Wednesday -September 13th ( Yellowstone National Park)

I thought I could beat the system by getting out there early. Earlier than the hoards of people that I knew would show up. It worked….. for a bit ….. and the rainy day didn’t hurt either! But …. Eventually they came….. they came in droves!

People…. Everywhere….. traffic that rivals any major cities rush hour….. except…. it lasts all day here! There is no escape….. there has to be a better way.

When I was at Rocky Mountain, Zion, Glacier, Yosemite …… none of these parks has anything remotely like the traffic here ….

The thing that all the parks I just mentioned had that Yellowstone doesn’t is either a timed entry registration requirement or a bus/tram system to move people around once they gain access to the park. Some of the parks have both systems in place.

Yellowstone is huge and beautiful. It has all the major predators including Wolves. It has Bison, Elk and Big Horned Sheep. It has so much to offer, but none of that matters if you are stuck in a traffic jam that is miles long.

I went around and fought through the traffic and was able to cover the big three highlights of the park. Old Faithful, The Grand Prismatic Spring and the Upper and Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

That’s it. I’m done in by this park. I’m going to fight the traffic back over the 20 miles back to my campsite. Tomorrow i’m taking the day off! I’m going to hang out on the lake shore of Lewis Lake and drink a couple of beers and read a book. Then the next morning I will leisurely pack up my camp and drive the hour to Grand Tetons National park!

So don’t try to reach me tomorrow. No cell service……

I will check in again on Friday when I get to the Grand Tetons

So much for that plan….. my pictures won’t upload again!!!

Old Faithful at rest
Old Faithful going off!
Lone Bison Bull not even 1/8 mile from Old Faithful
Emerald Pool in the Black Sand Geyer Basin
More from Black Sand Geyser Basin
Another lone Bison
This was taken at the “Biscuit Basin”
What I want to know is what changed to cause this tree to die? It obviously was doing fine for quite a while in order to grow that large. So what happened?
Grand Prismatic Spring. Picture was taken from an overlook about a mile hike away!
Bison Herd
Same Herd as I drove by
Me driving by the long line of cars feeling smug. This line went for four miles.
Me in a very long line of cars….. not feeling so smug now!
Upper Falls at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
View from the rim of the canyon
Getting closer to the river
On top of the lower Falls
Rainbow created by the Lowe Falls
Old Faithful Lodge

I ended up having to drive the 45 miles back to Old Faithful. It’s the only place that has enough signal.

I’m done for a couple of days……

2 responses to “Wednesday -September 13th ( Yellowstone National Park)”

  1. Bonnie Campbell

    Enjoy your rest Tom. You deserve it…..
    Be safe.

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  2. carolw2020

    Your photos really do look like postcards!

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