We finally made it to Yellowstone National Park. It is difficult to get a spot at the campgrounds inside the park and most of the spots aren't big enough for our 5th wheel so we stayed at Henry's Lake State Park which is in Island Park, Idaho about 15 miles from the West entrance to Yellowstone.
Yellowstone was great - the only complaint was the amount of driving we had to do - this park is enormous. We put on several hundred miles inside the park just to see the highlights. We also experienced some lengthy delays (30 to 60 minutes each) - two of them due to road repairs/construction and one due to a "bison jam". A herd of buffalo decided to block the road for a while so we had to wait for the rangers to come and clear the road.
Our Route
Lots of bison in the park
One of the many geyser basins
Hot spring pool
Boiling mud pot - look closely and you can see the mud bubbles
One of hundreds of geysers
More hot pools
Life forms growing in the near boiling water
This steaming pool was about 30 feet deep
Another geyser getting ready to spout
Old Faithful - just starting to spout
Old Faithful - at her max height for this eruption
Yellowstone Lake from a distance
You cross the Continental Divide several times while traveling through the park
Quite a few elk around also
Several waterfalls on the upper loop - don't remember the name of this one
Another geyser basin
This was in the middle of town in Mammoth Hot Springs - the elk pretty much have the run of the place
Fort Yellowstone at Mammoth Hot Springs - this is one of the original buildings from the 1890's when a fort was established here to allow the US Army to manage and maintain the park. This was the main barracks building. Thirty-five of the original seventy buildings are still standing, most of which are still in use - several as residences for park employees.
Tower Falls - 132 feet high
Another geyser basin in the background with a herd of buffalo in the foreground
This is a part of the West Thumb geyser basin located on the shore of Yellowstone Lake
One of several active geyser cones in the lake
More geysers
