No animal is more beloved in Florida than the manatee. These gentle giants inhabit coastal inlets across the state, but actually seeing them can be challenging.
There are places in Florida, however, where manatees can be seen with relative frequency. Florida’s inland freshwater springs are a favorite winter refuge for manatees, who travel upriver from the coast to escape cold seawater. Once within the narrow confines of these springs, the manatees are easy to view, often totaling into the hundreds over a short stretch of water.
One of the best and most famous locations to see wintering manatees is Blue Spring State Park. Just a short drive from Orlando, this is a great side trip while in central Florida.
Our Visit
Since we were traveling to Orlando in February we decided it would be a good opportunity to visit the state park, and booked a cabin to have a place to spend the night. Staying in one of the cabins would allow us to enjoy the park before the crowds of manatee enthusiasts would arrive shortly after opening.
Cabin 1 at Blue Spring State Park
While the cabin looks unassuming from the outside, these cabins are quite spacious and offer a lot of amenities as you can see in the video I made.
Booking a cabin in the park is not easy due to their popularity, but since we knew we would be coming over a year in advance, I was able to book one as soon as it became available online.
We were very happy with our decision to sleep in the park.
We ended up arriving after dark and thus experiencing the park would have to wait until the next day. After getting our beds made we called it a night. We had a busy day in store for tomorrow.
Exploring the Park
Early the following morning I was excited to get out and explore the park and visit the spring before the crowds would arrive.
I got my camera and GoPro and walked the short path to the spring. Along the way I encountered a group of white-tailed deer, largely unconcerned by my presence.
Once at the boardwalk that runs alongside the spring, I found a crystal clear waterway teeming with manatees, as well as numerous fish like longnose gar and tarpon, and even an alligator.
Interestingly, alligators avoid manatees and the one that was in the spring seemed eager to swim away from the manatees. Manatees have no real natural predators in Florida.
Florida Manatee at Blue Spring State Park
We were planning on kayaking in the neighboring St. John’s River where manatees can also be seen (as well as the rest of the Florida wildlife). The park offers canoe and kayak rentals.
Unfortunately, in my haste to make reservations I selected the wrong date and we were out of luck. There was a silver lining, however.
Rescued Manatees
At the time we were supposed to be on the river, a couple rescued manatees were to be released into the spring. The manatees were trucked in by Sea World and we watched as they were carefully unloaded from the trucks, were given a quick health check, had radio tracking devices attached, and were carried down to the spring.
The manatee release was a big local event with news stations and local politicians in attendance. It was a cool opportunity to see how these animals were given a new chance to survive in the wild.
When the manatee release ended we walked one more time up the boardwalk to visit the canteen for coffee and to stop by the souvenir shop. It was a cool, misty February morning in Florida.
Final Thoughts
Blue Spring is a terrific respite from the busy world just outside the park and a great place to see the natural side of Florida. While we couldn’t enter the water, in the summer months Blue Spring is a great place to swim and paddle as well.
It was a good visit for us and I look forward to visiting more of Florida’s many natural springs.
The Wildlife of Hawaii page has been updated with new photos from our most recent trip. I may have missed out on a terrific moment for a photograph when a monk seal swam past on the beach, but the green sea turtles, nene geese, spinner dolphins, and more made up for it. Check out the gallery!
I’ve updated the Wildlife of Wyoming photo gallery to include the many animals we saw in June in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and the surrounding areas.
I did realize that at the moment we saw the Grizzly Bears we were actually in Montana, and they have been added to the Wildlife of Montana gallery :). The Beartooth Highway crosses between Montana and Wyoming on the scenic roadway between Yellowstone and Red Loge, Montana.
Our last day of the trip we had intentionally left fairly open as far as our itinerary. We had gone to the visitor center the day before and saw that there was a ranger-led hike at Taggart Lake on the southern end of the park at 9AM.
Since we had never been to Taggart Lake this seemed like a good activity for the morning. The ranger-led portion was just to the lakeside for about 2 miles. Then we could continue on our own to complete a 4 mile loop back to the trailhead.
Instead of the usual cereal and protein shakes in our cabin, we decided to have a hot breakfast at John Colter’s Ranch House. It was a nice change of pace on a less busy day. Yes, we save quite a bit of time and money by not dining out every meal, but sometimes it’s good to have pancakes, eggs, and bacon.
Taggart Lake
It was about a 45 minute drive from Colter Bay to the Taggart Lake trailhead (with another stop for air in my right-front tire). Once we arrived we waited for the ranger to appear along with the rest of our group then started the guided hike.
It was a bit windier and chillier early in the day as a cold front began to move into the area. That was ok though, it was still a very nice day and we had just gotten really lucky to have such ideal weather the whole trip.
As we made our way along the route the ranger would ask questions of the group. We answered most of them. And he had no qualms about letting us answer them all :).
We’ve been teaching our youngest to not feel embarrassed about ‘showing off’ his knowledge and intelligence. Some kids at school made him feel awkward in science and other class for being a nerd or know-it-all. Let them feel stupid all day long.
