It was a beautiful morning as we left for Yellowstone. The drive was great , the weather was wonderful and there was no wind.

We stopped by Madison River Canyon Earthquake Visitors Center in the Gallantin Forest area. The earthquake happened about midnight on August 17, 1959 and at that time, it was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded on the North American continent. It measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. It was really interesting to hear how the area was changed because of that event, causing a huge tidal wave throughout the canyon, winds as high as 170 MPH were created by the falling rock. Groundwater levels reportedly fluctuated throughout the US.

We moved on to Yellowstone, but didn’t stop much because we needed to get to Fishing Bridge campground and drop off the camper so we could drive down the Jackson Lake Lodge in the Grand Tetons to pick up my sister, Mary.

The drive down to the Tetons was beautiful. We saw a moose and her calf close to the hotel where we were picking up Mary. On the way back to our campsite we saw a grizzly bear on the side of the road. We weren’t quick enough with our cameras to get a picture.

Tuesday was our anniversary and Mary’s 60^th birthday. We had a great day. We walked Storm Point trail which led to a view of Yellowstone lake and our first sighting of a yellow bellied marmot. He was not afraid of us and in fact wanted to join us for lunch.

l
Lunch overlooking Yellowstone  Lake



Yellow-bellied Marmot


We drove towards Canyon Village and stopped at LeHardys Rapids which is a very scenic area where you can see cutthroat trout leaping in the air to go upstream to spawn. We were disappointed because we didn’t see this happening, but we will try to stop there again before we leave.

We drove to the Mud Volcano area which is a series of mud springs and fumaroles (vents of steam). There was a lot of boiling water and steam coming up. The sulfide had a rotten egg smell. We also so a few bison hanging around there.

We drove on up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and hiked to a view of the Upper falls. The hike was not difficult and the view of the falls was beautiful.

We had to hurry back to get ready to go celebrate our anniversary and Mary’s birthday at the Old Faithful Inn Restaurant because our reservations were for 6:15.

Old Faithful Inn is known as "the showplace of the park". "It’s thought to be the world’s largest log structure. Its lobby is 7 stories high and quite impressive. Our dinner was great and we really enjoyed the evening.

We were able to see Old Faithful erupt. It doesn’t last long. Probably just a few minutes, but was very impressive. It probably reached a height of close to 100 feet.

On the way back to our campground we were blessed with a magnificent sunset. It was over a geyser basin and the reflection of the sun on the water in the geyser’s looked like they were on fire.

After that incredible sunset, we were blessed with a beautiful full moon. The reflection of the moon on the river was something to see. David took lots of pictures. We all had a wonderful evening.

We woke up Wednesday morning and decided to drive to Mammoth Hot Springs. Of course we stopped a lot. We walked to the Lower Falls trail of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It was quite a hike. You have to walk down 358 steps in order to get the best view. It was not too bad going down, but it was very hard going up.

On the way to Mammoth Springs, we saw a black bear, some elk and bison. The black bear sighting caused quite a traffic jam. We drove over Dunraven Pass which is at an elevation of 8859 feet. This is the highest point you can reach by vehicle in the park. There was lots of snow up there as you can see.

We finally made it to Mammoth Springs, but were not too impressed with the terraces. However, we did see a lot of elk there.

We are having a great time and look forward to driving the Beartooth Highway tomorrow. We hope all is well with everyone back home.

Trivia question of the day:  Yellowstone lies within the borders of how many states and what are their names?

God Bless…