More of Yellowstone, Plus a Brand New Trail!

We spent one more great day inside Yellowstone National Park. We started out driving through Firehole Canyon to see the waterfall.

Then we hiked around Biscuit Basin.

The star of the show here is Sapphire Pool.

At the far end of the Biscuit Basin boardwalk is a side trail to Mystic Falls.

We then did the Black Sand Basin boardwalk. Ever wonder what makes a geyser geyse?

Well, this explains it...

The bison seem to like this place a lot!

The colors are just gorgeous!

This is Emerald Pool.

And yet another distraction... Don't have a clue what this is.

But the thing I was most excited to see was the brand new trail to an overlook of Grand Prismatic Spring. Definitely the best way to see it! I had climbed up here 4 years ago on an unofficial trail, but now there is a very nice official trail! I'll bet this is the first new trail the National Park Service has built since the 1930s, and it's very much appreciated.

Things to See West of Yellowstone

While we were parked in Island Park, ID, we went to see several things on this side of Yellowstone. First up was Earthquake Lake.

This is a lake formed because of a 7.5 magnitude earthquake back in 1959. The whole side of the mountain slid down and blocked the river.

This gigantic boulder was thrown all the way across the lake. It's now a memorial to the 28 people killed by the landslide.

You can still see some of the cabins that floated away that day.

And also the remains of a lodge.

On another day, we went to see Johnny Sack's cabin. Johnny was a German immigrant who built the cabin in 1929. Because of its uniqueness, it's now a National Landmark.

Johnny was a carpenter, who build everything himself.

I liked the coat and hat rack.

We interrupt this post because Diana is distracted again...

And then on another day, we went to Harriman State Park, where were did a little hike -

Looking for their main attraction, the Trumpeter Swan.

We also went to see Mesa Falls - first, the Upper Falls,

And then the Lower Falls.

Welcome to Yellowstone!

From Cody, WY, I drove through Yellowstone National Park to meet up with the WINs again in Island Park, ID, our next gathering point. Almost immediately, I ran into a buffalo jam...

Cool!

The first thing we did was go on a historic walking tour of West Yellowstone. We managed to get inside the old Union Pacific dining hall.

All over town are these cool painted buffalo.

Some are really intricate.

The next day, Patricia and I went back into Yellowstone National Park. We first went to Norris Geyser Basin, because the parking lot is usually full and closed.

Next we went to the Canyon section of the park, where the big attraction is the Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

This is the view from Artist's Point.

There were even some artists there!

Next we went to the brink of the Upper Falls.

And then to the brink of the Lower Falls, although I didn't walk all the way down.

The canyon is steep and beautiful here. And zooming in-

There was an osprey in a nest.

The view down canyon -

And looking over at Artist's Point, where we just were.

On the way home, we stopped at Gibbon Falls -

And drove right by this guy, who was sticking out his tongue at me...

More Great Stuff to Do in Cody

The highlight of Cody, WY is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. It is one of the 5 best museums in the country according to somebody. There are actually 5 museums inside, and they give you 2 days to get through it.

In addition, they have a raptor show twice a day. This Peregrine Falcon was the star of the show. He obviously has an injured wing.

But the biggest, Da Boss of the Show, was this Golden Eagle. All of their birds have injuries that make it impossible for them to make it on their own in the wild.

And - GUESS WHAT! The have a Custom Cowboy Shop in town! I tried to order one that said "Yes dear," in addition to some other things, and they just laughed at me...

On the weekend, they had the Wild West River Fest, a kayaking race through gates on the river.

Some were really good, and some not so much...

On the same day, they had Great Dam Day, out of town at the Buffalo Bill Dam. This is the only day that the old road down the river is open, so we can get a great view of the dam -

And the old power house -

And even a very old ladder that was used when the dam was being built.

In the lake above the dam were a lot of old logs, which I was sort of fascinated with...

Next - moving on to Yellowstone National Park!