I woke this morning to this view.
So I lit a fire, and cooked breakfast
I spent the morning driving up to Mammoth springs and Gardiner where I have booked a Hotel for two nights. Much of the scenery was hidden in the snow storm but what I did see was breathtaking.
Luckily my hotel let me in early so I have spent the last few hours cleaning and drying myself and my kit as well as getting some dinner. I dont plan to do much the rest of the day.
Tomorrow I want to see the Lamar Valley.
Today has been one of the best days ever. Each time I see something amazing, I turn a corner and see something better.
It was drizzly rain this morning as I crawled out of my tent. I had no cooking shelter so decided to drive 16 miles South to old faithfull and have breakfast there, I would then wind my way back to the camp site taking in the sights on the way. I reached old faithful just as it started to snow.
A ranger tour was just heading off so I abandoned going for breakfast and joined the tour, by the time it had finished it was snowing heavily and I was wet and cold. I went for what was now brunch. I do like to eat local food when in a different country so bison burger seemed appropriate, it was good.
Old faithful was, well to be honest very unfaithful, she was 4 minutes late. The best sights for me were some of the other springs and geysers in the area.
I then started North and every place I visited seemed to improve on the last. I will let the photos speak for themselves.
It started raining again this evening so rather than go back to camp and having a wet evening trying to cook I decided to return to West Yellowstone where I am now sat enjoying liver and onions and using the Wifi.
Tomorrow I head north and will find a hotel for tomorrow night.
What a lot I managed to pack into one day. Overnight it rained but it stopped in the morning and held off the rest of the day. Once packed and had a quick breakfast bar watching the lake I did the 3 mile hike back to the car. The altitude (8,500 ft) and my age meant I was exhausted. I drove to the Old Faithful visitor centre because a priority was finding either a campsite with facilities or a hotel for the night. While I was there Old Faithfull faithfully did what she does best.
With directions to Madison 16 miles away I set off passing lots of geothermal features on the way, tomorrow I plan to go back down there to have a proper look. After booking in for 2 nights, setting up my tent, drying and cleaning my kit and myself I set off to West Yellowstone just outside the park to get mobile signal or WiFi to let everyone know I was safe.
At West Yellowstone I posted some postcards, uploaded my blogs for the last few days and caught up on messages and emails. I dont think the photos uploaded on the blog posts so I will try again next time I get a signal.
This evening I went for a walk around the campsite perimeter. In one hour I had seen a fisherman catch a fish, 3 bison and 3 drizzly bears who were eating an elk carcass about 300m away from the road.. wow what a day.
I have just finished cooking and eating dinner by the campfire and just about to retire for the evening. Although I know the bears are nearby, I feel safer here as there are lots of other campers around and I know the bears have had their supper tonight.
