Thursday, September 19, 2013

2013 Western Trip – Yellowstone’s Upper Loop

Our second day in Yellowstone began with the upper and lower falls on the Yellowstone River which we didn’t do on the previous day’s lower loop tour – this was my main want-to-see in the park.  We went out the north rim and didn’t get a great view of the upper falls, but did get a good one of the 328 stairs leading to the bottom (what a hike).

Known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, it is pretty spectacular in its own right.  This is the lower falls and a couple of shots of the deep gorge.


From there, we headed up over Mt. Washburn for some vast scenery views,

then out into the Lamar Valley toward the NE park entrance hoping to see more wildlife and we did see many more bison but nothing else.  While we saw plenty of bison and elk in the park, we did not see some of the other park residents – such as moose, bear, eagle, wolf.

We finally drove over to Mammoth Springs for a view of park headquarters, which reminded me a lot of a small military post. The thermal feature there is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine, which was difficult to see without climbing lots of stairs and was not as impressive as the other features we’d seen.  The first shot is mine and I lifted the others from the web.





I know we did Yellowstone an injustice by spending only two days there and regret we missed some of the sights you suggested, but I think we got to see a little of about everything - the lower loop contained the most.  It would have been nice to have been in shape to see a little of the back country but such is life.

Photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

9/3/2013 event date

13 comments:

  1. It is hard to see Yellowstone in just a few days, but it is all we had also. Yikes, those are a lot of steps to hike...
    Sam

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  2. Yellowstone is one big place. If I remember right, each time I've been, we spent about 5 days. And darn, no bears? Great photos Larry, that waterfall is spectacular.

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  3. Larry, When we visited the park headquarters, the place was littered with Elk! They were on the lawns and around the Mammoth Springs as well. Sounds like your visit to Yellowstone was a big winner! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  4. Well---if you loved it like we did (after 6 days there)---you will need to go back sometime. I am glad that you at least got to the Canyon Area (our favorite part) ---and hiked down Uncle Tom's Trail to the Lower Falls. Great header by the way!!!!!

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  5. I've never been there so this was interesting to read and to see your great photos, Larry. I've been out West several times, and should've taken the time to go there. It has to be spectacular to see in person and proves what an amazing country we have! Thanks for the tour!

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  6. Dave - We were there at midday and noticed all of the "Do not approach elk" signs and the rangers said they would be around later.

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  7. Awesome photos Larry! You saw many of the same sights I saw and it's funny how similar some of our photos are.

    It looks like you had a great trip - I am so glad!

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  8. Fantastic photos... especially that last one!! It's gorgeous!!

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  9. The sheer amount of force in the waterfall pictures just amazes me. Nature is incredible when you let it do its thing.

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  10. Such a fabulous trip, Larry, and Mammoth Springs, a favorite spot. We still have a photo I took hanging on the kitchen wall of that colorful place.

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  11. Nice pictures Larry. Yellowstone is huge and it will just give you a good excuse to make a return visit.

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  12. Your photos are spectacular, Larry. It's a real treat to see them. Gonna get there one of these days for sure.

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  13. We were lucky to spend a week in Yellowstone, with one day to see the Grand Tetons. We stood right here, too, Larry. It was spectacular! You did Yellowstone justice with these gorgeous photos. Yes, Yellowstone is HUGE and we missed a lot...even after a week's stay.

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