Yellowstone National Park

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

Theodore Roosevelt National Park - Medora, North Dakota

Since our last blog we moved from Indian Memorial Recreation Area to Hazleton Recreation Area which is a beautiful Army Corps Of Engineers campground right on the Missouri River.  They had 36 campsites and we were the only campers the two nights we spent there.  

Our campsite at Hazleton Recreation Area

White pelican flying up the river

From there we moved to Buffalo Gap Recreation area near Madora, North Dakota, just a few miles from Theodore Roosevelt National Park and a few miles from the Montana border.

Our campsite from the very tall and steep knob beside us

Today we spent much of the day at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Madora, ND.  Roosevelt originally came to this area to hunt buffalo and elk but soon fell in love with the Dakotas and ended up owning and operating  two cattle ranches here which were located on what is now the National Park. 

Roosevelt's actual cabin from when he first started coming here before he purchased the ranches. This cabin is located near the visitors center and is mostly original but was relocated from about 7 miles away.

Most of the park is made up of badlands and rolling plains

Lots of wild horses - these horses look healthier than most domestic horses - very muscular and very shiny coats

The park is home to hundreds of wild buffalo - this was part of a heard of approximately 120

1000's of prairie dogs

Another group of wild horses a little further down the road

Medora and the surrounding area was settled by the Marquis de Mores, who was a French aristocrat who came to the area in 1883 to start a cattle ranch and slaughterhouse with plans to ship the beef East in refrigerated rail cars.   The image below is of his home, the Chateau de Mores.  The town of Medora was named after his wife.

Madora is a nice little old west town - mostly shops, restaurants and museums now though

The original town hall and a bronze statue of Teddy Roosevelt

Bronze statue of Teddy Roosevelt

Bronze statue of the Marquis de Mores

Cowboy Hall Of Fame