Yellowstone 2018

Yellowstone National Park is Landis and I’s favorite place to visit. It has everything that we love. Beautiful forests, lakes, waterfalls, tons of wildlife and bonus interesting thermal features to enjoy.

It’s been just over 9 years since we have been to Yellowstone so, a couple of months ago, when my mom suggested a trip I was all for it. We booked a cabin in Mammoth Hot Springs, for October. October is a little out of my travel comfort zone, but we made it safely and ended up having a wonderful time.

This article will be a stub article that will mostly contain Passenger Seat Photography (PSP), and I will link to the individual adventures we do as well.

Quick Links:

Day 1: The Drive In. Not much to this day.
Day 2: Mammoth to Tower, to NE Entrance. Wraith Falls, Trout Lake and Mammoth Hot Springs.
Day 3: Norris to Canyon, to West Thumb, to East Entrance. Mud Volcano and Upper Geyser Basin.

Day 1: The drive in.

Of course for our travel day it was rainy (PSP).

With snow hanging on the higher elevation (PSP).

Nearing Tremonton we started seeing some blue sky (PSP).

I like to grab the state signs as we enter them (PSP). Unfortunately I missed Montana and Wyoming this trip. The only one I haven’t gotten yet and wanted is Montana, meh. Another time.

Some fall color (PSP).

Not the best shot but fall color on the Fall River (PSP).

And now we climb (PSP).

I’m a little bit older than these trees (PSP).

Tree tunnel (PSP).

The west end of Island Park (PSP). We were surprised at just how big this town appeared to be. I just looked it up, yes it is long, but it is thin. It basically lines the highway.

I think this is Elk Creek (PSP).

Uh oh. Getting near the snow line (DBP).

Its beautiful, but after one of our trips down to Bryce Canyon I get nervous driving on high roads while it is snowing (PSP). Lucky for us, it wasn’t quite sticking to the road yet and we didn’t have any issues all the way there. It did however make me not to want to make any stops so we got to our room before it got much colder.

West Yellowstone (PSP). Just a couple minutes outside the park.

Yellowstone! (PSP). Really starting to snow now. I asked the ranger how the road was to Mammoth and she said if it stays like this is will be fine, but to be on the lookout of it closing. Oh boy.

This is one of the things I love most about Yellowstone (PSP). A lot of the roads are walled in by towering trees.

The Madison River (PSP).

We saw quite a few elk, and I thought I got a picture of one but I guess I didn’t. No worries though cause uh, we saw more.

After the Madison Junction we headed north towards Norris Junction (PSP). Where we saw  Terrace Hot Spring.

Heavier snow up this way (PSP).

Roaring Mountain (PSP).

We got stuck in some construction for a little bit, but it wasn’t too bad.

Heading down Golden Gate Canyon (PSP). This is a steep windy road, but it’s not too bad.

This bridge part around the cliff is the only part that made me really nervous, but it is short (PSP).

I was enjoying the fog (PSP).

Oh, I did catch an elk today (PSP).

Mammoth Hot Springs Lower Terraces (PSP).

Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. We made it safe and sound phew!

The lobby.

Our cabin. Nice and cozy.

Cute squirrel piece.

Inside our room. Mom tells me the restroom used to be located in the closet there.

And check this out. When is the last time you got an actual key for a hotel room? Crazy!

Our view of the terraces from the porch.

Shortly after we unpacked and settled in Mom and Jeff (my brother) arrived. We decided to get dinner at the Mammoth Dining Room. It wasn’t too expensive and was pretty good.

After dinner we settled in for the night and hoped for better weather for the next day. I read through some of the pamphlets and found us some fun hikes to do up here on the north end of the park.

We also discovered what is must have been like for our ancestors as our room had no TV, no WIFI and, no bathroom. We had to walk about 100 yards down the road to use the restroom. It was not the best with the cold weather. But not a deal breaker.

Day 2: Mammoth Through Tower Junction and The Lamar Valley.

Unfortunately our cabin does not have a coffee maker so we went over to the general store and bought some coffee. We then wandered over to the Visitor Center to ask the rangers if there was anything we needed to be aware of about the trails we planned (closures, territorial animal, whatever). There weren’t, but both are know to have bear sightings. Recommended bear spray, but also said if we just keep talking we should be okay.

One of the many hot spots that have opened up around town (PSP).

