Where in the World are Jeff and Sue?: Day 4, Thurs, June 16th: Bear With Us/Did Someone Say Bison?

Today was another awesome day. Our night last night was interesting when the fire in the wood stove burned out and both of us were too lazy to get up and add wood! It was warm under the covers though so we really didn’t mind until morning. Other than that, our little cabin was cozy, rustic, and wonderful! We wish we were there again tonight except it was taken. So tonight, we have a modest, Motel 6 type room at the other end of the park.

Staying in Yellowstone was a great decision for us. We have had an amazing time! Tonight we are close to Yellowstone Lake, the largest alpine lake in North America. It’s beautiful with the mountains in the background. There is also a rumor of a momma elk with a baby lurking around that sometimes shows up down by the water. As a matter of fact, the momma is said to have charged one of the servers at the restaurant here when she got too close! We will hopefully go for a walk tomorrow morning and see if we can spot them (and get pix, of course).

Today we saw not only more mule deer, but I was up at the crack of dawn (before 6am) and saw Yellowstone’s Canyon where some big horn sheep were making their way around on the opposite side along the steep canyon's wall. I have some nice video of them. They looked like they were female since their horns were not big and thick like the male big horns. We also saw more Bison, of course, and two bear! One was a black bear and the other a grizzly. The grizzly was by a stream eating what was left of an elk. We discovered that when something like this happens word spreads fast and before you know it there is a “Bear Jam!” This is what the rangers call it when so many cars stop with people eager to watch.

We also made our way closer to the southern entrance/exit of the park and into the caldera (Yellowstone’s volcanic section) where we saw many geothermal springs, steam vents, and finally Old Faithful! There were many different sizes, colors, and varying degrees of geyser action. Wow is all we can say!

We are exhausted and crashing fast. Tomorrow our plan is to head through Grand Teton National Park and turn again to the west:)

One more thing… tonight for dinner, Jeff had a bison burger! How ironic that we could enjoy them so much in the park and then he enjoys (part) one for dinner! (sorry to all of the vegetarians)

Until tomorrow