Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

07-15-21: Up early I was hoping to beat the crowds and arrived at the Eastern entrance by 7:30am. It is hard to overstate just how big Yellowstone is, at nearly 3400 square miles or 2.2 million acres it is larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. Not exactly a day trip!

My plan was to hit the geyser basin and see old faithful and then explore the rest of the park in a loop, come in the Eastern entrance and go up to Mammoth Hot Springs and then back out the Northeast entrance, this would leave the Lamar valley for the afternoon and I hoped to see lots of wildlife in that area.

The first thing you realize is just how big the park is, once you enter the gate it is still another 27 miles to the visitor center! No worries there is plenty to see and enjoy on the way. Not even a mile inside the park I saw my first bison, a solo bull just wandering down the road.

Yellowstone lake is huge, and you will spend much of your drive to the visitor center circling around its shore, unique in that it has several hot springs feeding into it.

You will also cross the Continental Divide on your way in, I had to stop for the glamour shot.

Continuing on the wildlife kept on coming, I saw deer and elk but didn’t get great pictures of them. Arriving at the visitor center complex, this is where the geyser basin that contains Old Faithful. It is also where the crowds were. I circled the lot and feeling a bit crazy drove right up to the very front right next to the general store and snagged a spot in the front row. Luck of the Irish! 😜☘️

The geyser basin has a boardwalk that goes around all the various geysers as well as benches for you to sit on and wait for Old Faithful (OF). I grabbed my good camera and set off deciding to capture the next eruption from above, a different vantage point than most see and then I could cover the remainder of the boardwalk and capture the more traditional front view on my way back.

And finally one more short clip of the Solitary Geyser, a pretty cool little geyser that you pass on the way down from the overlook. Well worth the visit.

And finally one last video of the smaller “Solitary geyser”

I managed to squeeze into the general store to pick up a t-shirt and then headed out to explore the rest of the park, hoping to get away from the crowds. I continued north and stopped for lunch at a picnic area right on the Yellowstone river. Quite a nice spot to relax and enjoy the beauty. After lunch I followed a scenic drive sign for Firehole Canyon and found a Firehole waterfall!

By the time I arrived at Mammoth hot springs it was just jammed packed, I stopped for a quick photo of some Elk that were just laying in someones front yard.

Moving along as it was getting to be prime wildlife spotting time, I headed towards the Lamar valley. I was not disappointed.

Its a bit out of the way and leads to the Northeast exit which really is the middle of nowhere Montana, but if you visit Yellowstone you have to see the Lamar valley! It is the image I had in my mind of the plains covered with buffalo, it really does exist.

I spent 2 days total in the park, and could easily spend a full week. I think a week staying in the park and maybe even taking some guided tours would be a great way to see everything.

Here is my entire album, lots of pictures. Enjoy!

Yellowstone photos

Due to the smoke and limited visibility I have decided to skip Grand Tetons and leave it for another time. Next stop will near Helena Montana, I’ve got a spot for 4 nights right on the Missouri River at the Canyon Ferry Dam, should be nice!