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Posted by GA Tim (66.168.208.179) on 16:15:36 06/29/12
Day 6 June 13, 2012 Wednesday:
For some reason the heater failed to work on our last night in the lodge cabin but we stayed warm anyway. It was just a wee bit chilly getting out of the shower. We were up at 4AM and out the door before 5AM. We watched an eruption of Old Faithful all alone at 4:58AM. We went back to our cabin to make sandwiches and coffee. We finished packing up the car and went back to Old Faithful for eruption photos at first light.
As we were leaving the area I decided to stop at the lower store for some gas. It was a good decision because we saw many bison adults & calves up close and personal right around the gas station. There was also a large herd in the river valley. At one point I went back to the car to change lenses and saw a large shadow moving next to the car. A group of bison were walking right around our car. I jumped in the back seat with the door still hanging open and called out to my wife to watch out behind her. That was close! We got some good photos and gassed up once the bison cleared out.
We drove north on the main loop road and encountered some big bison just strolling down the road like they owned the place. They walked right by my windows and I could look into their eyes and sense them sizing me up. Just a bit up the road a big elk slowly crossed the road in front of us. We then stopped at Firehole Falls Drive for some photos of the waterfall. It was still early and rather dark in the canyon. Mosquitoes attacked from all directions. We proceeded through Madison Junction to Gibbon Falls for more photos. I am still kicking myself now for not driving the road out to the West Entrance. We drove every road in Yellowstone but that one. I might have finally gotten a photo of a bald eagle. As we approached Artist Paint Pots we noticed a traffic jam just past the side road and decided to check it out. There were three male elk with good-sized racks out in a field to the west of the road. We took a few photos and turned back towards Artist Paint Pots. APP was not that impressive and it seemed a little dried out in places and too wet in other places the paint pots were much better at Fountain Paint Pots. Still, we took tons of photos hoping to capture a bubble at just the right moment.
We continued north on the main road making a quick stop at the Chocolate Pot. We went into Norris Geyser Basin but did not walk much of the trail. By this time we were pretty much tired of hot pools and geysers. And I had a pretty painful blister on my pinky toe that limited my walking. I never should have decided to change shoe inserts at the beginning of a trip! I went back to my other arch-support inserts and that seemed to help the toe rubbing issue (thank God I brought both inserts with me!). It was also a good thing I brought a box of Dr. Scholl s blister treatment cushions with me. Those things are fabulous!
We stopped at Sheepeater Cliff picnic area for lunch and some relaxation. We walked back to the cliffs further down the river and got some marmot photos. Those rocks are tricky to walk on and I slipped and tried to protect my lens before protecting myself. The lens never got a scratch and I ended up with a couple of bruises and scrapes, more embarrassed than injured. As we continued north we stopped by Swan Lake Flats for more photos. We arrived at Golden Gate and the wind was fierce through there! It took all our strength just to stand still against the wind. We quickly finished a few photos and continued on the road to the Hoodoos. We made it to Mammoth Hotel by 3PM and checked into our room. It was unbearably hot in our 4th-floor room and stayed that way through the night. I really wanted an afternoon nap but could not stand being in the room at all. We opened the window and left it open all night but the room never cooled down. For an early dinner we had some instant noodles and then had huckleberry ice cream (again). I really wanted to drive up the Old Gardiner Road but it was closed. We drove the main road up to the arch for photos. We then drove into Gardiner to look around and do some grocery shopping. I think if come back again we will stay in Gardiner instead if we stay up in this corner at all. There is really no added value to staying at Mammoth when Gardiner is so close. On the way back we saw a large group of elk with some young ones and also spotted a rainbow.
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