So we answered the name of the plant with the yellow flower as ‘arrowhead balsamroot’, that grizzlies love to eat moths, and every other assorted question the ranger had. We also walked into the forest off trail with the permission of the ranger to remind us to take time to let our senses appreciate nature free of all the noise and distractions of life.
As we continued from the lake shore around the loop we saw plenty of vistas of the Tetons, wildflowers, and butterflies, but no significant wildlife.
The Taggart Lake area leads upward to many more trails that I might try in the future such as Delta Lake.
Jackson Hole
I know the town is called Jackson, but everyone calls it Jackson Hole. Which sounds cooler.
We decided to have lunch in JH since we were fairly close to the south entrance and hadn’t been in JH since 2010. Back then we stayed in Jackson, which I realized was pretty distant from the park’s main areas and a bit unsatisfying if you want to enjoy the park.
Jackson has changed a lot in the past couple decades with all the billionaires moving in. We drove past the city park with the elk antler arches (which are pretty cool) and parked on a side street.
We decided to eat at the Merry Piglets because we wanted Mexican food. I had heard of the Merry Piglets because of a famous, recent missing person, murder case that ended in the Tetons not long ago. But regardless of that sad notoriety, we just wanted some burritos.
My food was lukewarm when served, and Shelley’s and Evan’s was almost cold. We sent their food back. I was too hungry to stop and think that my food should have been warmer. They got their remade dishes, which were correctly piping hot. But overall, I can’t really recommend it.
After eating we drove back north into the park and along the way we saw a bison herd. Plenty of junior bison as well.
That was pretty cool and made up for a lackluster lunch.
Colter Bay
We drove back into Colter Bay and parked at our cabin. We wanted to go to the two-mile loop trail that leads to a peninsula off of Colter Bay and afterward we could visit the gift shops one last time.
Shelley and Evan had hiked this trail the day before and were able to point out many things along the way, such as the bear claw marks on a tree (a warning to other bears) and some frogs lurking the mud near the Jackson Lake waterline.
Wile we were hiking back a few people told us a black bear was just seen crossing the path where we were walking. But unfortunately, we missed it.
We walked over to the general store to get some ice cream and met an unusually unfriendly, odd looking guy behind the counter. Almost all the staff we met working at the resorts were nice. This guy was not. Oh well.
We stopped at the visitor center and while inside we heard that the juvenile grizzly had just run past the marina. We stepped outside and there was a crowd there, as well as some rangers at the far end of the marina path. The grizzly was in the woods and the rangers seemed to want it to continue going in that direction.
Well, I had seen bears 6 days of the trip, but so far had struck out today.
We returned to the cabin to start packing up in preparation for departure the next day. We rested a bit, then at dinner time made our way over to the Ranch House again for dinner. It was good and we like it. As far as national park eateries go it’s a good place.
Day 9: Tetons and Wyoming
The next morning I got up early to do the morning hike around the loop trail, hoping to see some wildlife along the way. It was a very chilly 30F degrees and other than the random squirrel or bird in the dim light, the animals were not out and about.
I finished reloading the truck and walked to get some coffees at the coffee shop in Colter Bay. It’s always nice to start a drive with some good coffee. And it helped warm my hands after the biting chill of the hike. The weather had certainly changed overnight.
We left Colter Bay and made one last stop at a pullout before exiting the park.
We’d had a great trip and enjoyed ourselves. But we could still stop along the way at anywhere that looked interesting.
As we were ascending Highway 287 to cross the continental dive, it started to snow. June can still be winter in northern Wyoming.
As we made our way back down toward Dubois, Wyoming the temperatures increased and we were back in summertime.
Entering Dubois we saw a sign for the National Museum of Military Vehicles. Sure. Why not?
The National Museum of Military Vehicles
This museum blew us away. We were thinking we would have an hour stop and peruse the museum like most any other. Instead, after two hours we still weren’t done.
The museum is absolutely huge and full of historical military vehicles, rifles, and everything else related to American military history. It is laid our in chronological order and delves into the experiences of war at places like The Battle of the Bulge in WWII, in Korea, and Vietnam.
Included in the exhibits are German, Soviet, Japanese, and Chinese equipment from the various theaters of war. It was fascinating to see and we wondered how this immense, impressive museum had remained under the radar since it apparently opened in 2020.
Whatever the reason, this museum is a definite stop to make in Dubois, Wyoming.
I will be make a video of the museum and will be posting it here when it is ready.
After the museum we were pretty far behind schedule and needed to make up some time on the drive back.
We tried to get coffee again at the Buffalo Bean in Casper, but it had close for the day by the time we arrived. We had to settle for coffee at the travel center down the road (not as good but decent).
Final Thoughts
We really enjoyed this trip overall, and it was a good change of pace back to a roadtrip after several years of plane travel. I was also glad that we gave ourselves a few more days and this made it a bit more relaxing, allowed us to see and do more, and never feel rushed.
I always have a number of goals for a trip and this trip really met and exceeded in everything we hoped to accomplish. We saw more wildlife than I could have hoped for and all the major ones (bears, moose, wolves, etc). We completed all the hikes that we had planned out. We used our new cooler and hiking equipment to save time and money and to improve our overall experience. We got great photographs and video footage. We did fun activities and still left some places and activities for future visits.
