We interupt this story for ...Antelope

We did not see any antelope in the park (that I recall anyway) but we did see plenty out near Driftwaters, the place where we stayed for the largest stretch of the trip.  On the way home we actually saw two males fighting with their horns locked.  I was driving at about 70 mph and we did not get a picture and I regret to this day not turning around and going back to photograph it...it was really a cool thing to see.  Uncle Stephen took Josh and I adventuring one day and we saw a couple very near the back dirt road we were on.  A different day when we were returning from an adventure in Virginia City Uncle Stephen met us a couple of miles west of Driftwaters and we saw several different herds.  They are lovely animals, graceful and lithe when running.  When we would stop to watch and our car caught their attention they would look up and look right at us as if measuring us to see what we would do-then they would disappear in a heartbeat.

Virginia Cascades Drive

So one of the beauties of Yellowstone is that you never know what you will see or where.  There are dozens of little turnouts that you can take off the main drag and you never know what you encounter.  We did not do too much hiking this trip and certainly nothing strenuous; I would love to go back and hit every trail in the park.  Someday when I don't have small children who are enthusiastic but limited in terms of ability and bigger children who are quite capable but not all that willing I will hit some of the off-the-beaten-trail trails and be even more impressed.  As it is, you can really get quite the feel for the park and enjoy just about everything from the comfort and safety of your car, all while still feeling like you are in the midst of the wilderness.  The park has this environment where the raw beauty of nature is right there in your face the whole time.  In my opinion the Park Service has done an amazing job maintaining this park for us and generations to come. 

This particular drive was one that we all enjoyed and we got a first hand look at a Great Blue Heron.  He had the grace to pose for us, lift off and show us his impressive wingspan, and then land again 10 feet further away just for our viewing pleasure.  None of us are really birders (Stephen and Carey would really find the park intriguing in this respect) so we were not especially looking for birds but there were some we could not help noticing.  I was especially fascinated by the red-tailed hawks and I think Josh liked the ducks (go figure).

Walk out above Upper Falls (off of the South Rim drive)

Geyser Action in Canyon Area

There are geysers everywhere...some big, some small, some dark, light, multi-colored, etc...to be honest by the time we left I was "geysered out"...still, they were really cool, at least the first hundred or so of them.

I think this was the Dragon's Breathe , or Dragon's Mouth or something like that ...this was one of the first we saw and it was quite impressive.  Here was where we established some park-wide rules...Josh is not allowed to go out of my sight even if Daniel does; don't go around the bend if mom can't see you even if its just a few feet away; stay where you can see mom at all times even if she is not paying attention to you; look around and if you can't see mom you have gone to far...etc, etc, etc,...you get the picture.  Establish rules early and you don't have to repeat them, right?  Kindof.  Mostly not.

Grand Canyone of Yellowstone and Lower Falls

Day 3: Lake to Canyon, Canyon to Driftwaters via Virgina Cascades Drive

Day 3 found us exploring the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  We drove both the North Rim and the South Rim drives and hiked out to see the Upper and Lower Falls.  We also went to the walk right above the Upper Falls where the water was cascading past at a dizzying rate.  Josh held my hand the whole time we were at this particular viewpoint...a family lost their 8 year old here the week before we were there.  Yellowstone is real wilds...it does not do to think of yourself as at just another park. 

If you can tell by our outfits, it was slightly chilly this day and quite wet.  We kind of liked it ...it kept the crowds down and made the taking of all the winter gear worthwhile.  Otherwise it would have been annoying to have dragged it along. Note these pictures were all taken at the end of August...believe them when they tell you the weather can be anything in Yellowstone...its true.  If we had seen snow this day it would not have surprised me.  We did not, so that was good.  Just wet and cold.  But, our spirts were high and we did not care!!

We pause in our story to view...Bison!

We saw bison throughout the Park...several one at a time grazing along the side of the road, a couple times in smaller groups and once in a big herd-well, not a "big" herd, but maybe 30 together.  We understand from our Cowboy dinner informants that there are really two big herds in the Park and all of the bison technically belong to one or the other.  Another interesting fact we gathered on our trip.