I’m not 100% sure, but this looks like a petrified stump outside the Visitor Center.

The terraces above.

After stopping on the visitor center we were on our way.

Bridge over the Yellowstone River (PSP).

We did the quick short hike up to Wraith Falls. If you are in the area I highly recommend it. It only took us about a half hour. You can see more of the trail with the link there.

After that we continued on to Tower Junction.

Still snowy up here (PSP).

Floating Island Lake (PSP).

This section of the loop has some nice views (PSP).

Just before Tower Junction is Petrified Tree so we made a quick stop.

Its a super short, maybe 1000 feet long trail.

Pretty view of the valley below.

The tree. They had to fence it off because people were chipping pieces off of it. in fact, there used to be 3, the other 2 were chipped away completely.

I just learned (from the sign) that this is a Redwood Tree, like you know The Redwoods in California. I had no idea they were this far inland, albeit millions of years ago, but its still neat.

The valley below.

After that we stopped at Tower Junction for a quick break and then continued east towards the Lamar Valley.

Crossing over the Yellowstone River again (PSP).

Some bison.

Lots of bison though this section (PSP).

The Lamar River (PSP).

Snowy pines (PSP).

Lamar River again (PSP).

The Lamar Valley (PSP). It’s quite beautiful.

Low hanging clouds (PSP).

Little bit of fall color left up here (PSP).

More bison (PSP).

Neat peaks and Soda Butte (PSP).

We got really lucky. We almost hit a large bison jam (in a tight canyon no less) but our destination is right there on the left (PSP). We had just enough time to turn in and avoid them.

Which also gave us the benefit of getting to watch them come down. The car behind us (as seen on the right here) pushed into them a little closer and since it’s such a tight canyon it seemed they were getting a little agitated. They were making some deep growls and grunts as they came in. I was happy to be safely tucked into my car.

So many bison!

And off they go! Wow, I forgot what a thrilling experience this can be.

A couple adolescents.

Which are usually tucked between parents.

There they go.

We checked back the other direction to make sure they entire herd had passed by before deeming it safe to get out of the car and get our hike on.

Motorists anxious to get on their way.

We did a quick hike up to Trout Lake and really enjoyed the adventure. You can see more of that trail with the link.

For some reason my brain got mixed up and I thought Pebble Creek Campground was a picnic area, we were both feeling a little bit hungry so we decided to head there and have lunch. Well, it was not a picnic area, but we made due and found a restroom there as well.

Soda Butte Creek and the peaks above (PSP).

Some other peaks (PSP).

Peaks from the campground.

Another interesting peak.

After lunch I noticed a trail heading towards the creek so I went to check it out.

Pebble Creek is pretty.

I also noticed there is a Pebble Creek Trail above the campground. But the campground was closed so we didn’t get a chance to check it out. Might have to look into that some more.

So, after lunch and a little bit of exploring we debated about continuing to the North East Entrance or just heading back. We decided to just head back.

I think this is the herd of bison we watched come down the canyon before (PSP).

I decided to stop by Soda Butte.

Information sign.

The sign said not to climb it, but didn’t appear to discourage following the trail around it. So we went around it real quick.

Nice view of the Lamar Valley from here.

Part of it appears to have collapsed.

Some neat travertine structures on the back end.

Holy swallows nests batman.

This is what this neat formation has been reduced to. Just a slight trickle.

The butte from the east end.

The gnarly peaks again.

The next overlook we stopped at had a herd of bison hanging out at it. We decided to not get out of the car here.

More bison across the way.

Eep he’s coming closer. I figured it was safest to just stay in the car and try not to spook it.

Well this is a good way to give you an idea of how big these guys are!

Joining his friends across the way.

Well, I was hoping to get out and see the view at this pull out but there are still quite a few bison over here so, here it is from the car. We decided to move on to the next one.

The next pull out had a pretty view as well.

Another bison jam (PSP).

We have bison not far from us on Antelope Island, in fact had to avoid one on Beacon Knob but it is still neat to see these magnificent beasts. (PSP).

Another pretty view of the Lamar Valley.

Panoramic.

As we were leaving the Lamar Valley we noticed a large crowd of people along the ridge so we stopped. Nice view of the gorge below.

Then we spotted the bear!

Ahh! I caught him standing on his hind legs!

