From Glacier we drove down the length of Montana to get to Yellowstone. It was a very interesting, and generally beautiful drive. We really liked these huge open planes.We arrived fairly late, but still popped into the park and set up our chairs for sundowners.Next morning it was back into the park.We focused on wildlife on day 1 by driving the Lamar Valley, known as the Serengeti of Yellowstone. Neither of us had seen a bison in the wild, so it was fun to get some really fantastic sightings of them.During our drive we’d seen a really nice spot, off of the main road. So we headed back there and set ourselves up for sundowners with a view.Right away this big guy turned up and he ended up spending most of the evening hanging out with us.But he dipped when these two grizzly bears turned up! They had a big drink of water from the river.And then headed back the way they had come. Turns out that they had killed a bison just over the hill from where we were hanging out and they were headed back that way.We were really hoping to see wolves, and couldn’t quite believe out eyes when this one popped out of the bushes and trotted up the hill. Eventually a bunch more of them emerged, but they were MILES away. We’d heard that a lot of the time if you see wolves at all, it is like this.A bit later the wolf turned up again going in the other direction.We later heard that it had gone to investigate the bison kill, and been summarily chased away by the grizzly bears.Once all the action quietened down the bison turned up again, from where who knows.Everyone left and we warmed up some takeout before heading back to the hotel.Day two was mostly quiet with admin and lunch in town before heading into the park in the late afternoon. We were chilling, watching the bison carcas and hoping when suddely we saw the wolves chasing a bison down the hill in the distance behind us!The bison was more than a match for two wolves, seen here giving on a good kick.We settled in at our favorite spot for sunset again. Again we could see the rest of the pack in the far distance.Day 3 was a rainy travel day. So we dedicated it to the other great thing about Yellowstone – the thermals. Way more interesting and beautiful than we had expected. We especially loved a long walk around Norris Basin.We saw tons and tons of hot springs, geysers, and steam vents. We actually did check out Old Faithful, and found it underwhelming indeed…More lovely bison on the way South.
We loved the beauty and the wildlife of Yellowstone. But the crowds of people, and their bad behavior, was actually quite offputting. We’re glad that we saw the place, but in no hurry to return.
