Drove 25 miles South to the North Entrance of Yellowstone crossing into Wyoming. Left at 8:15 to make a giant loop around Yellowstone getting back to the RV a little after 6:00. You enter the Park through the Roosevelt Arch and start the loop at Mammoth Hot Springs. Fantastic geothermal sights from the Springs which are from water contacting volcanic mama 5 to 6 miles deep and flowing unrestricted to the surface to Geysers which follow the same process but are restricted along the way so they have to build pressure until they blow.
As the water rises to the surface the CO2 is given off resulting in a white calcium deposit known as travertine. The non-white colors are caused by masses of primitive microorganisms living in the water.
Saw a mother Grizzly with her cub and a lot of Buffalo on our drive South.
Continuing South you come to several large Geyser basins before arriving at Old Faithful.
Just missed Old Faithful going off and it would be another 90 to 120 minutes before erupting again so we grabbed a sandwich at the Old Faithful Inn and ate it on the Porch before heading East around the Loop.
On the bottom leg of the Loop you run along side Lake Yellowstone. Its 141 miles of shoreline make it one of the largest and most beautiful lakes in the Rockies.
Turning North for the Eastern side of the Loop you come to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone with some great waterfalls and views.
Nancy got a great picture of an Elk’s backside just before we climbed up Mount Washburn that had a lot of snow near the top. Decided to call it a day and come back on Saturday to do the Top North side of the loop.
