Our last hike in the Rocky Mountains: Bierstadt Lake

     Our last hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park was to Bierstadt Lake. We got up early in the morning and managed to get one of the few parking spaces available at the trailhead. Woot! Here's the view from the parking lot.

     Not a bad way to start off the morning! The trail started off in a wooded area, not too strenuous. 

    After a short ways, the trail opens up to a beautiful mountain range. A good portion of the hike is along the mountainside. The trail gets pretty narrow at times with rocks & tree roots clogging up the path and a steep drop-off to your left. It does become somewhat strenuous at points and is not a flat walk. It is gorgeous though.

       After maybe an hour of this kind of hiking, we hit the forest again and walked another 30 minutes or so on a relatively flat and wonderfully shaded & cool path until we reached Bierstadt Lake.

Bierstadt Lake and Lunch Time!

      We took a nice break by the edge of the water and had our lunch. We even spotted some elk across the lake :) All in all, it came out to about a 4-mile hike there and back.

Self-Portrait at Bierstadt

     On our way back, we passed by this cool tree that was begging for a photo shoot:

 

Rocky Mountains, even though you eventually rained us out and sent a thunderstorm that almost ripped our tent out of the ground, we loved every minute! Hope to return :)

Last Day at Yellowstone

  Thursday night would be our last night in Yellowstone and we definitely celebrated. Like I knew it would, the week was over with in no time. We spent about 2 months planning and buying the gear we needed and the time just flew by once we got there. But that's the way it is. There's a lot to see in a place that spans just over 2 million acres.

   On our way out, we got to see the Grand Tetons. I'd have to agree with their name! Just driving past them and taking photos from the car window was awesome.

Grand Tetons, Wyoming

Grand Tetons, Wyoming

Grand Tetons, Wyoming

Pinedale, Wyoming

Nebraska Sky

     I have to admit the drive back was not as fun as the drive to Yellowstone. We were exhausted and the last place we wanted to be for 2 1/2 days was on the road. But we made it back home to two very affectionate cats and a real bed! Despite the long drive, the trip was totally worth it. Our main expense was gas. The Yellowstone entrance pass was only $25 per car and our campground was about $20 a night. We packed way too much food so we didn't have to go grocery shopping when we got back. Bonus! And the money we spent on gear we won't have to spend again (hopefully). All in all, an amazing and wonderful trip. We only saw a fraction of what's in Yellowstone which means one thing...second trip back next year!

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.

Bighorn National Forest to Shoshone

     Bright and early Sunday morning (July 29th), Karl and I left our Wyoming hotel and started our last leg to Yellowstone. Along the way, we passed through Bighorn National Forest and Shoshone National Forest and can I just say...GORGEOUS! It was the perfect prelude to Yellowstone itself. Basically our conversation went from "ooooohhhhh" to "aaaaaaaahhhh" to "Hey, look at that!"and back again. Absolutely beautiful and, at times, a bit nerve-wracking with those drop-offs right next to the road. You definitely don't want to take your eyes off the road!

Here are some photos taken from the car as we passed through Bighorn and Shoshone.











We had a couple close calls with deer. You can tell they're used to traffic coming through because they look both ways before they cross :)

Be prepared to not look at the road when you get into Bighorn. And if you get carsick on those mountain roads (like me) be prepared to suck it up and deal with it. Luckily, I had my camera to help distract me.

Another passenger-side view of Wyoming...

Nearing the end of our drive through Bighorn and Shoshone. Our expectations were surpassed before we even got into the park! Once reaching Yellowstone, it would be another 1 1/2 hours before reaching our campground but that's another blog.

Road Trip to Yellowstone

      On Friday, July 27th, my honey and I set out at 7:30am to start the long and arduous drive to Yellowstone Park. We left Georgia and drove through Tennessee, Kentucky, cut through the bottom tip of Illinois and traveled across Missouri. I tried to save my memory cards for Wyoming but that didn't happen. While passing through St. Louis, Missouri we saw the Gateway Arch. I was able to get this photo as we passed by.

      And some Missouri fields...

    From Missouri, we drove along the border of Nebraska and Iowa and then into South Dakota. Driving through South Dakota we saw a lot of bikes and trailers headed for the Sturgis Rally not to mention a very interesting (and rather random) outdoor museum of giant statues. I fought the urge to snap away. I'm still waiting for Yellowstone! But here's a windshield snapshot of a South Dakota cloud.

    And then sweet Wyoming!

   At this point in the trip, we'd been driving for 2 days. Time for a hotel :) The next morning we got up bright and early and made our way through Bighorn National Forest. And that's where I finally lost control of my shutter button. But that's for my next post!