Yellowstone National Park Wyoming / Montana / Idaho are Wonderful!

We sadly left Bryce Canyon Pines RV Resort, outside of Bryce Canyon National Park on 31 May 2023. We drove north on I-15, through Provo and Salt Lake City Utah. We were surprised about the 6 lane congestion and heavy traffic in those cities between 1 and 3pm that day. It was Wednesday in the middle of the afternoon. We wanted to break up the drive to Yellowstone into two days, so we stopped at Willard Bay North State Park for the night. It was close to I-15, so quick off and on. Steve checked out the park and got a few pictures.

Willard Bay State Park

Campground is at the base of Wasatch mountain

Western Tanager picking up cottonwood seed for nest building

We arrived at Henry’s Lake State Park on 1 June 2023. It’s a campground about 2 miles off the state highway (ID-20) and has beautiful views of the lake and mountains. Unfortunately, we arrived at the peak of the Lake Fly swarming of the campground. Our campsite was near the water, so we got the brunt of the swarm every day for our whole two-week stay. We didn’t get a picture of the worst on our truck and camper, but we got one of them on the truck on Saturday 3 June. The campground had also experienced an underground sewer line failure just before we arrived, so the dump station was closed. The showers were clean and conveniently located, so we used campground facilities for showers and black water producers. We made it the whole two weeks before needing to dump. With being gone most days, it wasn’t too hard.

This sign was in our campground and in Yellowstone National Park

Actually a lite day for the lake flies

The first day (2 June) we drove into Yellowstone, it was drizzling and overcast all day. We did a driving tour along the Grand Loop W to NE and spotted wildlife along the way. Bison were most abundant. We saw a few groups of them and few of them on their own. We could see well enough to see that the adults were shedding their winter coats. We saw a few mommas with their calves. We had entered Yellowstone National Park through the West Entrance. Our campground was in Island Park Idaho, about 15 miles outside of Yellowstone. Just outside Yellowstone, we entered Montana, then once inside Yellowstone we entered Wyoming, the state most of Yellowstone is in. We followed the route to get to Lamar Valley, where wildlife sightings are most likely. We went a little way up the road in Lamar Valley toward the Northeast entrance to the park and turned around due to road construction delays. We decided to go up to Mammoth Hot Springs NW. The springs were not flowing strongly. Actually, the lower ones were hardly flowing at all. Steve went up to the higher springs and got pictures there, but he said those were sort of disappointing too. Anita had gone down, finding it easier to breathe on the descension vice more ascension (Altitude 6750 ft). We had stopped at a few overlooks to see steam coming out of the ground and the ground gurgling. The more we saw, the more unsettling it became for Anita. It just felt like we should not be there in case the volcano that Yellowstone National Park is erupted. The overcast and drizzly weather didn’t help.

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day (at Mammoth Hot Springs)

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day (notice Yellow-rumped warbler at Mammoth Hot Springs)

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day (Mammoth Springs)

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day head of Gibbon River Falls

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day (Mammoth Hot Springs)

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

(Prong horn antelope and bison)

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

Inside Yellowstone Visitor Center

Inside Yellowstone Visitor Center

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day at Gibbon Falls

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

Gibbon Falls (Raining a little harder) 2 June 2023

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

2 June 2023 driving through Yellowstone National Park on drizzly day

The first Saturday we stayed around the campground and tried to dodge lake flies. Steve breathed one in when he was talking to our neighbor! He was able to push it out, but it’s just an example of how dense the swarm was. We did laundry less than a mile from our campground at Valley View RV Campground and Laundromat. A wash was $3.50 and dry was .75 for 15 minutes. They are the only laundry facility in the area, so we paid. It was a rainy day, so after our errands and chores, we just stayed inside and read. Those are good days too!

The first Sunday, we attended mass at Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in the town of West Yellowstone. The church was full. Father Val shared that the church almost lost the stained-glass windows this past winter with snow 22 feet high! He also shared that his 2-year-old car has 50,000 miles on it. He said, “we live in Montana”. We do know after being out west for a few weeks now that nothing is close by. We’ve tried to plan and stock up on what we will need, hoping not to need to grocery shop for 2 weeks. It’s a little tricky with needing to stock up, but living in a camper and not having much room to stock up. After mass, we walked around Old West Yellowstone and enjoyed the first day since we got here with sunshine.

Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church (Montana)

Inside Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church (Montana)

Old Yellowstone

Inside Three Bear Lodge (Old Yellowstone)

On Monday 5 June, we drove through Yellowstone again, and really enjoyed seeing it on a sunny day. The bison calves we saw had a better day than the elk baby we heard about. When driving through Yellowstone, it’s not unusual to see cars stopped on the side of the road and people looking and pointing at something, which usually turns out to be wildlife. We came upon cars stopped and folks taking pictures of something in the woods. We thought “bear”. Behind everyone on our side of the road, there was a good view of an adult Elk. We got that picture and then walked over to ask what they were seeing. It turned out that they had heard the baby elk get caught by a black bear. They said they heard squealing and that now the bear was eating it. The bear looked up every now and then, but only those with a high powered camera lens could see it clearly. Anita felt sad for the momma elk who was just watching across the road as her baby was eaten by a bear. Steve summed it up by saying that in the wild the cycle of life is harsh.

We tried to drive on roads we hadn’t seen before, so we went down to Yellowstone Lake and Fishing Bridge. Ironically, fishing isn't allowed from Fishing Bridge. We made our way around to Old Faithful geyser. It’s called “Old Faithful” because of its reliable and predictable eruptions. We arrived around 1pm and the next eruption was at 2:23pm +/- 10 minutes. We looked at some of the exhibits inside, but went out to get a good seat for a good view of the eruption. It erupted at 2:30pm and boy was it worth the wait! We can see why it’s such a popular tourist attraction. We headed home after that, but decided to stop at Midway Geyser Basin. The picture of it on the Yellowstone map showed a very blue basin. We had to wait in a long line to get to the parking lot and then hope someone was leaving to get a parking spot, but that too was worth the wait! We felt the hot steam when we walked by it and it was really a deep blue. Anita didn’t have the feeling of doom on a sunny day.

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

The Scenic Yellowstone Falls at Artist Viewpoint

Yellowstone Lake

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park at the scenic Yellowstone River Falls

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park (Elk)

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone Falls

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park 5 June 2023 (Bull elk with velvet on antlers)

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Sunny day drive through Yellowstone National Park

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park 5 June 2023 at 2:30pm

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park 5 June 2023 at 2:30pm

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park 5 June 2023 at 2:30pm

Midway Geyser Basin 5 June 2023

The steam felt warm!

5 June 2023

Tuesday 6 June, we stayed around the campground and hiked the trails within the state park. They were all somewhat short trails, but we got 2.5 miles in and enjoyed the flat path through the sage brush. We were amazed at large 6in deep patches of snow still on the ground. We only saw birds for wildlife in the state park, but we had the feeling that animals could be laying down in the sage brush and just pop up at any moment. That didn’t happen. Later that day we went down ID-20 a couple of miles to the Flat Iron Ranch Nature Preserve to hike through it. There were entomologists there while we were there, taking samples for research. We saw 4 prong horn antelope across the field. That was cool! We enjoy seeing wildlife from a distance, and them not noticing or being bothered by us.

Henrys Lake State Park trail

On Wednesday 7 June, we woke up at 3am and were on the road by 3:30am to get to Lamar Valley inside Yellowstone National Park by sunrise to see wildlife. From our campsite to Lamar Valley was 80 miles. It was definitely worth the sacrifice of sleep! We saw more bison with their babies, with some even nursing as we passed by, lots of prong horn antelope, lots of elk, a grey wolf, a red fox, a coyote, 2 bighorn sheep, 2 mountain goats, a cinnamon black bear with her cubs, a grizzly with her cubs, and a black bear! The wolf, bears, mountain goats and bighorn sheep sightings were through a scope from a distance, but it was still very much a privilege to see these wild animals in their habitat. The mountain goats and bighorn sheep were on the side of a steep mountain! It’s fascinating that they can live up there and not fall off the mountain! Back in the Bryce Canyon area, we had seen a mule deer on the side of a steep mountain side and as we approached it began to hop right on up the cliff, like it was nothing. Again, that was fascinating!

