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

Kaibab National Forest Boondocking - Grand Canyon

Monday we left Winslow, AZ and traveled to Tusayan, AZ which is about 5 miles from the entrance to the Grand Canyon.  We are boondocking in the Kaibab National Forest just South of Tusayan.  Boondocking is allowed on most of the forest roads in the National Forest.  We are in a large, fairly open area about 1000 feet from the road with no close neighbors.  

Our Route

Our Campsite

View Out Our Windows

View looking back toward the forest road (it is about as far back as you can see the trees)

We went to the Grand Canyon twice since we have been here.  The first day we took Darby but he was a little overwhelmed with all the people on the narrow trails so we left him in the camper the second day.  We hiked several miles on the Rim Trail the first day and about 5 miles on the Hermits Rest Trail the second day.   

Lots of elk wandering around in Grand Canyon Village

Views of the canyon - photographs do not do it justice

Telephoto glimpse of the Colorado River about 1 mile down and several miles away 

View of Grand Canyon Village from the Hermits Rest Trail

The Bright Angel trail - a  switchback trail used by hikers and the mules to descend into the canyon

Telephoto close-up of one of the many formations

Wide angle - click to enlarge

One of the many Grand Canyon Railroad locomotives that travel from Williams, AZ to the Grand Canyon several times a day

Some of the mules that are used to carry people down the steep trail into the canyon

The mule barn in Grand Canyon Village

We have been here 5 days and are leaving for Utah in the morning - we were going to leave today but this area and southern Utah had severe high wind warnings (60 to 70 mph gusts) today so we are waiting until tomorrow to leave.