More Yellowstone and Aussie Bikers!

Post for August 11th

Waking up a little stiff from sleeping on the ground and rocks (hmmm...didn't seem to bother me in my Boy Scouts days), I fired up the camp stove for some chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  You can't beat that smell when you're cooking out!

After breaking camp we headed south to Hayden Valley to look for more wildlife.

Bison everywhere!  Many standing on the road creating traffic jams.  But no complaints, how else do you get to be so close to these huge, fast and dangerous animals?

Not your normal beltline traffic jam

What was this guy thinking?

Nice Bison portrait

We spent quite a while at one turnout just watching a large herd interact.  This mother & calf came down the hill to join the rest

Seeing this herd, it was hard to imagine what it must have looked like when millions of bison roamed the U.S.

Part of the herd

Continuing south, we stopped at the sulphur cauldrons and mud volcanoes.  Once again
Jane proved to be equally as interesting as one of the most fascinating spots on earth!

Almost as strong as battery acid!

Dragon's Mouth Spring - you could hear it breathing

Checking out the Pony

Farther down Yellowstone Lake was the West Thumb Geyser Basin.  This area was next to
and actually extended into the lake.  This made for a great setting for these thermal
features.

Interesting green color in this one

Flow towards the lake

Our stay for the night was back at the Old Faithful area.  After checking in to our cabin at
the Lodge, we headed out to see the rest of the geyser trail that we had skipped a few days
ago.  Even though we were looking at geysers, we also managed to see some Marmots and
even a few more bison.

Marmot eating grass

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Grand Geyser and Bleached Trees

Punch Bowl Spring

Luck was on our side as we came back down the trail right when Daisy Geyser was due
to erupt.  We didn't have long to wait before we got see the show!

Daisy Geyser erupting

After grabbing some dinner at the lodge cafeteria, we walked back to the cabin to find the
previously mentioned Aussie bikers admiring Jane.  They had flown into Vegas and rented
Harley's to go to Sturgis and were on their way back.  We had a great time talking with
them as Kelly showed them the car and tried to understand what they were saying.  Seems
we exposed a bit of Ford ("blue oval") vs. Holden (GM) rivalry between them!  They left
us to get dinner and we laughed about the experience as we tried to figure out what they 
had said.

Another day full of great sights and interesting experiences!