6/24-28 Yellowstone National Park

I have been here before, so I did not join my family for all sightseeing, but it was nice to be in the park again, in spite of the summer crowds.  Luckily, the park is so huge that there are still many places which are still uncrowded.  

One of the easist places to park is in the Canyon Visitor Center area.  There is a large lot that nearly always has empty spots. Nice visitor center there, as well as various stores and restaurants. 

 This says it is Canyon Lodge, but it actually is several cafes and restaurants.  The new lodge is about a quarter mile away. 

 The new Canyon Lodge consists of several very large hotel buildings.  My son and his family stayed in this one, and right next to the entrance was this very big guy, collecting a large audience. 

He is really big, so I used my telephoto lens as opposed to getting up too close.
A mature bull like this one can weigh 2,000 pounds and run 40 MPH, so it is not a good idea to irritate him. 

The scenery at Yellowstone is so varied--mountains to plains, fully grown forests to new trees in burned-over areas.  Places like this area are where bison hang out.

 Canyon Lodge is obviously close to the Yellowstone Canyon and Falls. 

 The second day we drove to Mammoth Hot Springs, but stopped along the way to take a stagecoach ride.  The person on the horse is blocking traffic to let the two stagecoaches cross safely.

A nice stream along the old stagecoach road we took. 

Some cow elk very near Mammoth Hot Springs. 

 Sign showing overall view of the formation known as Mammoth Hot Springs.

Looking from the bottom up at Mammoth Hot Springs.  I waited below while the more energetic members of our group climbed the stairs to the top.

This old mineral area looks like a really uncomfortable place to rest during the day, but this elk seemed to think it was an OK place. 

Is this a rattlesnake??  It was big, maybe 6' long, just calmly laying along the side path to the hot springs.  I think it is a nonpoisonous Bullsnake because its diamonds are not bordered in white.  See this page:  https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bullsnake.htm

A view of the town of Mammoth Hpt Springs from the viewing area you can drive to at the top of the springs.  (Tip: A lot easier to drive to than walk up all those steps to!)

Mammoth Hot Springs was the headquarters of the Army Cavalry that was the caretakers of Yellowstone after it became a national park, but before the National Park Rangers were organized and took over control of the park.  The director of Yellowstone still lives here and this is still the official park headquarters. 

On to another attraction--West Thumb Geyser Basin that borders Yellowstone Lake.

   
This is an old geyser now in the lake.

 

 I did some other things at Yellowstone, including a boat ride on the Lake and some very nice dinners, but these are the photos of the park in general.  Next are some photos of the still very impressive Old Faithful Hotel.