June 27th - on to Yellowstone

Wake up to a glorious day looking
over one big lake.



Crystal clear views of the Rockies to the East as we head South toward Yellowstone.

A bridge built for wildlife to cross the road and tall fences along the road to protect drivers.  Hopefully this works well.  

Again the changing geology astounds us as we log the miles. 



With snow capped peaks still in the distance - we are amazed at the views.






The road (I-90) snakes along the Rockies and over mountains revealing views of a ribbon of the highway across vast valley floors.









Over each rise you don't know what to expect but most likely it will be more than you expected.



Some just don't realize how much you can carry on a motorcycle and how much fun they can be.



Mountains rise abruptly from a rather flat valley.

Views as we near Yellowstone (I had no idea)

Mountain goats just a few miles outside the gate

Rocky mountains appropriately named.



Inside Yellowstone the hot springs steam mark their location as we approach. 

I had no idea Yellowstone possessed the diversity it does.  The rocky outcroppings and mountains, geysers, hot springs, and still snow caps in view of much of the park.  Definitely a place to come back to see.      



Bison are formidable for a car to encounter - we do not want to meet these "critters" on the road especially after dark - not easy to see. 




The late snow melt adds to the volume of water over this waterfall. 



Trees die due to the minerals in the soil
from the geyser and hot spring activity  

 The highlight of many visits to Yellowstone is seeing Old Faithful, we did see the geyser
however we were unable to stay to see it erupt since it was getting late and the sun was
soon to set.  Reluctantly we headed toward camp in order to avoid critters on the road.
(see above)  

We crossed the Continental Divide three times in our journey today.

Yellowstone Lake

   The animals we encountered on our way out of the park included Bison, Elk, and Deer and we were intent on getting to our campsite so we tried to stay close to the caravan of vehicles leaving the park.  The campsites in Yellowstone were full and the first two state parks leaving Yellowstone to the east are restricted to hard sided camping units only. Apparently last summer there was an unprovoked grizzly attack in that area.  So we wanted to get to a campsite that allowed tents.

Despite the rush to leave were still enjoyed the sights.



Sunset over Yellowstone Lake

                    

We arrived at a campsite and turned in and were greeted by this ominous sign. 

Unsure if tents were allowed we proceeded and found other tents already set up. 

We also found bear boxes to place our coolers and other food items in order

to secure them from bears. 

Do NOT FEED the BEARS

Unfortunately July 6th 2011 a man was killed in Yellowstone by a grizzly protecting her cubs.  This brought the seriousness of the situation to light.