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Day 6

Near the west entrance to YNP is a bald eagles nest near the road.  Its not hard to spot since the traffic jams up by it at all hours everyday.  This nest had a baby eagle in it and we saw on of the parents perched in a tree nearby.

YNP had the greatest snowfall on record during the winter of 07-08.  The snow was so deep that many bison could not get to food.  A ranger told us the lost nearly have the bison heard, more the 2000.  We did not ever run into any large herds while we were there, but there were plenty of lone buffalo by the road.

Our next stop was the Mammoth Hot Springs area.  In this area, the hot springs have formed terraces with mineral buildup over the years.  When I was here as a kid, this area had much more pretty terraces then now, I guess the hot spring openings shift over time.  The visitor center had images through the years showing how the area has changed.

The elk in this area know where the good food is.

Along the road from Mammoth Hot Springs towards Tower Falls, is a one way road split off called Blacktail Plateau Drive.  This was a nice secluded drive through the foothills of Yellowstone.  There are many meadows with wildflowers still in bloom for us to see.

Our next stop was Tower Falls.

Between Tower Falls and Canyon Village, you climb to 8800 feet at Dunraven Pass.  This was our first easy access to a snow bank for a least a few snow balls.

Next we stopped at the Canyon Village area.  This is where the upper and lower Yellowstone Falls are.  All access to the north side of the canyon was closed due to remodeling, so our view would be from the south side.  This is a shot looking down at the upper falls, where you can get right to the rim.

This is the view from Artists Point.  The walls of the canyon are quite yellow, thus the name Yellowstone National Park.

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