We fell in love with Yellowstone several years ago, and could hardly wait to return to the park for a few days, taking in as much of Hayden and Lamar valleys as possible. Considering the stellar experience we’d had the first time we visited, would it leave us with memories every bit as grand?
It’s hard to know what to say about this glorious park, so, along with some scene-setting, we’ll let photos and video snippets do much of the talking. Nature’s glory simply cannot be improved upon.
Simon had been monitoring the park’s West Yellowstone entry for a few days, and it became apparent the now-infamous hours-long wait times to get into the park eased up just after noon, so we aimed for entry around 1pm and had two cars in front of us, for a total wait time of 5 minutes.
When planning the trip, we’d been excited to get one of the last two sites available in the Fishing Bridge full-hookup campground inside the park, having snagged it shortly after midnight, moments after bookings for our dates opened. That’s just how quickly these spots fill up.
As well as we knew the park from our previous stay, we hadn’t factored in the length of the drive to the campground once we arrived. Two hours after the entry point, we finally reached Fishing Bridge. We quickly hooked up, then headed out to explore as dark storm clouds began to gather.
Like much of Montana and Wyoming, you can see those storm clouds coming from a vast distance away, so we knew we’d have a bit of rain, then sunshine again. With that in mind, we headed south to Yellowstone Lake for our picnic lunch in the car, waiting it out until the storm passed.
Backtracking north again took us to Hayden Valley, stomping grounds for bison and elk. Unlike our first visit, which started with herds of bison shortly after we entered the park, this was our first major sighting, beyond a few stragglers here and there.
Even more thrilling, a herd of elk were munching the stubbly grass and relaxing in the valley. Some were close, but the majority were much further away, which gave us the chance to try using our cell phone camera with our spotting scope.
Simon has a deep love for the most precarious places he can find, while Susan has had a life-long terror of high places with big drop-offs, so naturally our next stop was Upper Falls, where the Yellowstone River tumbles 109 feet into the canyon below.
Upper Falls isn’t the highest waterfall in Yellowstone, but don’t worry. We’d stand at the crest of the 308-foot-high Lower Falls soon.
We ended the first day with more bison and a spectacular double rainbow framing a small band of elk, while the mountains behind them positively glowed with the setting sun.
The next morning we set out early so as to spend as much time in Lamar Valley as we could. This, for us, is the absolute premier part of the park, even though it’s harder to get to than pretty much anywhere else. From Fishing Bridge, it was about an hour north, then east at Tower Junction.
What we hadn’t factored in –though we should have, since we’d been referring to our trusty Mountain Directory West, which points out all the routes we want to avoid – was the Dunraven Pass. For Simon, it was scenic (if a bit challenging) driving. For Susan, it was a deep dive into the most hellish emotional terror imaginable, and it did result in a great deal of ugly crying by the time we reached the valley again. Sharp turns with no guardrails, and a massive, massive drop right over the edge of the mountain were Susan’s view, and it did her in completely.
Still, Lamar Valley lay on the other side of the pass, and after a lot of comforting words, we got back on track and vowed to return to camp via the better road that went through Mammoth, even though the trip was somewhat longer.
Here’s where we’ll leave Yellowstone to do most of the talking. The one photo we don’t have is of a wolf feasting on a bison carcass, which we were able to see through a park ranger’s scope. By the time we got our scope out, the wolf had its fill and had moved on.
We didn’t have bears on our Bingo card, since they tend to be in the upper hills this time of year (especially the grizzlies), but the day was so lovely and the scent of wildflowers was so sweet, this black bear couldn’t resist having lunch not far off the road. Obviously, smart people keep a distance from things that can eat them, so we didn’t get too close.
Happily, this bear was so unexpected that there wasn’t a “bear jam.” We had him/her/them nearly to ourselves.
The park’s smallest waterfall, Crystal Falls, was difficult to photograph, but the bridge that led to it was nearly as impressive.
As we left Mammoth Hot Springs behind, we came across a little side road that looked really interesting. In a landscape of pine trees, it featured giant rocks that looked like they’d fallen into place from a great height. We quickly veered off, and discovered “little” was the correct term for that road, both in its width and in its length. Within 45 seconds we were back on the main loop road. Still, it was an interesting diversion that made us ask questions.
Well beyond Mammoth, which is where the travertine formations are found, we came upon another formation with loud, steaming vents, and Ruthie insisted on having her photo taken.
Lower Falls was next, and we could hear the water thundering down even before we reached it. A picture is worth a thousand words…
…but a video is worth a million.
Yellowstone is in the business of delighting its visitors, and as we came out of the Lower Falls area heading to the main loop we had this beautiful creature all to ourselves.
Hayden Valley was our goal for the evening, since it was close to the campground and the hour or two before the sun sets are excellent times for viewing the animals who bed down in the area for the night, and the predators who hunt them.
We watched the sun set from a turnout in the valley where people gather every evening to do the same thing, while also spotting wildlife. This is bonding time with fellow adventurers, and we spent a happy hour or so chatting about travel, and about the animals each of us had seen so far. With happiness for their good fortune, plus a growing twinge of jealousy, we made appreciative noises as several people told us they’d seen a grizzly bear with two cubs that morning, a rare, rare treat indeed during the heat of summer.
Our day ended on a high note, and we were content with that, but we had one more full day to enjoy the park, and one more surprise in store.
