Thrills All Over Again

It was a little late - 9:30 AM - by the time we got started on our first re-visit to Yellowstone yesterday since 2010. We were pretty tired from our disappointing trip to Idaho Falls the day before. The trip did not disappoint this time.

It is unique this time from the standpoint that we must travel through the Grand Tetons each time we visit Yellowstone. That practically doubles our pleasure! It was difficult to stay concentrated on our main travel objective and not all of the neat things we saw traveling through the Tetons. The clouds were still clearing in the morning, but we got some good shots while traveling through:

We spotted a small group of Antelope on the side of the road but couldn't stop to get a picture. Just before we arrived at the entry to Yellowstone, we pulled over to the side of the road to see what a large gathering of people with parked autos were viewing. This is standard procedure within Yellowstone, but this was the first experience in the Tetons. It turns out that there was a Grizzly Bear and her cub, off in the distance, that we could barely see:

The bear can be seen (brown spot) just left of center next to the dead tree. Of course, it was only a speck, but who wants to get close?

One thing we noticed immediately after passing through the entry to Yellowstone was how much snow there was still on the ground and we wanted to see how it looked in a large area. We pulled over at one of the canyons - Lewis Canyon - and it was part of the 1988 fire that destroyed much of this area of Yellowstone. The winds reached 80 MPH through this canyon to fan the flames and cause it to spread rapidly:

The fire of 1988 destroyed almost all of the trees that lined this canyon. Aside from that, the amount of snow was a surprise to us for June 1.

We didn't go much further before we spotted another bear - black one, this time - that was again barely visible through the vegitation:

This one can be seen just right of center in the picture. Maybe next time our bear pictures will be more legible - we hope.

As soon as we left the first Visitor Center where we renewed our Yellowstone Association Membership for 2012, we spotted our first Bison, and they were seen in most areas that we traveled during the day, from the very first one, with most of his winter hair still hanging:

until we just about finished our day and saw these Bison in large groups that were staying where it was warm near the thermals:

and resting on the warm ground:

Our day was just as rewarding as all the other trips we've ever made here. We stopped for lunch in one of the picnic areas and had our sandwiches that we brought, and left the Park at around 3:30 PM. The trip back through the Tetons was none the less spectacular as can be seen from these shots taken on the way home:

The day was wonderful and we expect to fill many days off with other exciting trips to these National Parks. The days of corporate life for us are, hopefully, over forever. With all of the crisis in the world today, we are happy to have the option to find a place to park our home where it makes us happy. We can handle this...