We hadn’t seen the prong horn babies all day, but toward the end of our day we saw an adult with two tiny babies! They were so cute and about the size of a small-sized dog. We also saw the grizzly and cubs at the end of our day. We were on the drive away from Lamar Valley and headed toward the exit at the west entrance to the park when we came upon this huge back up of cars both ways. We asked someone and they told us it was a grizzly with her cubs right near the road. We had given up on seeing a grizzly and there it was! Even when we’d seen the brownish red bear, which Anita thought was a grizzly, someone said it was a “cinnamon black bear”! Who knew! Anita looked it up and sure enough, the “cinnamon bear” is a subspecies of the black bear, the smallest type of North American bear. As its name implies the cinnamon bear has rusty brown fur. That day in the park, we came across a few people who live close enough to Yellowstone to go as often as they like to observe wildlife. They told us about an email list you can be on to be informed of wildlife sightings. They spend hours watching for movement and then watch through their sighting scopes.

While we were in the park, we decided to see Roosevelt Tower and Roosevelt Lodge, as well as the upper terrace of Mammoth Springs. We really enjoyed our day of wildlife searching and site seeing and got home around 3pm. Needless to say, we were asleep early that night and even slept in the next day!

Moon just before sunrise Yellowstone National Park 7 June 2023

Just before sunrise Yellowstone National Park 7 June 2023

Sunrise Lamar Valley inside Yellowstone National Park 7 June 2023

Sunrise Lamar Valley inside Yellowstone National Park 7 June 2023

Sunrise Lamar Valley inside Yellowstone National Park 7 June 2023

Mule deer 7 June 2023

Bison galore! 7 June 2023

There is a black bear with cubs in the middle of this photo 7 June 2023

Elk 7 June 2023

Bison supervising road construction 7 June 2023

Elk in sage brush 7 June 2023

Why does a bison cross the road?.... To get to the other side! 7 June 2023

Gardiner, Montana High School Football Field 7 June 2023

Town of Gardiner Montana just outside Yellowstone Northwest gate

Famous Roosevelt Tower Northwest Entrance from Gardiner

Grounds of Roosevelt Lodge

Inside Roosevelt Lodge

Upper Terrace Mammoth Hot Springs 7 June 2023

Upper Terrace Mammoth Hot Springs 7 June 2023

On 8 June, we stayed around the campground and did odds and ends to get ready for fishing in a couple of days. It was an overcast and dreary day, so a good one for reading and relaxing. We went out for bait and noticed that a lot of the snow has melted on the mountain tops while we’ve been here.

On the 9th, we drove to Ashton Idaho and took the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway. We stopped along the way to see the Mesa Falls. In Ashton, their first Farmers Market of the season was happening, so we checked it out. We got asparagus and a pecan pie. The pie was too warm to be wrapped in the plastic bag (that's fresh!), so the lady told us where she lives for us to drop off her glass pie plate on our way to Idaho Falls. She didn't give us an address, but said she's across from the Ashton post office and her house faces the flag pole. She also said she's got milk crates in front of her house. After the Farmers Market we went to the Mountain Man Rendezvous that was happening 7-11 June. We had seen signs for it when we drove into Idaho. There wasn't much to it if you're not into period dress-ups, but we checked it out. Steve was looking at this coat made out of bison for $1,225 and the guy who made it came and took it down and had Steve try it on. He was working for a sale, but Steve didn't bite.

Upper Mesa Falls

Upper Mesa Falls

Grand Tetons (from Mesa Scenic Byway)

Along Mesa Falls Scenic Byway

Upper Mesa Falls

Upper Mesa Falls

Rhyolite Cliff at Upper Mesa Falls

Lower Mesa Falls

Upper Mesa Falls

Lower Mesa Falls

Upper Mesa Falls

Volcanic wall Upper Mesa Falls

Mountain Man Rendezvous Ashton, Idaho

Mountain Man Rendezvous Kids axe throw practice

Mountain Man Rendezvous

Looks good...Bison coat with coyote trim collar and bone buttons only $1225

Anyone who knows Steve, knows he likes fishing. We stayed on a lake for two weeks, and it would have been nice to fish every day, but we weren’t at the campground most days, so paying $100 for a non-residence fishing license didn’t make sense. Also, the lake flies were there, so not inviting to be by the water. We got lucky and Idaho’s free fishing day (10 June) occurred while we were there, so we got to fish Henry’s Lake after all. Steve had gotten a couple of rods outfitted for fly fishing and off we went. We could walk to the docks, so we got an early start (5:30am). The fish weren't biting in Henrys Lake, so we drove to other fishing spots along Hwy 20. Steve caught four brook trout in Buffalo River and he showed me all the sucker fish swimming in Henrys Fork Snake River. The spots Steve fished from were down steep rocks and Anita wasn't willing to risk another ankle injury to fish there, so she read in the truck. We were both happy doing what we were doing.

