Bear Lake, Lava Hot Springs and Yellowstone!

We left Rocky Mountain National Park heading west through Wyoming.  Wow did we have some really gusty winds.  Some of the hardest ever encountered.  I had made reservations at the Green River KOA, which was nothing to boast about. Should have splurged, I guess, for a patio site with a little privacy.  But we are finding it harder to reserve a camping spot nowadays. Not sure if it’s due to these pandemic campers or the time of year and the retirees are out and about.

Our destination was Bear Lake, which traverses the Utah and Idaho borders.  We made a stop off at Fossil Butte National Monument which was pretty cool.  No pictures.  Unfortunately, it is really hazy from the wildfires so it is hard to see the beautiful turquoise lake.  We did enjoy a ride around the wildlife refuge. We found a spot on the lake to enjoy a happy hour and watch folks skiing and toobing and I’m thinking……Man it sure is cold for this!  We did see some trumpeter swans and they were beautiful!

Fossil Butte National Monument

Beautiful turqoise Bear Lake

Pretty water

Trumpeter swans

Reminded us of Aunt Gladys lol

Sitting on the lake and enjoying

Our next destination was Lava Hot Springs in Idaho and I think we scored an absolutely beautiful spot right across from the hot springs and on the Portneuf River bank.  It was just a little old campground behind a hotel.  30 or so years ago we happened upon this place with our girls and we still talked about how much of a gem it was.  We watched toobers all afternoon float by on the river. After dinner we went and enjoyed the hot springs.  So good!

At our campsite watching folks toobing

A historic Mormon tabernacle in Paris

A view of where you go to soak in Lava Hot Springs

The next day was a travel day to West Yellowstone.  It was also our 41^st anniversary!  We really liked our campsite at Yellowstone Holiday.  It’s 14 miles outside of town on Lake Hegben.  We had a lakeside view.  Unfortunately, though, there’s that wildfire smoke.  We weren’t that far from the Earthquake Lake site.  I remember this place from traveling through here with my family and cousins and I remember that the whole time we were there I was scared another earthquake would happen.  This earthquake happened in 1959. I can’t imagine being all tucked into a campsite and around 11 pm a mountain cracks and breaks and falls down on your campsite.  Immediately the Madison River is cut off and starts backing up creating a flood. It’s a cool site to visit.

Smoky view of Earthquak Lake. Dead trees still there.

Another view of Earthquake Lake

One view of where the mountain sheared off during earthquake.

Another view of the mountain that sheared off during earthquake.

Madison River and fall foliage

The beautiful tree at our campsite

View of Hegben Lake from our campsite.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is 800 to 1200 feet deep and 1500 to 4000 feet wide.  It’s length is 24 miles. The upper 2 ½ miles is the most colorful. There are still steam vents and geysers here.  This is where we toured on our first trip into the park.  It’s just as beautiful as I remember, albeit a little wildfire smoke hazy. We made a stop at Gibbon Falls, saw Steamboat Geyser from a distance as there was a traffic jam getting there. Also stopped at Virginia Cascade and Beryl Springs.

First view of wildlife in the park is a herd of elk

Gibbon Falls

Gibbon Falls

Beryl Springs

Traffic but still got a view of Steamboat Geyser, even if we didn't make it there to see.

Virginia Cascade

Lower Yellowstone Falls. Too bad it's so hazy.

The grand canyon of the Yellowstone

The Upper Falls of the Yellowstone

Upper Falls

A very hazy, smoky sunset on Lake Hegben at our campsite.

The next day was going to be our wildlife tour, which meant going to the north east section of the park.  We weren’t disappointed!  We also explored around Mammoth Hot Springs.  Still smoky, so pictures aren’t always that great.

Norris Basin

Was cool to watch them come down to the river.

One of many traffic jams.

Looking at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Town of Mammoth in the distance.

Angel Terrace

Coyote 

Roaring Mountain

This was a shot of our smoky sunrise today.

Our third day here we drove the southern part of the park.  So smoky.  We did get to watch the Great Fountain Geyser erupt which was cool.  Decided not to watch Old Faithful.  We’ve seen it several times before and just didn’t feel up to dealing with a crowd at the moment.

Ugh another traffic jam.......

All because of elk .....

Firehole River

Firehole

Firehole River

Sandhill cranes

Fountain Paint Pots

Mud bubbling up

Fountain geyser

Great Fountain Geyser getting started. Erupts about once a day.

Part of Biscuit Basin

So cool to look at this

Bright yellow

Look close.  On the right you see a dead bull elk.  To the left of him is a black spot which is a bear sleeping and guarding his kill.  I just didn't have the right camera lens on....boo.

Firehole River

At our campsite we have met some really cool folks.  One group was from California.  They are really embarrassed about their state’s politics. They are strong Trump supporters.  They like their California wine.  They gifted me with 2 wine glasses from a winery one of them worked at and a bottle of good red wine from another’s children that owned a winery.  The other couple we met were from Billings and we shared a campfire a couple of nights.  He is the fire chief there and totally has our admiration for the job he does.

Our last day here near Yellowstone found us tired from the National Park traffic jams. It was cold and we had some good rain showers. So we cleaned house and then went driving on some national forest roads.

Next up will be Billings Montana and Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.