Trip to Yellowstone

In June, BB and I went on a fabulous trip to Yellowstone National Park in WY. Nana and Daddy Bill planned our whole adventure & we had a fantastic time! (It was a great opportunity to use my new fancy camera. I got some pretty good shots, but I still have lots more learning and practice to go.) We saw tons of wildlife, breathtaking views, and amazing geothermal sites. We were lucky enough to see a grizzly bear rather close up (from the safety of our car, of course!). This was the highlight of BB's trip -- she really wanted to see a grizzly. At first she was worried that she would miss seeing buffalo, but as Nana explained, she could hardly avoid the buffalo. It is true; they were everywhere! It was wonderful to see the big herds in the valleys, the way they must have looked before the west was settled.



I was very keen to see white pelicans, but we didn't see any until the last day as we were leaving. The picture above on the blog banner is one I got quite close to -- it was feeding in the shallows where the Yellowstone River feeds into Yellowstone Lake. We also saw many elk, Canadian geese, ground squirrels, and even a bull snake!






We saw the grizzly bear at dusk in the Hayen valley where it had come out of the woods. The picture is a bit dark and grainy due to the time of day and the fact that I had it on full zoom. I felt so lucky to get a picture!


I loved the beautiful landscapes: mountains, rivers, waterfalls --
The picture below was taken overlooking the lower falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone:

Tower Falls:


View from area near Mammoth Hot Springs:


We visited some of the crazy thermal water basins! This is overlooking the fountain geyser in the middle basin :


Of course we saw Old Faithful:

My very favorite thing was the hot spring pools. I have never seen anything like them! This is Emerald Pool:


The water is a little greener than it looks in the picture. My best picture is of Prismatic Pool:

The red on the outskirts is from bacteria that live in hot water! I missed seeing Morning Glory Pool, which is the most famous, but I have pictures from a portfolio dating from the 1930s, courtesy of my Mom. The top is Morning Glory Pool and the one beneath is Emerald Pool:


I generally don't favor long posts, but have indulged in one here. If you got this far, thank you for looking at my photos! It was such a wonderful trip!