Back To SLC

The final day - and we didn't want to leave this paradise.  But it had to be done.  As we meandered toward Salt Lake City, this is what we saw...

A Lesson In Wildlife Watching

As we headed on our way to West Yellowstone, we were soon sidetracked again.  We noticed a sizable crowd at a pull-off and decided to investigate.  A bull elk and his harem were making their way out of the woods and across the river to reach some good grass for grazing.

While I was busy snapping photos with my zoom lens, Vol Fan soon noticed some other visitors that had apparently forgotten that they were looking at wild animals.  Wild animals not in cages.  Not behind large fences.  Not a gentle pet.  The blonde lady was within 6' of that doe and her baby.  This is a perfect example of how to NOT watch wildlife.  We were amazed that no one ended up getting hurt.

I'm King Of The Log!

In an attempt to make it back to West Yellowstone at a reasonable hour to do a little exploration around town, we headed back.  Soon enough we were sidetracked again.  Vol Fan's favorite herd of bighorn sheep were still in the same area as they had been earlier in the day.

We pulled up just as a rainstorm unloaded.  Lightning flashed.  Thunder boomed.  Buckets of rain fell.  But the sheep still just grazed.  And soon enough, the storm passed so we were able to get some photos.

This one seemed to be saying "I'm King of the Log!!"

But this one had other ideas!  LOL!!

What Do You Do After A Nice Lunch

Rest in the shade, of course.  :)

Mammoth Hot Springs

The weather didn't want to cooperate for our time at Mammoth Hot Springs.  Rain.  Overcast skies.  But did that stop us from exploring?  Of course not!  Unfortunately, the lighting did not allow the travertine terraces to show their delicate colors but they were beautiful still.  Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by hot springs.  You can see it at your local home improvement store in the tile section. :)

The storms would regularly roll in and roll out.  Hiking in rain gear.  Five minutes later, pulling the rain gear off.  Off and on.  Off and on.  But when that sun came out, Wow!

Thank you, nice man from France, for taking our photo!

This area was called Orange Spring Mound.  Pretty imaginative name, right?  The storm that had just finished dropping buckets of rain on us was pretty dramatic in the background.

Then it was time to find some lunch and that was when we encountered the star of Mammoth Hot Springs.  He is the main sight to see and he knew it!

There is usually a herd of elk that hangs around the Mammoth area.  Plentiful grass.  The presence of people means no predators.  Perfect.

Since it was fall, the elk were in rut.  Elk in rut are very aggressive so the rangers had their hands full keeping the people herded away from danger.  This particular bull had rammed a car the day before for getting what he thought was too close to his ladies.

Clearly, this area belonged to him and he was not sharing it with anyone.  This is the last photo I got as the ranger herded us inside the store to safety.  :)

Whew!  A lot of excitement before lunch!

Still More Excitement

After the excitement and the long day, we slept in and got a late start.  We woke to a light drizzle and plenty of fog so it was easy to sleep a little later.  Eventually, we realized that we had places to go, things to see and we were off!

Of course, we were greeted by our daily road block when we entered Yellowstone.

As we neared the Tower Fall area, the sun peeped out and lit up the rocks of the gorge.  Of course, we had to stop and soak in the view.

And then we were back on the road, heading toward Mammoth Hot Springs.  As we rounded a curve, we spotted bighorn sheep on the hillside.  Vol Fan has amazing animal-spotting abilities and saw the big male, just before he disappeared over the crest of the hill.

Vol Fan could not resist the urge to try to see that big male again.  We parked around the curve, on the backside of the hill.  Off Vol Fan went, climbing the hill to try to find the big ram.  And find him, he did.  And the ram was not a happy camper at the disturbance.  Not happy enough, that he charged toward Vol Fan!  Needless to say, Vol Fan came very quickly back down the hill!

After getting Vol Fan's heart rate back to a normal pace, we were back on the road toward Mammoth. Beauty in every direction!

After arriving at Mammoth Hot Springs, the most momentous event of the day took place.  Meet your new Junior Ranger!

Yay me!!