Days 5 to 7, by Yellowstone Lake — Yellowstone National Park

Day 5: We left Jackson behind for now and set off for Yellowstone and there were plenty of interesting places along the way. Our first stop was at Taggart Lake for the view and a photo opportunity. The next stop was String Lake where we had a walk and saw lots of red squirrels and some were even happy to be photographed. We then continued on to Signal Mountain where we stopped and walked up to a fantastic view point. We had lunch overlooking Jackson Lake where there were butterflies everywhere. We also stopped at the Yellowstone entrance sign for some photos. At suitable spots along the way we stopped to look for Pikas and eventually we found some. Other people in cars stopped thinking to share our sighting of a bear.

We eventually arrived at Lake Lodge Cabins by Lake Yellowstone. Our cabins were a drive away from the restaurant but the food was worth the drive, even on a rather rainy evening.

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Day 6: The next morning we set off early, before breakfast, to look for wolves. It was very misty and atmospheric and we saw plenty of other things but no wolves. After breakfast went out to the Hayden Valley. We stopped for some birding along the way and also stopped at the Mud Volcano where we wandered around this fascinating feature. After lunch, we went on to the famous ‘Grand Canyon of Yellowstone’ where we walked and admired the spectacular scenery, and more birds too. We then headed off to the visitor centre at Canyon for information and ice cream.

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Day 7: It was foggy in the morning so there was no chance of seeing wolves but we came across a huge heard of bison that looked fantastic in the mist. As we got higher, the mist cleared and we had some great views. After breakfast, our first stop was Fishing Bridge and then Pelican Creek where we found our first mountain bluebirds. We drove on along the lake and took a road up to a view point from where we saw a vista of dead trees that were left over from the fires of 1988. Lunch was taken at Sylven Lake. On our way down we spotted several Yellow-bellied Marmots sitting on the rocks. We then headed to where we had heard there was a carcass with a grizzly bear feeding on it. We drove slowly past and peered up into the woods but there was a ranger there making sure we didn’t stop. After several slow drive-byes we all managed to catch a glimpse of the bear but not before being told off by the ranger.

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