Our adventures in Yellowstone began with the eastbound trip across the Continental Divide along IH 90. The weather was a bit rainy, but we enjoyed the views of the clouds, rain and mountains immensely. As we topped the mountains, the landscape changed dramatically and the weather also cleared.
We approached Livingston, MT to make our turn toward the RV park and loved the view of the pass. We were to follow the Yellowstone River valley the rest of the way.
The Yellowstone Edge RV Park is about 35 miles north of the park entrance and rests between Hwy 89 and the river. We settled in and decided not to venture toward the park that day for several reasons. It was Saturday and weekends usually are busier at parks than weekdays (although we've heard that Yellowstone is always busy). It also was a free admission weekend - bound to create a bit more of a crowd. The weather was chilly and rainy, nice but not so nice for outdoor activities. It also was the day that the president's family was scheduled to visit Old Faithful. That did it - no park for us with all that assuring a very frenzied experience!The next day being Sunday, we had our normal family worship time and straightened things up a bit. Housekeeping chores were a bit backlogged from our fun days in Idaho, so we got picked up, cleaned up, laundered sheets and finished in time to head over to the park in the afternoon.
The Roosevelt Arch graces the north entrance with inscriptions 'For the benefit and enjoyment of the people' and the year 1872. As the first national park, so many millions of people must have passed under this arch and the other entrances to do just that 'benefit and enjoy'. As you can see, the photo through the windshield shows the light rain we were experiencing. The temperature was in the 50's and we absolutely loved it! The forecast called for a possibility of snow showers in the evening, and we hoped to see a glimpse of August snow.
Just into the park, the first animals we encountered were some Big Horn Sheep hopping around on a sheer cliff face. They're difficult to spot since their coloring blends so well with the rock background. They don't seem to have a care in the world and no wonder, since I can't imagine the predator that is going to bother them half way up the side of a mountain. They were created to do exactly what they were doing.
A travel book had suggested the Lamar River Valley to view wildlife in the late afternoons and evenings, so we turned to the east at the north visitor's center. As we drove along into the park with the light rain and bright sun, God gave us a beautiful rainbow that stayed out ahead of us and led us on.
Next we saw cars stopped ahead and there was a Bison sauntering across a high river bridge. He was in no great hurry and seemed to know that he had the right of way.
I got a close look out my driver side window as he passed by. They are huge and they lumber slowly along as if it is taking all their energy to move at all. We watched a video at the visitor's center later in the week that showed how quickly they can move when motivated. Park visitors are continually cautioned that these are wild animals and a video demonstrates an attack by a bison on a teenage girl that was too close at the wrong time. These massive creatures can move up to 30 mph and we did see them moving quickly later in the week as they barrelled down inclines to watering holes or toward one another. Although plenty of tourists did not heed the warning to give plenty of clearance, we did not witness any attacks on humans.
Continuing on through the Lamar River Valley, we spied a pronghorn on this gravel bar in the river. We don't have a very powerful telephoto lens on our digital camera, so you have to look close for the distinctive dark markings on the head. The tan and white markings on the side blend in perfectly with the gravel.
The view of the rainbow continued to beckon us further to the east through the valley.
Near an area identified as Pebble Beach, we spied a black bear in the meadow. Others in the park told us this bear was a regular in this meadow for the past two weeks, feasting on the blue wildflowers that were abundant.
The Roosevelt Arch graces the north entrance with inscriptions 'For the benefit and enjoyment of the people' and the year 1872. As the first national park, so many millions of people must have passed under this arch and the other entrances to do just that 'benefit and enjoy'. As you can see, the photo through the windshield shows the light rain we were experiencing. The temperature was in the 50's and we absolutely loved it! The forecast called for a possibility of snow showers in the evening, and we hoped to see a glimpse of August snow.
Just into the park, the first animals we encountered were some Big Horn Sheep hopping around on a sheer cliff face. They're difficult to spot since their coloring blends so well with the rock background. They don't seem to have a care in the world and no wonder, since I can't imagine the predator that is going to bother them half way up the side of a mountain. They were created to do exactly what they were doing.
A travel book had suggested the Lamar River Valley to view wildlife in the late afternoons and evenings, so we turned to the east at the north visitor's center. As we drove along into the park with the light rain and bright sun, God gave us a beautiful rainbow that stayed out ahead of us and led us on.
Next we saw cars stopped ahead and there was a Bison sauntering across a high river bridge. He was in no great hurry and seemed to know that he had the right of way.
I got a close look out my driver side window as he passed by. They are huge and they lumber slowly along as if it is taking all their energy to move at all. We watched a video at the visitor's center later in the week that showed how quickly they can move when motivated. Park visitors are continually cautioned that these are wild animals and a video demonstrates an attack by a bison on a teenage girl that was too close at the wrong time. These massive creatures can move up to 30 mph and we did see them moving quickly later in the week as they barrelled down inclines to watering holes or toward one another. Although plenty of tourists did not heed the warning to give plenty of clearance, we did not witness any attacks on humans.
Continuing on through the Lamar River Valley, we spied a pronghorn on this gravel bar in the river. We don't have a very powerful telephoto lens on our digital camera, so you have to look close for the distinctive dark markings on the head. The tan and white markings on the side blend in perfectly with the gravel.
The view of the rainbow continued to beckon us further to the east through the valley.
Near an area identified as Pebble Beach, we spied a black bear in the meadow. Others in the park told us this bear was a regular in this meadow for the past two weeks, feasting on the blue wildflowers that were abundant.We were pleased to see him from the safety of the truck, but had a hard time catching a photo with his/her head up. Those flowers must have been tasty as we watched the bear forage into the foliage for quite a while!
The light was fading fast, so we turned back to the RV park so that we could get an early start the next day. Having chosen the river valley and lower elevations, we didn't see any snow showers, but we were happy having spied a few creatures and gaining our bearings for more visits during the week.
The light was fading fast, so we turned back to the RV park so that we could get an early start the next day. Having chosen the river valley and lower elevations, we didn't see any snow showers, but we were happy having spied a few creatures and gaining our bearings for more visits during the week.
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