Sportsman's High West Yellowstone

Yellowstone rocks! So was cooles haben wir noch selten gesehen...Wir haben heute erst einen kleinen Teil des Parkes besucht und sind bereits riesige Fans. Unglaublich, was die Natur hier zeigt. Man koennte stundenlang einfach dastehen und zusehen...und es gibt wahnsinnig viel zu sehen!

Leider ist seit gestern in Montana der Winter eingezogen, weshalb wir heute morgen zuerst unser Auto freischaufeln mussten...Krass, von ueber 30 Grad in Hawaii zu 0 Grad in ...

I did stay another night, not that it could possibly let me see a park this immense, but I decided to go north to Mammoth Hot Springs. Now it could have been a relatively short ride, however the road through Norris is under construction so guess what? I need to drive back around the Loop Rd and remember we're driving 25, 35 or 45 mph depending on the area and the animal population. Temps stayed in the 60s riding at elevation ...

Old Faithful didn't disappoint.

Saw a beautiful bison at sunset.

Good riding but the traffic made it more exhausting than necessary. Apparently Yellowstone National Park gets 30,000+ visitors PER DAY!

More to come later... just wanted to post pics now while i have high-speed connection.

... and full of himself, CO yelled back to me to make him some cookies as we got near to the East Entrance to the park. I wonder how many other RV drivers have offered warm chocolate cookies to the ranger at the entrance to the park…We were a bit unnerved to see that it was recommended that we carry chains, but the ranger told us not to worry - as he chomped the cookie in two!

As we made our way through the park – ...

... in the morning, you can be the only car around. It served us well this morning. Having had lots of bison to watch, we were ready for something new. Then down out of the woods to our right it came - a grey wolf - a really big, REALLY BIG gray wolf. To the nay sayers, no, it was not a coyote - unless the coyote had been down to BALCO and its trainer had rubbed lots of the clear and lots of the cream on it (basefall fans will understand - to everyone ...

... bison, elk and others. But no moose just yet, they were still enjoying the unseasonal warmth and sunshine elsewhere in the park. So, while we really enjoyed stopping to see Mammoth Hot Springs (where impressive tiered terraces have formed from the constant bubbling up of mineral-rich water, although much of it is now dried out) and the Norris Geyser Basin (more bubbling hot-spots and steam-spouting geysers that seemed tantalisingly close to ...

... see alot more this way than with the tour bus. there is also an overwhellming bookstore in town for a guy like me that loves books.We drive kind of slow though 35 or so to be on the look out. We back up traffic alot so we pull over frequently to let everyone pass but it is very rewarding. Our first day animal count: -Elk (cow) -Osprey -Bald Eagle -coyote -Canadian Geese -losts of western wildflowers and trees We headed ...

... without all the tourist that are normally here in the summer, the only time we have come. It felt so strange I couldn't shop...spend money...well I got over it and did manage to spend a little. Once in our room it started to lightly snow and within 15 minutes the flakes grew larger and larger....during our travels we had managed to miss winter but it finally caught up to us. I only hope we don't have to shovel out the truck tomorrow!

On our last day we hiked along the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to the Lower and Upper Falls. The week has gone by very fast, giving us spectacular hikes, interesting conversation, and a lifelong appreciation of Yellowstone. I highly recommend Yellowstone Institute programs for a fascinating in depth experience of the park.

... her for doing this to me on the phone during my vacation which is ruining it for me and for the guys. I listened to them and I'm really going to try to forget about it and try to have a great time and to worry about it when I get home and when she's home and I can talk to her face to face. I want to call her but I'm afraid of getting hurt and not solving anything. I need to see her but I also need to enjoy my last twelve days of the greatest experience of my life. So, I'm ...