2010 Yellowstone May

May 14 2010  After spending four days in The Grand Tetons, we headed north. Today is the first day that the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park is open. The snowbanks at the South Entrance indicate that there is good reason for this entrance to stay closed in winter. Today is 45 degrees and sunny…yea! We drove past the lake taking in the sights. We saw bison and had a coyote sighting for our first wildlife adventure causing a jam on our first day in the park. Next we stopped at Artist Point in the Canyon area for photos. After the Canyon area, we drove over to West Yellowstone..on the way we saw wildlife, including our 1st red dogs!

Yellowstone red dog May 2010

Before going to the hotel, we took a drive on Firehole Canyon Road…nice!

May 15 2010 Saturday  We enjoyed staying at the Best Western Weston Inn in West Yellowstone. Sunny & 70 Degrees today! We got sandwiches at Ernies Deli and food for the cooler to have a May picnic in Yellowstone. We can’t wait to see what today will bring.

Yellowstone May 2010

We started the day with the morning version of Firehole Canyon Drive, Upper Falls, and Kepler Cascades. We drove thru the park toward Hayden Valley and stopped for a picnic with the snowy landscape as a backdrop.  Even though we have been to the park many times, this is our first time with snow on the ground in early spring.

May 16 2010 Can’t believe another sunny beautiful day..up to 70 again today. We
had to use sunscreen!  We drove north from Norris towards Mammoth and stopped  at the Artists Paintpots..a place we had never visited. We saw more red dogs…love to watch them play!  In the afternoon, we stopped at the Sheepeater Cliffs for a picnic. We continued to Mammoth and took a few more animal and scenic pics.

Yellowstone Bear May 2010

After stopping in Mammoth to buy a hat with a visor for Lance, we drove towards Cooke City. We saw a lot of cars and knew immediately……….bear jam! At first, the cinammon bear was far in the distance, but he considerately came close enough to get a few good pics.  Just down the road, we spied another car jam; this time a black bear sauntering through the woods. Great excitement for all!

May 17 2010 Monday We stayed last night at the Elkhorn Lodge in Cooke City..ate at Miners Saloon..Cooke City is fun!  We drove through the park this morning and saw our first newly antlered male elk. Heading west, we stopped at Undine Falls, and took more wildlife photos. At the Yellowstone River picnic area, we encountered the resident Big Horn Sheep entourage.

May 18 2010 Tuesday  Today we drove south to Jackson. We left Cooke City about 6:30AM and had hardly left the town when we saw a cinammon bear on the bank along the road.  We continued driving thru the park and turned south. As we approached the Roaring Mountain area,  I saw a lot of people along the road. Then I saw what they saw.  BEARS!   In the valley was a mother and two cubs moving kind of fast through the brush. We stopped to get a few fast pics.

Yellowstone bear and cubs May 2010

We drove down the road just a little ways and pulled off to see if the bears would come closer. Little did we know. I saw occasional movement thru the bushes in back of the car and kept watching. All of a sudden, I heard a crunching. Then there is was –  a bear face in the bushes! I never will forget this moment. The mother bear came out of the bushes. I was standing on the running board of the car and she saw me and she stood up facing me and I submissively slid into the car seat. I could barely breathe, must less operate my camera, but Lance managed to get a few pics. So exciting!

This was a very fitting end to our Yellowstone 2010 trip. We LOVE Yellowstone and hope to return very soon!

To see more photos of our 2010 Yellowstone trip, click here
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