Yellowstone, Day 2

 More amazing sites in Yellowstone.  We had quite a day.  The goal was Mammoth Hot Springs at the north entrance of the park.  We made a lot of stops along the way.  Going over the mountain road we encountered snow in the air. We ate our picnic lunch in the truck.  Burrr.

         The first photos are of The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  First a view of the Upper Falls.

Upper Falls

Then a close up of the top of the Lower Falls.

And then the Grand Canyon.

More colorful leaves.  Fall leaf color was not on my radar so a pleasant surprise to still be out traveling to see the beauty.

Finally, we arrived at Mammoth Hot Springs.  Each time we visit there is thermal activity in a different area.  The features and pathways change over time.

As the hot springs move they engulf trees.  The trees take up the mineral rich water and turn to stone.  They aren't called petrified but I expect they will be here a long long time.

Saving the best for last.  As you drive along the traffic stops occasionally for animal sightings.  We stopped and realized there were buffalo ahead.  Turns out a herd of 600-1000 were crossing the road 1 car in front of us.  We watched them come out of the forest on 1 side of the road, cross over in front of us and down the other side of the road.  Then many of them decided to just run down the road so they were parting in front of us and running on both sides of the truck.  I was taken with how the stay together, bulls, cows, calves of all sizes.  Carol heard a cow calling for her calf.  She waited for the calf to find her and then they ran on.  We watched for 15 minutes watching in awe.

These elk are used to people  

Big Horn sheep eating along side the road.  I have only ever seen these magnificent animals way up on a hill, like our sighting in Glacier NP back on day 3 of this excursion.

A beautiful ending to an amazing day.  This is our last day traveling with Rooneys.  Tomorrow we both start our separate trips home.