Bison, wolves, and moose

After the Lewis and Clark Caverns we headed for Yellowstone.  We had missed the Lamar River Valley and I figured since we were so close we could drive through around dusk, look for wildlife, and then find a campground outside of Yellowstone's northeast entrance.  This couldn't have worked any better.  We saw herd after herd of bison.  This experience was made better since they were all snorting, grunting, and purring en masse. 

We finally stopped at a pullout that didn't have buffalo knee deep for a quick dinner @ 8:15.  I was making the sandwiches when a bunch of cars and trucks started pulling up.  One of the guys asked us if we knew that there was a black wolf out in the field.  Of course we didn't, we were too busy stuffing our faces.  He was nice enough to let us look through his high powered scope so it was just like the wolf was right in front of us.  Later on we saw another bear from far away too.  I'm so glad we went through Yellowstone again.

We stayed at Fox Creek Campground outside of Yellowstone that night.  It was a nice place with good views of mountains.  Headed to Cody and Sheridan, WY in the morning.  Dead Indian Pass on the way to Cody had great views and was very curvy. 

 

Went to the visitor's center and the Old West Miniature Village before heading to the Chinese buffet on Main street in Cody.  The kids 'loved' it.  We were going to do the Buffalo Bill Museum but we ran out of time.

Stopped at the Shell Falls Interpretive Center (worth a stop).  We received  great info for our camping that night. 

 At the top of Granite Pass we saw three moose. (I'd been dying to see some moose that you could tell were moose)

Tried to camp at Sibley Lake but it was all reserved.  We turned around and headed back to Prune Creek and managed to get the last site available.  We probably would have stayed another night if we could have but they were all booked up the next day.  It was a pretty camping area along the creek.  There was lots of noise from the road that took away from the camping experience a bit. 

 

Did a little running while I was here and saw a moose and nine deer. 

Run: Prune Creek

Trails Used:  ?

Distance: 6.53 miles

Difficulty: Easy
Overall average: 6.0 mph
Overall Time: 1 hrs, 05 mins
Total Ascent: 573 ft.

We crossed over to South Dakota the next day on the way to Custer State Park.

We cheated a little since we didn't get the Wyoming sign the day before.

Bison running through the campsite

Spent some actual time at the campsite this morning.  We gave up on having fires at night.  We are too tired and it's too late by the time we get home.  This morning we finally had one.  I was excited to try my new pie iron's (bought specifically for this trip).

 

I made Pillsbury biscuits in them.  Yum.  We had our usual hot breakfast this morning: oatmeal, hot chocolate, tea, and coffee.

 

After breakfast we cleaned and organized (remember this is an ongoing battle) while the kids messed around in the hammock.  

 

I worked with them on their Junior Ranger sheets so they could get their Yellowstone badges later in the day.  I guess it's good that you have to actually put effort into getting one but I was so ready to just sit back and relax for once.  Oh well, maybe when I'm not on vacation I'll have time for that!

On our way to Black Sand Basin we saw some bison and elk with huge racks (the only reason I even took the picture).

Lunch was at Black Sand Basin (.47 miles) before we started looking around.

 

We headed to Biscuit Basin (.68 miles) after (so-so thermal features-the Mystic Falls hike would have been nice to do but I made a promise yesterday that we wouldn't hike today.)  I fooled them into thinking that the boardwalks don't count but they do start to add up over a days time.

 

 

The Firehole River was a great place for a dip in the heat of the day.  It was made even better with the steam and springs all over.  Since we had only one shower at this point it was a nice feeling to be kind of clean again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all the swimming we headed to Midway Geyser Basin (.87 miles) for more viewing opportunities.  This was a very cool area. 

 

 

 

 

 

 We drove down Firehole Lake Drive,

 

and then did the Artist's Paint Pots.  The kid's loved this area the best.  They couldn't stop talking about the gurgling and bubbling.

 

 

 

 

After that I saw the Gibbon Fall's overlook

 

and saw two moose from far away.  So far away that I didn't even bother to take a picture.  I would have been hard pressed to even say they were moose but that didn't stop the 30 cars in front of us from staying in place.

I had bought this for the hubby's birthday.

 

We missed drinking in celebration by a couple of days due to our over flowing schedule.  After the first welcome cup that night I thought I was hallucinating (really, I hadn't had that much)...we looked up and saw a bison across from our campsite pulling a long piece of bark off a tree.  We put the kids in the truck and stood behind it ourselves.  It was a good thing.  He went running through our site off into the woods.  This gave the kids something to talk about for days.

After we got the kids in bed I biked up to the Norris Geyser Basin (5.75 miles).  It was dusk and it was this spooky, industrial wasteland that was burping, fizzing, and venting.  I got back at 10:15 and Chris headed out in the darkness to do the same.  

 

Q's quote of the day:  "I wished we lived by the bubbles with all of our stuffed animals.  I wish it could wake us up in the morning."

C's quote of the day:  "I enjoyed the bubbling at the Artist's Paint Pot's so much that I could hike more today!"

Mommy's quote of the day:  "I want to sit around the campsite in the Tetons, do nothing, and get drunk all day while the kid's play in the hammock."  (In defense of mommy, she was exhausted after her long day!)