* Bison herds in Hayden Vally
* Norris Geyser Basin
* Mammoth Hot Springs
* Roosevelt western cookout
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We got up around 5 AM and checked out of Old Faithful Inn. We were leaving Old Faithful Inn that morning and headed to Mammoth Hot Springs. Because the road between Madison to Norris was closed, we had to take a detour which added probably 2 hours to the drive. I enjoyed getting up so early in the morning to watch the sunrise and the change in the sky.
It was very foggy at some point, but the fog disappeared quickly.
We saw several bison herds in Hayden Valley. They caused quite a traffic jam. The sight of a bison herd crossing the Yellowstone river was amazing.
The Yellowstone river was so serene.
We stopped at Norris and walked through the geyser basin trail.
The scenery at Norris Geyser Basin was quite different than what we saw yesterday. They were not quite as colorful. But the landscape was beautiful. I felt like I was walking on a different planet.
After Norris Geyser, we continued our drive up to Mammoth Hot Springs. We drove through the upper Terrace Drive and walked through the Lower Terrace trail.
I have no words to describe what I saw. I was in awe.
We checked into our cabin in Mammoth Hot Springs hotel, and took an hour nap. After the nap, we drove to Town-Roosevelt for our horse ride and a western cookout.
The ride to the cookout was easy. I enjoyed the scenery and felt really relaxed. Unfortunately we were not allowed to bring our cameras while we were on the horse since we needed to pay attention to our horses. My horse Lakota was a short and slow male horse who liked to eat grass whenever he could.
The cook out was in a beautiful vally.
We ate steaks, drank really good cowboy coffee, and listened to some country songs.
After the dinner, we rode our horses and took a shorter route back to the range. My butt and knees were killing me, but I enjoyed the whole western experience so much that I almost wished I booked the 2 hour horse ride. We were told that the scenery was even more amazing. We drove back to our cabin in Mammoth and called it a night.
When we got back to the Mammoth Hot Spring Village, there was a male elk who caused quite a stir. The park rangers were at the scene and asked people to get back inside of their cabins. Supposely, this particular male elk was more violent than others. Unfortunately, we were too far away and it was too dark for us to get any pictures. We asked a funny lady at the hotel reception desk where we have the best chance to see animals. She asked us to hold on a second, picked up the phone receiver, and asked in a serious voice, "Hello elk, where will you be tomorrow?" We all laughed. Haha, I guess we would have to find out the next day.
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Your hose Lakota was slow because he's around 26 years old now, but he's a great trail horse!
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for the info. I didn't know that he is a senior citizen. Hope he is doing well and healthy. :)
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