Summer Vacation - Part 3 of 6

Tour guides Jay and Cindy had us moving very early on Day 5. If you want to see animals, dawn is the time to do it. We loaded up in Hollywood, and started up the east side of the southern loop. We began seeing elk within a mile of the Lake Hotel. As soon as the sun was up and the air temperature became tolerable, Jay rolled back the rag top on the bus to allow better viewing. It didn’t take long for everybody to get an eye-full. The road followed the Yellowstone River’s northward descent into the Hayden Valley, where Elk and Bison wander the grassland in large numbers. We also observed a number of bird species, including a Bald Eagle, Pelicans, Heron, Ducks and the omnipresent Ravens.

Bison roaming the grasslands with Ravens offering commentary.

A Bison roaming the roadway.

From the stop and go mega-fauna spotting of the Hayden Valley, “Hollywood” continued down the river to the top of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

The Yellowstone River makes the first descent into the Grand Canyon via the Upper Falls.

The Lower Fall make the plunge into the yellow rock walls of the Grand Canyon.

After the canyon and grasslands, Jay pointed Hollywood into the rugged mountains of the east side of the Park in search of Big Horn Sheep. With a little fact gathering from Park employees and volunteers, we soon spotted some of the elusive animals.

The other omnipresent character in the Park is the Marmot. We saw them in a wide variety of terrain.

The day ended back at the Lake Hotel for another evening in the dining room and a relaxing night overlooking the lake.

The twilight view southeast over Yellowstone Lake.