I don’t know when we will be back, but it won’t be six full years again. These parks are only 1-2 days away and I’d be curious to visit in the fall even if visitor services are starting to close for the season. I’d definitely return in June though.
The next morning Shelley and Evan elected to sleep in a bit longer before we checked out of our cabin in Canyon Village. I wanted to return to Norris Geyser Basin to continue on with the Back Basin portion of the thermal area.
I got into my truck and after it warmed up from the 35 F degree temperatures overnight (Canyon Village is at about 7900 feet in elevation), I saw that one of my tires had low tire pressure. I got out and saw no obvious damage to the tire, so I drove over to the service station at Canyon Village and refilled it to full PSI.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
I didn’t wan to go far so I drove over to the nearby North Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and hopped out to take some photos closer to sunrise.
The Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellwstone
After returning to my truck I found the tire was still fully inflated. I decided to travel a bit farther and give it a couple hours more to see how the tire held up and continued on toward Norris.
Feeling more confident about the tire, I thought to myself about how much I was enjoying the trip thus far and how beautiful the park was in June. The weather had been perfect. I had worried that in June we would encounter possibly frigid temperatures, but instead it was in the high 70s every day.
Norris Geyser Basin
I returned to Norris Geyser Basin, and since it was only 6:30 AM I was able to park right at the entrance to the basin. I hopped out of my truck with my camera and GoPro and resumed where I left off from the prior evening, this time walking the Back Basin Loop.
I started with Steamboat Geyser. It is the tallest in the park and one of the tallest in the world when it erupts. Which is a rare occurrence. But when it does it is so powerful it sounds like a steamboat.
I enjoyed my walk through the Back Basin in teh morning with few people around. The temperatures were still relatively cool at the early hour of the day and this did mean that many of the hot springs were more obscurred by the hot steam than they would be later in the day.
When I was at Steamboat Geyser a seismologist was there and was replacing the battery on a seismograph near the geyser. After the recent steam explosions at Biscuit Basin, the park needs to be extra vigilant about identifying potential changes in subsurface activity.
Canyon Village
After enjoying my morning at Norris Geyser Basin I drove back to Canyon Village to meet up with Shelley and Evan and to check out of the cabin. That day we would move to Grant Village for a one night stay in the lodge (a replacement for the camping we were earlier going to do in Grant Campground).
I stopped at the Washburn Lodge to go to the lodge snack shop to see if they sold coffee. They do, they said, bt only drip coffee.
Rather than waste money on crappy coffee, I returned to the cabin to find Shelley and Evan not there. Just then they called me. They were walking to the village area where there is a larger coffee shop that sold more varieties of coffee. I parked and walked to meet them as they made their way to the village. We were all feeling good and enjoying ourselves and we were desperate for some good morning coffee.
We did get some huckleberry lattes, after a wait for the staff to replenish their supply of milk. Sigh. Oh well. Time to pack up the truck and drive south.
Hayden Valley and Lake Yellowstone
We entered Hayden Valley again, and as usual it didn’t disappoint. This time we watched a coyote hunting near a herd of bison.
Though the coyote was fairly distant, it was fun to watch it stalk through the grass as it moved ever closer to the herd.
After reaching Lake Junction, we proceeded along the lake shore and found this elk cow and calf walking along the shoreline.
The elk cow was collared as you can see in the photos. A crowd of people were following along the roadway above and we were concerned that they were making it difficult for the elk to lead her calf out of the water. Lake Yellowstone is 40F and certainly the calf couldn’t stay too long in the water. We left and hopefully the elk were able to reach a dry and safe exit from the elk.
Before heading to Grant Village we had our second hike of the trip planned for the day. We crossed the Continental Divide twice at close to 9000 feet in elevation, then pulled into the parking area for Lonestar Geyser.
The Lonestar Geyser Trail
Every trip has its ridiculous moments, and I ended up turning what what supposed to be an easy-going family hike into a personal 10K at almost 9000 feet.
The last time we were in Yellowstone in 2019, we decided to hike this trail. We got a mile into the trail and my then six-year-old Evan had to go to the bathroom. Number two. Really bad. So we quickly returned to the trailhead to get him to the bathroom and that pretty much ended the hike.
This time, it seemed an ideal family hike again. And if we were lucky we’d see it erupt.
At the parking area we got out the bug spray, backpacks, water, cameras, and made a stop at the bathroom to not allow the same issue to hijack our hike. Ready to go, we started off down the trail (which is really a back road for most of the distance).
We all started out together and were having a fun time as you can see in this clip.
Not long after this bridge crossing I realized, however, that I didn’t have my cell phone. I was very concerned that I may have set it on the truck bed cover while we were getting our gear together.
Rather than wait until we returned, or worse turn back without completing the hike, I told Shelley and Evan I would run back to the truck, get my phone, and run back to them. I told them to keep going and I’d catch up.
