Marvelous Monday

Today started out rather foggy, but not raining.  the fog was so thick early that when we drove into the park, it looked liked the mountains we know are there, were elsewhere.   But it cleared to sunshine for parts of the day and what a day!!

we headed to Mammoth Springs, an area that is so utterly different and beautiful, words (at least my available words) can't describe it.  because of road closures, our trip there was about 90 miles and going through areas of Yellowstone we hadn't seen yet was incredible. Along the way, we saw the usual buffalo, and much more animal life.

For all my excitement of seeing a lone elk yesterday, it really overflowed today.  we saw at least 35 elk in 4 different herds.  one herd caused a road block as the large bull and his harem crossed the road.  in the midst of that, Than was sitting in the car watching the action when the bull crossed back on the road and Than was told by the Park Ranger to put his feet in the car and close the door.  The Elk are in rut and unpredictable and have attacked over 20 cars and campers this season.  to actually camp in that area, you can only use hard sided campers.

we also saw a small herd of prong horn deer, maybe 8-10 mixed age group.  they were wandering near the road and didn't seem to mind any of us at all.  we also saw the many, many bison.  we usually see 100 or so a day.

Than and i laughed all day at a guy we saw falling.  actually, when we first saw this guy near the edge of the road, it appeared that he simply stumbled on the shoulder of the road and fell pretty much flat on his stomach.  Then we realized that he fell because he was trying to get a selfie.  his camera was balanced on a rock and he was rushing to get into his picture.  we think it may have caught him falling.  i wonder if he'll show it to his friends and laugh as much as Than and I did.

for dinner tonight, we did have Montana steak. Mmmm.  it was tempting to try buffalo or elk, both available, but i stayed with the real thing.  

back on the train tomorrow, after an 8 hour drive to get there.  good thing as we need the rest!