It’s hard to tell for sure from this far away but considering this bear doesn’t have the shoulder hump I am going to say it is a black bear.

This guy appears to be foraging.

Not even an hour before now I was saying to Landis that I was hoping we’d get to a least see ONE bear. Landis said to me now: Well, here’s your ONE bear.

I could have spent the rest of the afternoon watching him do his thing but we decided to get going.

Crossing the Lamar River again (PSP).

More bison (PSP).

Crossing the Yellowstone River (PSP).

There was a pullout just after the bridge so we got out to check out the view. The river is a beautiful color through here.

The bridge we just crossed over.

Blast from the past. This is at Tower Junction where we decided to stop again for a break.

A pair of ravens hanging out here now.

I don’t know exactly what they are doing here but it looked weird.

Oh! They are sharing food. neat.

Off to scrounge some more.

Beautiful birds.

Time to get back on the road.

Nice view (PSP).

Beautiful fall color (PSP).

Another nice view (PSP).

Blacktail Pond (PSP).

We decided to stop by Undine Falls. This is a pullout with a eh… 20 - 30 foot walk out to the viewpoint.

I think I like this one just a little better than nearby Wraith Falls but they are both very pretty.

Some of the creek bellow.

Closeup of the main drops.

Almost back to Mammoth (PSP). Those are the main terraces there.

While we were out the town became absolutely infested in elk (PSP).

I didn’t catch em both but a male was chasing this female. Kind of like what we saw in Vernal last year with some Antelope on our way to Fantasy Canyon.

Here is the male (PSP). Check out the rack on this guy!

Holy crap! They are EVERYWHERE!!! (PSP).

While back in town we decided to check out the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. You can see more of that with the link there.

Heading back into town and yes, the elk are still everywhere (PSP).

View from our porch again.

We decided to walk down to the hotel gift shop to pick up a deck of cards to entertain us after dark.

Decided to take some pictures of the elk hanging around. I used my telephoto lens so I wasn’t within the 25 feet of space they ask you to leave.

I still can’t decide if there are more elk here, or if there were more at Hardware Ranch when we did the sleigh ride earlier this year. They were more condensed at Hardware Ranch, but holy crap there are a lot of them around here.

Here would be a prime example of too close. Not to mention the families just about as close with their backs turned to the elks taking selfies. Elk can be pretty docile, but they can also really mess you up, antlers or not! The rangers were being pretty vigilant earlier so I was surprised to see as much of this as I did tonight.

Just fun to see wildlife.

Elk panoramic.

Eventually my family showed up and we decided to head into Gardner for Dinner. It just about 5 miles north of town.

We had to wait for this lady to cross the road (PSP). Backset photos are the worst haha.

The Yellowstone River on it’s way out of the park (PSP).

Lots more elk out this way (PSP).

The North Entrance sign.

The Roosevelt Arch.

 

Another bridge over The Yellowstone River.

We had dinner at The Cowboy’s Grill. I really enjoyed it. Pretty decent price, good grub, and really friendly staff. I would come back for sure.

On the way back into town we had a near miss with this large elk. Luckily we spotted it in time.

Back at the hotel mom wanted to go to the gift shop so we joined her and wandered into The Map Room. This wooden map was built with 18 different types of wood in the 1930’s. They had different colors for national parks and only Zion showed in Utah. I guess the other parks didn’t happen until later.

We actually got some clear skies for the night. The stars are incredible!

Day 3: Norris, Mud Volcano, Old Faithful, The Drive Home.

We started the day pretty similarly to the previous day. Went to the general store to grab some coffee. Then we packed up and got ready to vacate our rooms.

Mom and Jeff decided to head over Dunraven Pass, but I wanted to stop by Norris on the astronomical chance we might see Steamboat Geyser erupt. It has been particularly active this year so my chances were better than usual, but I know they were still slim.

The elk had moved into the terrace beds (PSP). It’s probably warmer there.

The outflow of Canary Spring (PSP).

On the way out of Mammoth there was a pullout near Canary Spring. It offers a pretty good view of it.

The bridge we crossed twice yesterday. Holy crap I didn’t realize how high it was.

Climbing up out of Mammoth (PSP).

Up on the mesa (PSP).

I think this is Swan Lake (PSP).

I love these purple bushes (PSP).

Snowy forest.

After waiting about a half hour for the construction we got to drive about 5 miles through muddy roads (PSP). It was actually muddier on the way in than out.

