Thursday, May 30th, 2013
It was a chilly morning in Yellowstone National Park. We bundled up, made coffee, and got ready to see more of it. Trevor missed the stop sign and almost took out an Asian family on the way to Norris campground, where we claimed a site for later. We drove to the North Rim of the “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,” not to be confused with the North Rim of the Grand Canyon… of the Grand Canyon.
We hiked the North Rim Trail to the Brink of the Lower Falls, then hiked the rest of the way down. In the distance, we could see an osprey flying around its nest. We walked back to take the trail to the Brink of the Upper Falls.
It began to sleet, so we returned to the van and drove north to the Tower Falls Overlook. There was a lot of pretty scenery on the way there.
We turned around to head back to Madison. Once we got close, we had to slow down since a protective Bison mama was blocking traffic to allow her babies to cross the street.
We left the park to get something to eat in West Yellowstone, where we got an excellent meal on a school bus that served Mexican food. Then, we ran some errands around town.
After taking a trip to the post office, Trevor walked us both into a sprinkler which he didn’t see and I was trying to avoid as he corralled me towards it. After getting gas and groceries, we returned to the park.
We pulled over to get a better look at the Bald Eagle in the trees, before getting stuck in a traffic jam. After see flashing lights, I wondered if someone got a little too close to a bison and got punted across the field. It turned out to be rangers on horseback making an effort to move a herd of bison away from the road.
Once the traffic started moving, we made our way to Gibbon Falls, then to Artist Paint Pots. Trevor is really sick of “bubbly ground” at this point and is not at all amused.
Our next stop was to the Norris Geyser Basin. We started by walking the Back Basin Loops which included the world’s tallest active geyser, Steamboat Geyser. Trevor asked when the geyser would be going off and the nearby ranger rolled her eyes, laughed and informed him that it hadn’t gone off for 8 years. Funny enough, we were listening to NPR 2 months later and heard it had erupted again. Suck it, Ranger Rick!
We walked the Porcelain Basin Loop before driving back to Norris Campground. We drank coffee, sat by the river and watched the Bison before heading back to our van.
Jump Back to Part 41: The Land of Bubbly Water
Jump Ahead to Part 43: Big Sky Country
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Start Over at Part 01: The Blue Bubble, Freebies & A Rude Awakening
Stubbs Rambles On 