we like it). We arrived to find sporadic snow on the ground, but basically the area is clear. The pics below show our travels from SLC to West Yellowstone. Our drive took us from I - 80 to I - 15. We turned east onto US 20 at Idaho Falls and took that all the way to West Yellowstone.
Hello Idaho
Idaho is so much greener than Moab
Roger having a quick bite along the way.
Yellowstone in the distance.
Not quite through with Winter.
Our home for 2 1/2 weeks
Grizzly RV Resort
Our purpose in visiting Yellowstone in May is primarily for the animal viewing in the park without the crowds of people that we saw last August. On that last August visit, the only animals that we saw were the ever present bison. Thursday was a red letter day for animal viewing.
Our first trip into the park took us to Old Faithful. We drove up in time to see a little bit of the famous geyser.
West Yellowstone Entrance
Yellowstone is huge and has five entrances.
You can see snow that is everywhere in the park.
Though this entrance is located in Montana, the majority of the park is in Wyoming.
Not all of the park is open due to snow.
Elk are everywhere at this time of the year. Last August they had gone to higher country.
Two elk enjoying the meadow.
Our first bison of the visit.
Old Faithful
On Thursday, we ventured into the park early in the morning. The bison were definitely out scrounging for food.
This large male rolls in the dirt to impress the ladies.
What a thrill when we happened on a large grizzly (there is a definite hump behind his neck) along the way to visit Tower Roosevelt via Mammoth Hot Springs. The Park would like for tourists to stay at least 350 feet away from the bear. Apparently there are tourists killed by bear and other animals in the park every year.
As if one bear was not enough, we were amazed to find two black bear further down the road. They were playing with each other when we first arrived and then started chasing each other.
They ran around the bush
Elk in the meadow
Bison brought traffic to a halt
The Madison River
Along the road we saw several lakes with lots of snow nearby. Then we encountered another surprise, swans with their babies at one of the lakes. The pictures may need to be blown up to get a better view of the swans.
South Twin Lake with ice on top.
Swans with their babies fishing for food
The white blobs are swans fishing
A swan taking a break from fishing
Bison stopping traffic again
Couldn't resist one more picture of the grizzly.
Friday was a bike ride near one of our favorite lakes called Lake Hebgen. This beautiful lake abuts the Gallatin National Forest. Beautiful pine trees, part of the lake frozen and the mountain range made it a wonderful ride on the mountain bikes. The pictures below show a great afternoon.
Hebgen Lake with snow covered mountains in the background.
Ice covered the lake on the east end.
Getting ready for the ride.
Thank you for checking in with us. We will be at West Yellowstone for another 2 weeks, exploring this magical place.
Happy Mothers' Day to all moms! I expecially want to wish my mother a very happy day! I am so proud of her! At the age of 88 she drove to the Apple Store, purchased a MacBook Pro and is taking lessons weekly. Congratulations Mom!
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