We arrived at Yellowstone on Monday, Aug 9th. We are staying at the Gallatin National Forest in West Yellowstone, Montana. We are about 3 miles from the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. I was a little concerned when we drove in and the first thing I saw was a sign saying Grizzly Bears have been found in this area. As of yet, we haven't seen one anywhere. Cannot leave any food out and the tenters have to put their food in metal storage containers provided by the campground or put their food in bags high up in the trees. Glad we're not in a tent,,,yikes.
Yellowstone National Park is huge. It sprawls across volcanic plateaus. It contains more than 2 million acres of steaming geysers, crystalline lakes, thundering waterfalls and panoramic vistas. It was formed by volcanoes and glacial ice over 2 million years ago. The Yellowstone River was formed from glaciers that capped the region. The ice was so thick if covered Mt. Washburn which is 10,243 feet high with ice the thickness of about 4000 ft. All of Yellowstone lies on top of a volcano. It is also on one of the largest faults, therefore, the ground moves daily here from the earthquakes far below the ground. Pretty scary when you stop to think about it. It is hard to imagine that this whole area was formed because of volcanoes and glaciers.
We've managed to see a few animals (pictures) but we only saw 1 bear and it was too far away to take a picture. Haven't seen any wolves, coyotes or Bighorn sheep. Lots of Bison though.
We took a hike (which was a tough one) to see the Yellowstone River Lower Falls. It was worth doing the hike. When we got to the bottom we were standing right over the spot where the falls dropped over. It was so beautiful. The hike back up was a long, steep hike. Thought we'd never get back to the top. This area is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We have put some pictures of the falls and the canyon for you to see. Everything is so awesome here. The Yellowstone River is one of the few rivers that flows in a northerly direction.
pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234
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