Yellowstone Trip II

Hi Everyone

It has been a few days since our last posting.  The trip from Kearney, NE to Cheyenne, WY was beautiful and entertaining.  We saw numerous Pronghorns, Mule Deer and even a couple of Elks. These were all near the road and kept us busy looking for more throughout the drive.

The drive from  Cheyenne, WY to  Lander, WY was interesting.  We took US 287 off I80.  It was all "high desert" and full of Pronghorns.  We climbed to an altitude of 5600 ft. elevation.  Smoke was very light in the distance.

We were surprised on our next stop; to see Lander, WY since we did not realize it was a big city.  We spent 3 days resting and enjoying the area.

We visited Sinks Canyon State Park.  A short drive from our campground.  The canyon was created by receding glaciers a few million years ago.  The interesting thing here is the fact that water (Popo Agie River) created these sinks under the soft limestone.  Using dye to follow the flow, water enters the sinks and a larger volume of water comes out than the amount that went in.  Scientists have not been able to determine where the extra water comes from.  Divers are not able to fully track the water since the opening on the rocks is too small to accommodate further exploration.  

The drive on US-287 North to West Yellowstone was unexpected and indescribable.  On our first visit to Yellowstone back in 2016, we used different routes.  This time taking US-287 to US-191 North is one that we recommend.  It took us through Grand Tetons National Park to the south entrance of Yellowstone.  This allowed us a full view and drive via 2 National Parks in one day.

This is Jenny Lake that it is still frozen at these altitudes and temps.  It was in the 40s F when we drove by.

We arrived on Tuesday the 23rd.  It is about a week later than our first visit back in 2016.  We could not believe our eyes.  The entire park is fully packed with visitors.  Road construction on most of the southern route made for a difficult drive.  Combining the construction delays together with the huge numbers of drivers, made trip longer than necessary.

Wednesday morning we returned to the Park via the western entrance and this is what it looked like at 9am:

The park remains as beautiful as we first saw it a few years ago.  Bison can be seen everywhere.  In large herds and some individually taking ownership of the roadways:

Gibbon Falls remains as beautiful as ever:

And the volcanic activity remains active as usual:

Tomorrow, on our last day in Yellowstone, we will try to see Old Faithful, traffic and weather permitting.

When commenting, please add your name so we can determine who wrote the comment. Thank you!  The next post we will be in Canada when WiFi and internet access cooperates.