Day 10 - Wednesday 8/7/13 Cody, WY - Yellowstone Park, WY (194 Miles)

East Entrance to Yellowstone National Park, WY
Shoshone River upstream of Buffalo Bill Dam

The Grand Canyon of Yelowstone

It was a short trip to Yellowstone from Cody this morning, but the park is huge so it took us all day to drive the upper/north "loop" around the park.  First though, we stopped for some groceries and hats at the visitor's center and enjoyed a picnic there before setting up our tent at Bridge Bay Campground in the park.  This campground was so ugly, we didn't even feel that it was picture worthy; sloped, cramped, shadeless, buggy, noisy, but beggars can't be choosers.

Buffalo have the right away in the park!!!

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone

Camp pitched - check.  Off to drive the north loop road then.  Our first sight was of Yellowstone's Grand Canyon, dramatic and deep, but not very wide across relatively speaking.  Further up the road, we encountered a traffic jam with cars & RVs stopped in both directions.  After squeeking the nose of our Mini out into the opposing lane to "see what the trouble was", we saw what the trouble was!!!  HE, was about 1,500 pounds of trouble trotting down the roadway towards us.  Check out the video, such as it is.  He narrowly missed our car's mirror.

Enormous wild Elk riverside

Next, we were off to Mammoth Hot Springs where we saw its infinity style pools of cascading water, which were very beautiful.  On the trailing end of the loop, we stopped along Yellowstone River to see our first elk.  He was absolutely enormous, much larger than we would have thought.  It seems they make things quite large out here in the west!

After a very reasonably priced prime rib dinner at the Yellowstone Lodge, and some wine for dessert on their veranda, we headed back to camp to settle in for the night.  Teeth-ies brushed - check.  Potty stop - check.  All food & food-related items put away in the car or bear box - check.  Bed made (blow-up mattress, 2 bath towels, 2 beach towels, fleece blanket, fitted sheet, flat sheet, down duvet in a cover,  dirty clothes atop all that, and the plastic, red checkered tablecloth on top of everything to trap the heat in) - check!  Jammies, wool socks, AND those hats we bought earlier in the day kept us cozy all night.  The problem was having to climb out of bed in the morning with temperatures in the low 30's.  BBBRRRRrrrrrrrrr.