Yellowstone: Close Encounters of the Buffalo Kind

    On our drive back from Mammoth Hot Springs, we stopped along Gardner River and did some walking. It was a beautiful place to walk and take photos and the weather was perfect. I kept forgetting to keep my eye out for large and small critters because the scenery was so distracting. Here's some photos.

Gardner River

Gardner River

    However, it was the trip from Gardner River that was the real gem! While we were driving down the road, we came across a bit of a traffic jam. A lone buffalo was ambling down the center of the road with both lanes stopped. And he did not care how long it took! And he definitely was not concerned about being surrounded by vehicles. It was pretty cool to come that close to something so massive and powerful.

............

Whoa!

     Here's a few more shots on our way back to camp:

    On Wednesday, we drove 45 miles northeast to Lamar Valley where there's even more buffalo. That's supposed to be one of the best places to see buffalo, bears and wolves. No luck with wolves, but we did see one bear from REALLY far away. We did happen upon a young and slightly curious coyote though. 

On the way to Lamar Valley

And, oh, wait...more buffalo...

   After Lamar Valley, we drove to Slough Creek and hiked part of the trail there. We didn't make it too far because of the incline, but we tried!

Slough Creek Trail

Up to no good: Karl, me & Patience

Leaving Slough Creek

Leaving Slough Creek

   The Artist Paintpots was our next stop after Slough Creek, but that will have to wait until the next blog.