Yellowstone, Day Three: More bison and a whole lot of driving!

I said goodbye to West Yellowstone this morning after spending two nights in a rustic, but modern cabin. It was a nice change from the usual hotel room, and I would highly recommend it. I didn't have much on the agenda today except visit the Lamar Valley area of Yellowstone National Park. After seeing bison, bison and more bison, I was hoping to see a few other animals...like wolves! On the way to the valley, I stopped at a couple of natural park sights...Roaring Mountain and Undine Falls. Roaring Mountain gets its name from the many fumaroles...vents hissing steam and gases.

After turning onto US Hwy 212, which would take me to Lamar Valley, it didn't take long for me to see bison. They are all over the place! But, really, I never get tired of looking at them. Shaggy, beautiful creatures! The scenery ain't bad, too!

A little further down the road...more bison! A whole lot of bison! In fact, there was almost no bison in the Lamar Valley area. I guess the grass was greener in other pastures?

There were people with spotting scopes and cameras with big lenses looking for other types of wildlife. I stopped once and asked what they were looking at. The first couple said they just saw a yellow-headed blackbird...it already flew away. And, they saw a couple of black bears up the road. The second time I stopped near a crowd, I asked again and the people were looking for bears and wolves...but, not seeing any yet. I searched around with my binoculars for awhile, but didn't have the patience...or the time...to just wait for wildlife.

My initial plan had been to continue down the highway all the way to Cody, WY. But, I didn't realize Beartooth Highway wasn't cleared of snow yet...and wouldn't be till May. So, I had to backtrack the way I came, then travel north, east and south. What would have taken me about two hours turned into a five hour ordeal. That's a whole lotta driving! One bright spot on my long day was the mini cattle drive across the road as I was heading toward Cody. It was a bit comical watching them use flags and an ATV to herd the uncooperative bovines. The dog just watched and laughed!

I THINK the weather will be cooperating and it will be mostly sunny tomorrow! I have a bit of a drive, but I'm hoping to see something cool. As for tonight, I think I'll be hitting the sack early. All that driving today was exhausting!