We were about a mile into the hike so it was two miles to run back and forth from that spot. I got to the truck, found my phone safely in the console, and jogged back down the trail.
As I got past the point where we separated I expected to find them but could not. They had all my heavy gear so I assumed they were not moving as fast, but after about 3/4 of a mile run further down the trail I could not find them.
I looked at my phone. There was no cell reception but it appeared that the Life360 app might be working and could show me where they were. It appeared to show them back the way I had come.
Not sure why they would be behind me but I started running back the way I had come. Until it led me all the way to the truck. They were not there. Thankfully. Stupid app though.
I applied sunscreen at the truck since they had the only other bottle in my backpack and ran back down the trail again. At around 1.5 miles, I asked a couple if they’d seen a mom and son on the trail. They said they had. At the geyser.
As my wife’s GoPro footage shows…
I ran onward until I met them on the trail back. They asked what took so long. They had waited for me at the geyser…
I told them I had run 2 + 3.5 + 1.75 miles plus the initial hike of a mile, so about a 10K at 9000 feet in hiking boots. I was tired. But no way was I turning around now. I’m going to the geyser.
Anyway they continued back while I finished the hike at got my photos and video footage of the rest of the trail and at the geyser.
It almost looks like I hiked alone but that was never the intention. After spending some time at the geyser I hiked back and apparently they missed the buffalo just off the trail.
Once back to the car we were all in agreement that ice cream was in order after we had lunch at Grant Village.
On the way out of the parking lot we got the best black bear photos yet.
How often do you see bears in the wild four days in a row?
Grant Village
Once we arrived in Grant Village we found out the only place we could eat was the General Store. Fortunately the woman that scooped the ice cream did not hold back. We got well-deserved amounts of huckleberry ice cream (and a couple other flavors).
After eating we checked into our room. I made a video of the room for fellow travelers. It’s a two queen lodge room.
We got some needed rest for a couple hours in the room before walking over the the Grant Village Restaurant at our reservation time. We assumed the restaurant was at least as nice as the one in Mammoth Hot Springs, but despite the lake views it was a bit of a disappointment.
The restaurant space was very crowded even at 8:30 PM with reservations. The menu was also a bit silly, in our opinion. I ordered a hamburger because it was the most filling and ‘normal’ thing on the menu. Why on earth was ‘jerk tofu’ a menu item? In a rustic lodge in a national park where people come in from a day of outdoor recreation.
Again, Xanterra needs to knock off the woke stuff and just make the visitor experience high-quality. We want BBQ Mac `n Cheese and other delicious food and drinks, not menu items you’d expect to find in San Francisco. We shouldn’t have to ask for the beer menu. You understand, right?
Oh well, it was another fun, adventure-filled day with another one planned for tomorrow.
On the 4th day of our trip our plan was to spend the day on the north side of the park, as well as outside the park on a drive up to the Beartooth Mountains.
We had breakfast in our cabin and then left the Canyon Village to drive over Dunraven Pass to arrive on time for our horseback ride at Roosevelt stables. As we passed the Mount Washburn trailhead we reminisced about the time in 2017 when we hiked the trail to the summit (when Evan was only 4).
We stopped briefly at an overlook just beyond the pass, hoping to see some wildlife. There were some distant elk and bison, as well as a uinta ground squirrel closer to the roadside. A couple at the same pullout said they had seen a grizzly that same morning near Madison. Hopefully we would see some before the trip was over.
We continued on and as we were passing the Tower Junction we saw a cute, black bear cub right off the side of the road.
That bear cub was definitely cool to see. We saw a ton of baby animals on the trip.
We rolled onward to Roosevelt Stables where we had reserved a two hour trail ride,
Roosevelt Corral
Originally all three us us were supposed to be on the ride, but Shelley had a medical issue a week before (the same reason we decided not to camp) and had to bow out. The ride requires all riders to weigh in on a scale before the ride to show they are under 240 pounds (which all three of us were all safely under), but it is something to know before making reservations.
The ride was actually longer than 2 hours. It was a full three hours and covered a pretty long route that included passing by the petrified tree (Yellowstone really has a little of everything). My only complaint was they wouldn’t let us use our phones or cameras at all.
They just didn’t want to risk anyone dropping these along the trail. My phone has a tether, but they must have just gotten to a point where fetching dropped phones was no longer something they were willing to deal with. Plus they would have dropped under the horses.
Regardless, Evan and I enjoyed the ride even if we were a bit hot by the end of the ride. Shelley spent the intervening three hours with a trip back to Tower Junction and our favorite gift shop in the park.
Returning to Roosevelt Corral
Once we were back together we left to head to the Lamar Valley to find a spot to enjoy a picnic lunch.
Lamar Valley
As we left the Roosevelt area and passed Tower Junction, we said another black bear with cubs but due to the traffic decided to pass this bear rather than get stuck.
Lamar Valley is always considered one of the best places to see wildlife in Yellowstone. I have personally seen more wildlife in Hayden Valley, but you can almost guarantee sightings of huge buffalo herds and pronghorns in Lamar Valley.
