Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA 22nd June 2023

We left Grand Teton on a grey drizzly morning and drove about sixty miles to the southern entrance of Yellowstone National Park.  Yellowstone is so big and comprises two loops, north and south, so we decided to base ourselves for three nights in the south at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and then four nights in Gardiner by the north entrance.  So the photos below are from the southern part of the park.  Fortunately the weather improved and we have had glorious sunshine.  When we arrived we went to the visitor centre to chat to a ranger about what to see and do, and he said we were fortunate that the snow was finally melting.  

This area has hundreds of geysers and springs which are constantly steaming and bubbling.  We've spent several hours walking the boardwalk trails amidst the steam and stench of sulphur.  The colours of the pools are incredibly beautiful.  On the eastern side of the southern loop is an enormous canyon, called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which is equally stunning.

We have been lucky to see some wildlife including elk, bison (rather scruffy as they're moulting) and yesterday saw a grizzly bear with two cubs.  It was a bit of a mission to see the bears as by the time we arrived we caught a distant glimpse of them from the roadside before they disappeared behind a ridge.  We climbed up, and with another brave soul, crossed the ridge and saw them down in the valley below.  Hard work but well worth it.  We allowed our brave companion to take the lead bearing in mind none of us had bear spray with us and at one point he turned round and said "you're using me as cover", which was exactly right.  We must have spent at least half hour watching the playful behaviour of the cubs, as did their mother.