There were so many beautiful and amazing sites at Yellowstone that it is impossible to take them all in in two days but we managed a pretty good dent in it. We’re only including a few highlights below but we will upload a gallery of photos when we return home for those who want to see more. So this is a long/large post!

We actually arrived in Yellowstone Tuesday Night the 24th after a long trek up South Dakota and across Montana to Billings, Montana. This route was about an hour out of our way but took us into Montana to get a taste of Big Sky Country and when were we going to get another chance at that? We determined there were a lot of cattle in Montana!

We dropped down from Billings to Cody, Wyoming to go through the East entrance into Yellowstone. A spectacular introduction to Yellowstone through the mountain passes from Cody.

On our way through Yellowstone to our lodgings at Flagg Ranch near the South Gate we made a quick stop at West Thumb on Yellowstone Lake to see the hot springs and vents there.

Then on to Flagg Ranch a couple of miles south of Yellowstone where we moved into our cabin and Home for the next four nights, our longest stay anywhere on our trip.

Day 15 was our first full day in Yellowstone and, like everyone else, we started off with a trip to Old Faithful and then a breakfast at the historic Old Faithful Inn … not that historic, it was built in 1954, the year we were born!

From there we headed out to see Firehole Falls, one of the many scenic rivers running through the park…

and the thermal features at the Artists Paint Pots.

Next was the truly breathtaking “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone” where we hiked down a twisting trail to the Lower Falls and were rewarded with the permanent rainbow found there.

Then back to Flagg Ranch and some well deserved sleep.

We were up early on Day 16 for a nice breakfast at the Lodge …

…and to try to beat the crowds to the Grand Prismatic Spring

Then it was on to the Lamar Valley in the northeast corner of the park to find some bison (buffalo) and boy did we! One was strolling down the highway at about 9,000 feet of elevation. They were wonderful to watch…

…and the mountain views descending into the valley were phenomenal.

At the end of the day we were struck with the fact that you could make a National Park out of any one of the features in Yellowstone and there were dozens packed into this magical place. Something everyone should see and we are thankful for the opportunity.

Gallery from Yellowstone

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