We found a turnout overlooking the Lamar River and backed the truck in so that we could make sandwiches on the tailgate of the truck. Bringing our cooler meant we could eat on the go and not have to take a couple hours waiting for a seat at a restaurant.
After our lunch and a walk down to the river we continued on toward the Northeast Entrance and a refueling stop in Cooke City, Montana.
The Beartooth Highway
I had wanted to see the Beartooth Highway for several year but due to our travel schedules being limited on the prior trips I decided against it. This time I was set on making the trip up to Beartooth Pass and to see for ourselves just how beautiful this roadway really is.
I have to admit the first twenty miles or so were a little underwhelming for us. Pretty, but not jaw dropping. But once you pass the Top of the World Store and ascend toward the pass the views just become stunning.
There are gorgeous lakes along the route and some fantastic panoramic views just past the summit of the pass.
It would have been good to drive the entire highway to Red Lodge or to have traveled the route the other direction. I think we will be back in Montana and the Yellowstone in a few years and can enter via that driving route.
Oveall, I still have to give the nod to The Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park as America’s most beautiful drive. But this is definitely in the top five. And since it is so close to Yellowstone, I think any visitor with tie should make a trip to the Beartooth Pass part of their experience.
As we were returning to Yellowstone we saw a crowd alongside the road and figured it must be something of significant interest. And as we walked up to join the crowd we saw tow huge grizzlies in the brush below.
Seeing grizzly bears is always a huge highlight of a visit to Yellowstone, and one that is absolutely not guaranteed. After seeing all the prior animals including dozens of black bears, wolves, and more, this really made us feel pretty good.
After reentering the park proper at the northeast entrance, we saw a crowd gathered looking at some distant clff sides. We speculated that the crowd was viewing distant mountain goats, and after asking this was confirmed.
But these mountain goats were VERY distant. Beyond the range of my zoom lens. We did have a small telescope with us that I brought on a whim once I knew we would have space in the truck, and I used this to take a photo.
The mountain goat is on the right side of the photo in the middle. Maybe not a great photo, but better than nothing!
Returning the the Lamar Valley we enjoyed the views of more bison and some pronghorns, including baby pronghorns.
The wildlife viewing on this trip was exceeding our prior trips, which were also really good. It was pretty epic.
We arrived back at Roosevelt to have dinner. Unfortunately there was a long line so we sauntered hungrily back to the car.
There was no way we were going to eat at Canyon Village’s crappy cafeteria. So we made the decision to drive to Mammoth and hopefully we’d be able to get seated at their dining room.
Mammoth Hot Springs
It’s a bit of a drive to Mammoth Hot Springs but at the same time it was nice to get this portion of the park into our trip. You really have to do the full figure eight drive through the park.
We arrived at the dining room and were pretty elated to be seated. Otherwise? Not sure but we really wanted a good dinner and some well deserved beers.
This was the best dinner we had in Yellowstone. The following night we had reservations in Grant Village Restaurant, but we enjoyed this dinner much more.
After our dinner I decided we should drive south instead of the road we had take to Mammoth so that we could see that part of the park. And we saw the elk that hang around Mammoth Hot Springs as well.
We made our south on the park road until we came to Norris Junction where the Norris Canyon Road connects to Canyon Village. The prior day we had arrived at the junction and saw a huge line of cars trying to find parking at the Norris Geyser Basin. But at 8:30 PM, the lot was practically empty.
With that in mind we drove in and parked, deciding to visit the geyser basin at sunset.
Norris Geyser Basin
We visited this geyser basin in 2017 when our kids were young, but only saw half of the thermal features. This time I wanted to explore more of the basin.
I made a video of our visit, with the evening stroll with Evan and Shelley in the Porcelain Basin portion of the area, and a return trip I made to the other half of the basin the following morning.
It was neat to see the sun setting over the glassy surface of hot spring-fed Porcelain Basin. It was nice to meander without crowds and feeling genuinely at ease in comparison to the prior day in the Upper Geyser Basin.
It was another eventful and memorable day in the park and in the Beartooths. We had another full day planned for tomorrow and returned back to Canyon for the night.
We woke up fairly early with busy plans for the day. We had discussed the hiking plans for the trips and I had picked out two hikes that were fairly low elevation change and about five miles round trip that would be enjoyable for all three of us: Fairy Falls and Lonestar Geyser. This morning was the Fairy Falls hike.
In preparation for the trip and to facilitate our camping goals for the coming years we had invested in a new 60 quart cooler Blue cooler. Even though we were no longer camping on the trip, we still brought the cooler and filled it with milk, juices, yogurts, lunch meat, and more with the intention of being able to eat breakfasts and lunches on the go, rather than waste time and money going to restaurants every day.
And for the most part, every morning except two we ate breakfast in our rooms and we had a few lunches out of the tailgate of my truck. Today was one of those days and it helped us get out to the trailhead quicker.
Fairy Falls Trail
We made it to the parking area for Fairy Falls before it could become too crowded and while the temperatures were still fairly mild (we had mostly 80F degree days during the trip).
The trail is located on the south side of the Middle Geyser Basin and the first mile of the trail crosses the Firehole River before passing alongside the basin.
