I took the opportunity to take a side trip to Yellowstone while I was visiting my sister at Fort Collins, CO.
I rode Greyhound to Salt Lake City, UT, and rented a car to drive to Yellowstone. I was quite happy that it's
a scenic drive. I passed through Idaho Falls, some National Forest Reserves and a lot of corn fields.
Yellowstone really has its own character, I mean its own weather system. It was sunny all along, and as soon as
I drove into the Park, made a few turns, and it suddenly became dark and cloudy, as if it was going to dump
rain on you. I managed to make a few interesting stops to take some pictures. It's exciting for me after driving
5 hours straight by myself.
Lone Elk
You can flyfish in Yellowstone
My first Geyser
Steamboat Geyser
It's hot. No kidding!
My signature shadow in action
My plan was to see as many wildlifes in this trip, so I woke up 4am in the next morning and drive along the Hayden Valley,
between Canyon and Lake Yellowstone. Bisons and Elks are everywhere, while I was lucky to see a coyote after another
tourist group told me to stop. I also stopped at a viewing pullout where a big crowd was already there spotting a Grizzle
Bear. The bear was about 2 miles away wandering around the tree line. I managed to have a peek using someone's telescope.
My zoom lens was just not good enough to get to the bear.
Just a waterfall
Hi honey, ...
Get some sleep, son !
Hayden Valley
Smoke's coming
As close as I can get !
Smile, buddy Bison
I moved on to visit the Lake Yellowstone, it was still misty when I got there at around 8am. The water was very quiet
and calm. There was a hotel at the Lake, and on that day a couple was having their wedding there. I kept on driving to
the Old Faithful, the world famous Geyser, which can erupt above 150 feet. Timing was not good for me, I arrived after
it just erupted 10 minutes before. I just took a few pictures and decided to go on. Wow, there were much more differnt
types of Geysers along the way to Madison.
Hotel Lake Yellowstone, it's a 5-star hotel
Lone Tree
Geyser, West Thumb area
Man, it's deep
Is that a canoe ?
Nothing survives here
Interesting Geyser Hole
Before
During
Old Faithful Inn
Hello, anyone there ?
Cost of chasing wildlife
All burned after the 1988 fire
My friend, Chai, told me once that there is a stream about 4 miles south of Madison, that you can jump it and swim a while.
Bingo! I found it and there were already quite a crowd there. It was good to dip in.
I kept on moving to Mammoth Hot Springs, there were the most beautiful terrace of Geysers/Hotsprings. Another scenic drive
brought me to the Lumar Valley, where most tourists wish to spot the wolves. No Luck and no wolves, but I saw a brown
bear at a close-up, and a coyote feeding on a dead Elk.
Terrace at Mammoth
This thing is still growing
Fort Yellowstone
1988 Fire Swept through here
Brown Bear
Pelican
Man, I don't want to stay here
Whose turn is it ?
I did the Grand Loop one more time the next day, trying to catch whatever I missed. I managed to get a good seat at the Old
Faithful waiting for about 45 mins, and Kaboom !! It did blow !! It was quite a moment to see it erupt.
Grand Geyser
Morning Glory
I ended my Yellowstone trip by driving south to Grand Teton. I know I will be back again sometime,
hopefully it'll be winter trip.
Morning Glory is the Deepest Geyser in Yellowstone.
They even have a warning sign saying no diving ! Who wants to dive into a Geyser anyways?
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