First Brook Trout - too small - thrown back

Henry's Lake Utah Chubs is all I could catch - all released

Large scale sucker fish (striped) probably spawning at Henry's Fork Snake River

We stopped at Harriman State Park on the recommendation of a local, and we enjoyed a walking tour of the Harriman Railroad Ranch. The Harriman Family had made their fortune in Union Pacific Railroad dating back to the 1800's. Harold and Gladys Harriman spent summers in Idaho for 60 years and they had a home in New York. Their son, Averell Harriman, was influential in tourism in Idaho, as well as in political circles. He was known to be seen with presidential candidates of that time, especially FDR. Gladys and Harold were friends with environmentalist, John Muir, which historians believe probably prompted Gladys and Harold's donation of their ranch and land to the state of Idaho. John Muir was a guest at the Harriman ranch on more than one occasion. Gladys Harriman was quite the hunter. Skins and mountings in their "living room" were from her kills.

Harriman House 10 June 2023

Gladys & Roland Harriman in their 80's (left) Averell Harriman (middle) John Muir (right)

Harriman living room

View from Harriman's living room

Snake River View from Harriman's living room

On 13 June, we went for a Scenic Byway drive to Big Sky and Bozeman and Ennis Montana. The drive between Big Sky and Bozeman was especially breath taking. So much so, that pictures couldn't capture the enormity of the cliff and mountain walls. Along the way we stopped at the Hebgen Lake and Dam on the Madison River. When we got to the parking lot, we saw a few people looking and taking pictures across the water on the steep wall. It turned out to be mountain goats with their babies! There were about nine of them.

Before Big Sky, we stopped at the Visitor Center for Earthquake Lake. On August 17, 1959, near midnight, an earthquake near the Madison River triggered a massive landslide. The slide moved air at 100 mph and in less than 1 minute, over 80 million tons of rock crashed into the narrow canyon, blocking the Madison River and forming Earthquake Lake. There were 28 fatalities among tourists who had gone to bed at their campsites and were crushed by boulders as big as cars or swept away by the rushing water. We can't even imagine the "night of terror" described by the survivors. We never know when it'll be our time to die, but such an event happening at night after they were asleep in such a beautiful place stuck with Anita the rest of the day.

While we were in Bozeman, we got a few things at the Walmart Super Center there. Our supplies at the camper were running low, so we got a few things to tide us over till we reach Idaho Falls in a couple of days. At the end of our day, we stopped in West Yellowstone for dinner at a Chinese Restaurant.

They're hard to see, but the mountain goats are in the bottom third of the picture near the trees

Earthquake Lake 13 June 2023

Madison River the USACE cut through to restore flow from Earthquake Lake 13 June 2023

Madison river below Earthquake Lake 13 June 2023

Earthquake Lake 13 June 2023

Earthquake Lake from Visitor Center 13 June 2023

Landslide area at Earthquake Lake 13 June 2023

Earthquake Lake 13 June 2023

Madison River at Earthquake Lake 13 June 2023

We did quite a bit of driving in Idaho and Montana while we were staying at Henrys Lake State Park. We had quite a few rainy and/or overcast days too. On our drive back from Bozeman Montana, we saw a double rainbow near Ennis Montana! Even with the dark sky behind it, it was still our gift from sunshine between rain showers.

Montana 13 June 2023

Prong Horn Antelope contemplating crossing the highway in Ennis Montana 13 June 2023

We made a note that we liked the town of Ennis Montana, for when we visit this area again. Ennis has lots of campgrounds and trout fishing spots.

While at Henrys Lake State Park, we observed a Mountain Blue Bird sitting atop a fence post every day as we drove in to the campground. It was very still and made Anita think of a sentinel. Steve explained that the female was inside the blue bird box and that this was the male protecting the "home" while the female sat on her eggs.

Male Blue Bird keeping watch

Blue Bird Box is on the fence post to the left and male Blue Bird sits sentinel on next post

Male Yellow-headed Black Bird seen on a walk around the park

Tomorrow, 15 June, we'll be driving down the road about 80 miles to Idaho Falls, Idaho. That will be our home base for a week while we're busy seeing Grand Teton National Park, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve and whatever else we can fit in. Hopefully the weather will be sunnier and the lake flies won't be there!