We of course took the Grand Prismatic Spring overlook spur trail and admire this enormous hot spring that is the largest in the United States and third largest in the world. I consider it one of the most impressive natural wonders in the park, and one to admire from both the boardwalk and the overlook.
Following the spur trail back to the main trail we continued onward to the junction behind the geyser basin where the Fairy Falls trail begins in proper. There the trail enters a forest of young lodgepole pines that have filled in the forest after the 1988 fires devastated this area of the park.
The numerous dead trees that lie along the path are a reminder of that fire but also show that the park is now in a much healthier condition than when the 1988 fires exploded throughout the park. Fires must happen occasionally to burn away some of the excess fuel and the park service and forest service learned from that fire to better manage the forests and ensure that ocassional smaller fires can burn without turning into a conflagration.
As we arrived at the falls and saw some of the fallen timber that lay near the cliff edge over which Fairy Falls pours, I thought of what the scene might have looked like prior to 1988 without these stark reminders. It was a beautiful nonetheless and a really enjoyable first hike of the trip. The falls was taller than I expected and the mist created rainbows against the back cliff wall. And my son happily traversed the enormous tree trunks to test his balance and cross the creek that led from the falls.
After enjoying some time at the falls we started back. I had considered extending the hike to Imperial Geyser and onward beyond that (because the backcountry of Yellowstone beckons to me for a future adventure), but the mosquitoes were saying otherwise.
We did apply mosquito repellant, but apparently not enough. Or the mosquitoes were resistant. Whatever it was they were eating us alive as the temperatures rose and we made our way back through the forest.
Along the way we saw two rangers pass, one with a shotgun. My wife joked that we “hadn’t seen anything bigger than chipmunks” and they laughed, but we realized they were probably looking for a bear or bison along the path.
When we got to the fork where Fairy Falls trail begins we saw that the rangers had closed the trail due to bear activity. Apparently a grizzly was meandering along the trail and although we missed it, the rangers felt it was a bit too risky to keep the trail open. So we were lucky to get there while the trail was still open, but either lucky or unlucky to miss the grizzly 🙂
Once we got back to the car we sprayed more repellant on and vowed not to leave the car without it. Then drove south to the Upper Geyser Basin.
Old Faithful Inn
It was now close to lunch time and we made our traditional stop at Old Faithful Inn to have buffet lunch in the dining room. Every trip we’ve made to Yellowstone we have had lunch there and this trip could be no different.
After lunch we made our way down to the ice ream shop for our traditional ice cream at Old Faithful Inn. And of the scoops one must be huckleberry (because you can never have too much).
After enjoying a seat in the balcony and admiring the lodge that defines the standard for every national park lodge, we made our way out to the Upper Geyser Basin to await the eruption of Old Faithful.
Upper Geyser Basin
Shelley got a front row bench for Old Faithful (which would erupt in about 45 minutes) while Evan and I walked around the basin to check out the hot springs and any other geysers that might erupt while we were there.
The Upper Geyser Basin was unfortunately much more crowded and the people on the boardwalks were the ruder type of day visitor that wake up late, never hike beyond the boardwalks, and won’t share the pathways. After a while Evan and I were a bit disappointed with dealing with them and he suggested just walking right into them.
At any rate, we made our way around to the back side of the basin where crowds were a little thinner but the people were no less obnoxiously full of themselves and were still crowding every hot spring for their instagram photos. Fortunately most of these types of people would be leaving the park in a matter of hours.
We made our way back to Shelley and took our seats right at the front of the crowd. It felt good to have such a prime view in front of the same people that wouldn’t budge for us earlier.
Old Faithful is always a great show and something to enjoy when visiting Yellowstone. We’re all lucky to enjoy natural wonders such as these.
We decided to drive back north and visit Norris Geyser Basin before heading back to our cabin to rest. When we got to Norris we found a long line of cars and decided to make a stop there later when there were fewer people.
We proceeded onward back to Canyon Village where we bought more mosquito repellant and then headed to our cabin before dinner.
After considering our options for dinner (because there was no way we were eating at the crappy Canyon cafeteria again), we decided to drive down to the Lake area where there was a fast service restaurant called Wylie’s Canteen.
Hayden Valley and Lake Yellowstone
The drive down was amusingly slow. Amusing because of the constant animals that were along he route.
First there was another black bear and then some herds of bison on both sides of the road. And on the road.
Bison Jam
Then we entered a crowd that was using scopes to view a very distant pack of wolves. Evan and I were able to look through a spotting scope and see a black wolf far in the distance. Much too far for my camera, unfortunately. But cool to see nonetheless.
We were making pathetic time and we were a little worried the restaurant would be closed by the time we arrived. But inevitably we got there and had a decent hamburger dinner.
On the way back we saw some trumpeter swans on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. They were being a bit nasty to the geese that were sharing the lake shore, snapping at them and pushing them out of the way 🙂
It was cool to see swans because the aren’t common where we live. But the sure are mean birds.
We started north and enjoyed more bison before noticing a crowd around a ranger vehicle. We decided to check it out.
