Hiking in Yellowstone

We enjoyed our hike on Friday so much, we decided to fill up Saturday with several shorter hikes. We started with a lovely 2.4 mile hike to Natural Bridge. Then we did the very easy one mile hike at Pelican Creek. After that, we decided to take a break at Yellowstone Lake Lodge, where we had a delicious lunch, watched a sweet mama mule deer and her fawn, and played a board game. In the afternoon, we explored the 2.3 mile Storm Point Loop, where we enjoyed watching the cute little marmots, skipping rocks on a beach of Yellowstone Lake, and climbing out on Storm Point, overlooking the lake. We also loved how the trail took us through open meadows, thick forests, and along the cliffs above the lake. We have discovered that hiking is an activity that all our people enjoy and that is something we can all easily do together. Family bonding plus exercise plus fresh air for the win!

Natural Bridge

Hiking buddies

Mule deer mama and fawn

Lobster sliders and fancy fries

A view of Yellowstone Lake from the Pelican Creek Trail

Marmot 

Reward for the first half of the Storm Point Trail

The rare beach rhino, which we haven't
seen since we were in Scotland

Boys and rocks go well together

Storm Point

A gigantic wish

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

On Friday, we toured the Mud Volcano area of Yellowstone and then took our longest family hike to date, which was 7 miles round trip. It was a beautiful hike that led us along the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and rewarded us when we arrived at Artist Point (our turn around point) with a spectacular view of the Lower Falls. Afterward, we drove over to the brink of Upper Falls and then grabbed some lunch in Canyon Village before heading back to our campground.

Mud Volcano used to shoot many feet in the air
but now just simmers rather quietly.

Our favorite feature in the Mud Volcano area was
 Dragon's Mouth, which roared and belched steam,
just as if a dragon really lurked behind the rocks.

Where the kids and the buffalo roam

Clear Lake

Lily Pond Lake

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Lower Falls

So proud of us for our long hike!

The Brink of Upper Falls

The traffic can get a little hairy in Yellowstone

Silly park rangers

Yellowstone--South Loop

Yesterday, we continued our Yellowstone adventures by taking the South Loop. We took some nice hikes, saw some fantastic scenery, and visited Lake Yellowstone, The Continental Divide, Old Faithful, The Midway Geyser Basin, and Biscuit Basin. We ended the day with hot dogs and s'mores at our campground.

Elk mamas and babies at Lake Yellowstone

 

Fishing Cone

Abyss Pool

Continental Divide

Old Faithful

Beautiful Mystic Falls

A boiling waterfall hits
the Firehole River in the
Midway Geyser Basin

Grand Prismatic Spring

Clepsydra Geyser in Biscuit Basin

 

You can't really see them in the picture,
but there were many bison hanging out
in this beautiful valley yesterday evening.

Cookout

Taking our hot dog/s'more
party to the extremes!

Yellowstone--North Loop

Day before yesterday, we entered Yellowstone and immediately set off on our first adventure around the North Loop. We did a couple of short hikes and saw all manor of wildlife, geothermal areas, waterfalls, and amazing scenery. Jeff and I visited once pre-kids and are stunned both by how much we remember about the park and how much we don't. It's such a lovely place, and we are really enjoying sharing it with our kids.

Happy campers at Yellowstone

Gibbon Falls

Artists Paintpots
(Boiling mud puddle)

Mammoth Hot Springs selfie

Grazing elk

The animals are well-trained
and know where to cross the street

Mammoth Hot Springs

Undine Falls

This guy was just resting in the shade
right beside the hiking trail.

Wraith Falls

Petrified Tree

The gorgeous Yellowstone River

Tower Fall

We watched this guy take a little dirt bath
but only got the photo after the fact.