Day 5 Yellowstone - Old Faithful Loop

WOW! Never been in Yellowstone before today, and now I can't imagine why not. Went in the East entrance to the Park because it is straight out of Cody. The entrance road is under construction for 13 miles, meaning it is gravel, narrow, and no side railings. In addition, it is so narrow that there is a "pilot" vehicle that escorts groups of vehicles up to make sure that no one goes to fast. Oh, I forgot to say that because it is so narrow, it is one way, so once a group get to the top of the pass (or where the pavement starts again), then another pilot vehicle takes a group down the road. I had been hearing about 90 minute delays, really challenging, etc., but I ended at the top in about 40 minutes including the time it took to buy the pass for Yellowstone. Felt very safe the entire time. So, coming down this thing at the end of a long day... I'll fill in that story at the end of today's posting.

First photo is shortly after we get into the park itself, showing a forest of burned trees that leads down to Yellowstone Lake. These are all dead, but in other places in the park where fire has struck, there are entire forests of pine trees growing up from all the dead trees. One of the signs said that this fire happened in 1998. The new growth is 8 to 10 feet tall or more already. It is amazing how nature reclaims it's rightful state without human's getting in the middle of it.

As I continued on, I came across a large number of Harleys and cars pulled off to the side and taking pictures. Pulled in and off in the distance was a few bison. I thought I had better get my camera out of the pack on back, and put it around my neck so I will be prepared for other shots that I might come across. So off I go down the road with my camera hanging around my neck. Down the road a mile or so, I came around a bend and there were several cars stopped right in the middle of the road! I look ahead a bit and coming right toward me is your friendly neighborhood Bison walking on the side of the road! I am not making this up. So I popped into neutral, grabbed my camera from around my neck, and started snapping. I realized all of a sudden that this guy is coming right at me and I started thinking "oh crap". I just kept taking photos and didn't move. He literally walked right by me while I am on my bike in the middle of the road, motor running, passed me, turned left behind me ( the vehicle that came up behind me had enough sense to stay back a bit) and crossed the road and down to wherever he felt like going. I have posted a series of 4 shots in sequence to show you the progression. I have 12 shots total that were snapped during this 30-45 second sequence. I will never forget it, I assure you. I can still smell him in my nostrils.
















My adreniline dropped and I continued on, looking forward to see what the camera captured. Crossed over the Continental Divide twice in my route to Old Faithful, the next stop on my schedule for the day. Pulled into the parking lot, which is quite large with several stores, lodge and restaurants on the complex. After getting off the bike, I noticed 5 Corvettes all in a row, and went over to take a photo or two. Note the Washington license plates on all 5. Met the owners while waiting for Old Faithful to do her thing. It currently goes off at about a 90 minute cycle, and had to wait about an hour for the next blow. Met a couple from St. Augustine, FL that are on a driving trip up to Seattle to take an Alaska cruise. They wanted to know some neat geography to see while in Seattle, and I was explaining how to get to Snoqualmie Falls, and a couple behind us in the second row, piped in and said it is worth seeing. Guess who they were...one of the Vette owners from Washington (Olympia actually). Small world. She blew her stack, got the photo's and was ready for the next stage.





Saw plenty of wildlife like the shots here of a small herd, and one BIG buck. He would not put his head up, but click on the photo and check out the rack on this guy. Spectacular. By the way, you can click on any of the photos and they will enlarge to a much larger size.


Starting to come up on 2:00 p.m. and realized I need to pick up the pace a bit, and clouds were forming in the background.



While heading out, I noticed smoke out front,
and took a shot of it. It seemed to die down after a bit, and have not heard what it was. Thought of my son Tyler who fights wildfires during the summers. He is coming back within two weeks to finish his senior your at Eastern Washington University. Stay Safe Ty!



Last stop was at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Neat views, took some shots, and headed out. One last stop along the way before getting out was to see a grazing herd of Bison in the valley. Yellowstone is simply monstrous and it's expanse cannot be captured in photos.


Well, remember the trip coming in and how easy it was? Well, the trip out was much more difficult. Going downhill, on loose gravel, narrow roads and keeping your speed down... let's just say it was a bit more challenging. There was one guy on a bike that I noticed that kept pulling over to let others pass him, and he was having a hard time of it. I pulled up next to him and he waved me on, but I told him I would stick with him and follow him down. He took his time and he made it down fine.

Tomorrow I take off on the "Thermoolis Loop". I am looking forward to it you can be sure.

Thanks for the comments folks, it is fun to see them.