I believe this is North Twin lake (PSP).

And Nymph Lake (PSP).

By the Norris Geyser Basin parking lot. Neat log structure.

We decided to trek the quarter mile out to Steamboat and hope we got lucky. Since it’s just a short one I’ll just include it here.

Emerald Spring.

The boardwalk had a good layer of snow on it. There were a few slick spots.

Steamboat Geyser. There was a little bit of splashing but not much. I think it was going higher last time we came by.

Last major eruption was about 2 weeks ago. It’s been way more active than usual this year so I thought we’d try. But no such luck.

Here it is from the lower view point.

A little closer.

There a lot more trail, and a lot more interesting features to see at Norris, but that is all we planned on doing, so we went back the way we came.

Emerald Spring again.

My original plan after stopping by here was to go to Old Faithful, and maybe some of the other thermal areas between there, and the east entrance. Well, we really wanted to see the wolves Jeff had seen in Hayden Valley so we decided to cross through the middle section over that way.

This is what screams Yellowstone to me. The lodgepole pine lined roads (PSP).

The Yellowstone River again (PSP).

Entering Hayden Valley (PSP).

More bison (PSP).

Near Mud Volcano is one of the cool examples of a hot spot opening up under the road (PSP).

We did the short trail system around Mud Volcano. It really is a neat little area and worth stopping by. You can see more of that area with the link.

The Yellowstone River again (PSP).

Forest lined road again (PSP).

Now we are seeing Yellowstone Lake. Guess we missed the wolves (PSP). :(

Yellowstone Lake. The largest alpine lake in America.

Panoramic.

One of the islands. Not sure which one.

Just a beautiful lake.

The small waves are almost like being on the coast.

Small wildfire section (PSP).

Looking towards West Thumb Geyser Basin (PSP). We explored that more on our 2008 trip.

Isa Lake. This particular lake sits on the Continental Divide. One end drains into the Pacific. The other end drains into the Atlantic.

It is just hitting freezing point.

Information sign.

It is a pretty lake.

The main road crosses over it.

Continental Divide Sign.

Panoramic.

After that we stopped by the Upper Geyser Basin. You can view more of there with the link. This includes Old Faithful and Morning Glory Spring.

Well, that about used up our exploring time for the day. If I could do it over again, I might have skipped going to the east side of the park and spent that time exploring another geyser basin or 2. But, the east side is quite pretty and we got to see some cool stuff so I’m not too disappointed. Maybe just that we did it and didn’t see the wolves haha. We considered finding a room in West Yellowstone or another town on the way back, but ended up just driving strait home.

Tall forests (PSP).

Nearing Midway Geyser Basin (PSP).

Burn section.

The Firehole River (PSP).

I think this is the Gibbon River.

Another forest corridor (PSP).

The Madison River (PSP).

Neat peak (PSP).

At another wildlife jam we got to watch a another male elk chasing a female (PSP).

Oh neat. I didn’t notice the younger bull until now.

We saw more elk on this trip than all other times I have seen them in Yellowstone. But, it is nearing the end of their rut so I guess they are more active than normal.

Couple more getting ready to cross the road (PSP).

The Madison River again (PSP).

Officially leaving Yellowstone (PSP). :(

Still in the forest though (PSP).

Back to Idaho (PSP).

Pretty clouds (PSP).

Little bit of sunset over a river (PSP).

More forest.

Last bit of mountains before the flatlands of Idaho (PSP).

Something we both noticed in the flatlands of Idaho (PSP). With the absence of mountains the sunset seems to last quite a bit longer than back home!

Eventually it got too dark for pictures so I just relaxed for the rest of the way home. It was a long, long drive but I am glad we decided to push on home. Apparently Yellowstone got hit with a really nasty storm the next day. My mom tells me they were digging people out and escorting them out of the park! So we hit a nice little window between a mild storm and a big one and didn’t get stuck! Hooray.

I really enjoyed our quick trip, but Yellowstone requires more time to really explore it and experience it. We’ve explored quite a bit of it over the years and we did manage to explore some new parts of it this year, so it wasn’t a great loss, just, it’s a big park and there is soo much we have yet to explore. Or course that means we need to come back again. Which I am quite sure we will do before long. It is our favorite place we’ve been.

Well, that concludes our autumn vacation. Thanks for checking it out.