The rangers said that there were wolves in the area but they were no longer visible to the crowd. Evan and I were about to leave, but Evan convinced me to ascend a hill instead of walking back to the car. Watching him run up the hill so eagerly I could hardly refuse.
Once at the top w saw a small family looking out at a distant area and an animal moving and pouncing amid the vegetation. They said it appeared to them to be a wolf.
With my zoom lens extended to the full 300mm I was able to capture a couple photos and it was indeed a gray wolf! My first on camera.
I realize these are blurry photos from such a distance, but even people living and working in Yellowstone rarely ever see a wolf. We were able to identify it was a wolf based on the tail which is narrower than a coyote. Which I’ll show you in a later blog post.
Evan and I were excited and happy to have seen this wolf and I credited him with pushing me to go up that hill and not just walk back to the car. It was a fun and rewarding end to the day.
Yellowstone is a place that requires some effort and patience and isn’t a place to rush through. This is exactly why.
After six years and several adventures overseas we decided that 2025 would be a great year to return to a couple of our favorite places: Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. We were a little burned out on air travel (who isn’t?) and wanted a fun roadtrip that wasn’t overly distant from our home in Colorado. And we had a longing for an outdoors experience to test our new hiking and camping equipment.
One thing I didn’t want to do was rush our visit. Our prior trips in 2010, 2017, and 2019 were all relatively short. In May of 2010 we had four days to cover both parks. In 2017 we had five days of camping with three nights in Yellowstone and two in Grand Teton. In 2019 we camped the entire time in Grand Teton and drove into Yellowstone two days, spending the other three in the Tetons.
In every case, we enjoyed ourselves and brought back good memories, but we also spent a lot of time driving and had to forego many activities because of the schedule. This time I gave us eight nights and nine days to see the parks and some of the surrounding areas too. The slower pace gave us time for activities like horseback riding and kayaking, as well as several days of hiking, wildlife viewing, visits to museums and scenic drives.
I also decided that we should try going in June this time. Our trip in May of 2010 was fun, but the weather was pretty cold and many of the trails were still snow covered. I remember crossing Jenny Lake on the ferry boat in falling snow. And the other two trips were scheduled in July around Independence Day. July is the busiest month in both parks and it is especially true around Independence Day.
But June seemed a good chance to see more wildlife (it was pretty active in May of 2010) with more accessible trails and potentially lighter crowds. Well, June turned out to be as good as I hoped. Tons of wildlife, rushing rivers and waterfalls, and maybe a tad fewer people.
We did have one last minute change to our plans, however. We were initially planning two nights of camping in our RBM tent in Yellowstone. But due to a medical issue a week prior to the trip we decided to swap out the camping days for a stay in the Grant Lodge in Yellowstone and an extra day in a cabin in Colter Bay in Grand Teton.
Once we had my truck packed up it was clear that the cargo requirements for the trip with the tent and all the other equipment would have been very challenging. So the lodge stays worked out and kept our itinerary intact.
Day 1: Sheridan
I decided to stop in Sheridan, Wyoming on our first night of the trip so that we could enter the park the following day on a westerly drive across the Bighorn Mountains with a stop in Cody so we could visit the Buffalo Bill Museum of the West.
With that in mind we had a straight 450 mile drive north to make and one that we had done two years prior on our way to Glacier.
We were able to drive at a fairly leisurely pace and decided to make a couple stops along the way.
Fort Fetterman
After a brief lunch stop we wanted to take a break from driving and followed a sign for Fort Fetterman near Douglas, Wyoming.
Fort Fetterman was an outpost at the southern end of the Bozeman Trail that led pioneers and fur traders to Montana. The only buildings at the site today are a reconstructed officers’ quarters and a toolshed. The rest of the site is marked out to indicate where buildings once stood.
The fort didn’t have as much to see and do as we had hoped, but it was interesting nonetheless, and the views across the rugged prairie are a reminder of just how remote and lonely these forts would have been for soldiers stationed there in the 1800s.
On our way back to the I-25 from the fort we saw some pronghorns and I was able to get some photos from my truck.
As most travelers through Wyoming know, pronghorns are fairly common throughout the state. But I was happy to get these photos only a few hours into our trip.
We still had some time to burn and I looked online for museums and historic sites that we could stop at on our route. There are some museums in Sheridan itself, but by the time we arrived there they would have been closed or near to it.
But there was a historic site in Casper we hadn’t yet visited: Fort Caspar.
Fort Caspar Historic Site
Fort Caspar (notice the spelling is different than the modern city of Casper where it’s located) had a much larger museum and more to see and do than Fort Fetterman.
We spent an hour walking through the buildings and learning about the fort and its history. The recreated barracks and officers’ quarters actually looked fairly comfortable and the surrounding landscape more lush and hospitable than the very stark surroundings of Fort Fetterman.
Fort Caspar sat near the North Platte river and was a trading post and pony express station, then was an army outpost to protect emigrants. The fort is a National Park Service site but is operated by the city of Casper, Wyoming, so you cannot pay for admission with your National Parks Pass.
