North Yellowstone

Saturday was our first day in Yellowstone.  Only Chris had never been here, so we decided to divide the part into two parts, traveling one today and one on Sunday.  Don even offered to cook breakfast before we left, which was yummy, but it did put us behind a little.

Our first stop was at Yellowstone Falls.  We had not visited them for many years, and they never cease to amaze us.

Yellowstone Falls

We drove through the Hayden Valley, which is populated with many buffalo.  I can see why - the rolling plains reminded us much of the Flint Hills, where buffalo used to live.  

We ate at Mammoth Hot Springs and then headed down the canyon for home.  

The two most exciting sights happened within about two miles of each other, and both were of animals fording a stream.  It was toward dusk, and watching a large buffalo and then a huge male elk walk across the river was spectacular.  Unfortunately, we could not get a picture of either one, but the vision is imprinted in our brains.

Since Chris had never seen (nor smelled) a geyser, it was fun going with her.  We can't wait until tomorrow when we walk through the paint pots and go to see Old Faithful, Morning Glory Pool, and the other geysers.  The Dragon Mouth geyser, the one that roars, was great - can't wait to show her the others!