Yellowstone National Park: a quick day trip

It's been awhile since Mrs ER & I have been to Jellystone during "peak season." We prefer to visit for a mid-winter ski trip and for bugling elk/howling wolves in the fall. With or without crowds, the park is a beautiful and special place. Emily brought her boyfriend Evan home to see Montana, and so we jumped at a kind invitation to have us along on their trip to the park:

Yellowstone's animals are very well trained. At the West Entrance, we met a yearling cow elk. It's Elvira. She likes to sleep late in the morning. Note her radio collar--it cues her when to wake up in the morning and get to work greeting visitors:

Though wildlife is abundant and is now a big drawing card, it's historically interesting to note that the park was preserved as a "pleasuring ground" because of its geological wonders. The park area consists of a large caldera (exploded & collapsed supervolcano) that is still volcanically active with many geothermal features, including hot pools:

Mud pots:

And geysers:

It can be a dangerous place to amble around off trail, as this warning sign tells us:

The crowd at Old Faithful geyser is a good indication of how busy the park is on a given day:

The Raven People find human crowds amusing, but still they remember their park visitor etiquette training an pose for a nice photo:

Meanwhile, a buffalo bull commutes to work:


You're on the clock, guys, get out there and eat grass:

On our way out of the park, we stopped at the Boiling River for a good soak:

Even among the crowds, Mrs ER and I found a quiet place where, over the course of an hour, we chatted with a Japanese family and some folks from back East:

Descending from the Mammoth Terrace, we found a herd of bighorn sheep ewes & kids grazing along the road:

And, at the Gardiner exit, a buck pronghorn antelope was on shift to say, "Goodbye, drive safely, and come again!"