It was the first day they were doing tours, and we were the only ones there so we had a personalized guided tour of the facility by the curator. She showed us many items including some animals needing refurbishing.
Among many other interesting items was the original key to the door of the Old Faithful Inn which we toured last summer.
We were able to enter the Archives where we saw National Park Service records, manuscripts, and special collections. The last stop was the Research Library that contains an outstanding collection of diverse materials related to history and science in Yellowstone. As we walked along the stacks I was totally blown away by all the books there. I never knew there was so much information about Yellowstone. It made me realize how little I know about the park.
After our tour we took a ride down a bumpy dirt road and came upon the Gardiner cemetery. We had heard about it from associates.
We were not the only visitors that day. A pronghorn was grazing in the area.
On our next days off we were lucky to have beautiful weather. We took a drive along the northern part of the park. We passed the 45th parallel.
We stopped at the small but pretty Undine Falls.
At the parking lot we saw a Yellowstone tour bus. Maybe we'll do that sometime.
We had to walk about a half mile to see the Wraith Falls which was more like a cascade.
Along the way we saw hillsides of beautiful yellow daisies.
We were told that a good place to see black bear was down a road where the petrified tree is displayed. So we found the road and found the tree.
We spoke with a man who said that the day before there was a mama and two cubs playing in the field. But that day they found another place to romp. So we continued on our way. We saw a bunch of cars pulled over and figured that something interesting was spotted. It was a black bear with one cub.
The drive along the Lamar Valley is very beautiful even if you don't see any wildlife.
At one point a pronghorn tromped through the field.
A little later a coyote crossed right in front of us. As I fumbled for the camera he headed off in the other direction.
Here's one other bear we saw.
At one point we were stopped while a group of horseback riders passed by.
We saw another group of cars pulled over, and people were walking back to their vehicles. A ranger came by and told us that two moose had swam across the lake and walked off into the woods a few minutes ago. Here's the lake, but we missed the moose. Maybe next time......
In addition to bison near the road, there were many herds of bison in the distance with their babies.
The next day after that delightful drive we took a hike to the Artists Paintpots south of Norris. Once we get the pictures on the computer I'll describe that day.
Yesterday afternoon one of the custodians said that a new elk was just born. After work we stopped to see it when it was about an hour old. It was precious seeing its wobbly legs trying to hold it up as it tried to nurse. What a great view!
We are excited to see our daughter and family who are arriving on Sunday for a week. We hope for nice weather so that they can see the park in its glory.
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