Following our time at Fort Caspar, we continued north to Sheridan. I had reserved a conestoga wagon at the Sheridan KOA Journey and we proceeded there first before looking for some dinner in the town.
After reviewing our options we decided on the Pony Grill and Bar. We found the rustic, low-key atmosphere to be just what we wanted. the food was good, but nothing fancy. We were tired and just wanted some burgers and beers and the Pony Grill delivered.
After dinner we headed back to the KOA and settled into the wagon. Before bed, however, we decided to make use of the fire pit since we had some firewood and s’mores ingredients.
Overall the conestoga wagon was a good way to have some fun for our first night. The reservation was $180 compared to the $250-$300 per night at the hotels in town. It had a private bathroom, a king bed, and bunk bed for our son.
I slept reasonably well, but my wife did struggle to sleep due to the noise of trains passing nearby the campground. Also someone was shooting off fireworks (we think just outside the campground). Definitely not cool.
Day 2: Sheridan to Yellowstone
As I mentioned before, my decision to stop overnight in Sheridan was driven by my interest in entering Yellowstone on a westerly drive through the Bighorn Mountains. And so the next morning we started up Highway 14 and entered the Bighorns Mountains Scenic Byway.
The road ascended quickly with roadsides telling the relative ages of the surrounding rock formations. Interestingly the rock layers grew older the higher we went.
I had been debating whether to follow Highway 14 or it’s alternate route 14A for months (honestly). Highway 14 would take us to the Shell Falls overlook area (which looked really neat), while 14A would be a steeper route with the possibility of stopping at the archaeological site of the Medicine Wheel.
As we approached the fork known as Burgess Junction my wife (who was driving) asked me to make the decision. At the last second I chose the regular Highway 14.
Within minutes we found a whole herd of moose grazing jus off the roadside.
I was still learning the many functions of my new EOS R50 and tis was one of the first moments where I had to really recall all the functions for focusing at a distance and adjusting brightness in dimmer lighting.
I took a few more practice shots of the surrounding mountains then found this healthy marmot waiting nearby the road for a portrait shot.
Shell Falls
As I mentioned, my primary reason for choosing HIghway 14 over 14A was the Shell Falls Interpretive Site. Well,, when we got there it was closed. Seriously.
Rather than simply drive onward, however, we found a pulloff near the site entrance and walked to a spot with some views of the falls. They were spectacular, even if we couldn’t walk down to the primary overlook.
I was happy to get out of the car anyway and hopefully we’ll come back this way when the falls site is fully open. But then again, we need to go the 14A route too.
We drove onward, enjoying our homemade muddy buddies Chex mix until we arrived in Cody. Once there we made our way to the museum I had planned on visiting before, but failed to see in the prior visits to Yellowstone.
Buffalo Bill Center of the West
The BBCOTW encompasses five museums (Natural History, Buffalo Bill, Firearms, Native Americans, and Western Art). I wanted to visit all five but we were too hungry to stay long enough to visit the Western Art Museum (the Buffalo Bill Museum contains impressive western art too).
We first visited the Natural History Museum and perused the exhibits. The focus is on the natural world of the Yellowstone area, which makes it an informative stop before continuing on to the park.
Next we visited the Buffalo Bill museum and learned all about the life and career of the larger than life western hero William Cody. I have been to a few places that were historically significant to Buffalo Bill including the Scout’s Rest Ranch in North Platte, Nebraska and his grave here in Colorado. But I learned more about the man in this museum than I had anywhere else.
Following the Buffalo Bill museum we went to the Firearms museum, which I consider the best of the museums we visited. The collection is just astounding and more than you can imagine. The entire history of firearms of every sort is on display. And you can test your skills in target shooting (without real bullets but a laser target).
The Native American museum was next and it seemed a little sparse in my opinion. I know that many tribes have demanded that artifacts be removed from museum displays, and sadly this makes it harder to learn the history of these tribes and to be educated about their customs and ways of life.
After that, we were starving and decided to head to the exit (with a stop at the gift shop first). We decided on pizza and followed the directions to Wyo Dough. The directions led us to a less atmospheric building the the photos of Wyo Dough on TripAdvisor. This restaurant was called Cody Craft Brewing.
Apparently, Cody Craft Brewing and Wyo Dough were merged int one restaurant. Fair enough. Some good beer would be nice too.
The pizza was very meh. The beer flights were better. But with a continued drive ahead we couldn’t have much. Anyway, it won’t be at the top of our list when we come back to Cody.
Since it was Father’s Day I thought about going to the Irma Restaurant which is in Buffalo Bill’s historic Irma Hotel. But we were in a rush really. So next time.
We got some gas and set off for the entrance to Yellowstone via the Shoshone River Canyon that Theodore Roosevelt considered the most scenic drive in the country. He never saw the Beartooth Mountains road or Going to the Sun Road, but this is certainly a beautiful drive.
Yellowstone National Park
The east entrance to Yellowstone is over Sylvan Pass and right at that moment we saw a bighorn sheep sauntering past us by the roadside.
The bighorn was molting its winter coat with the transition to summer temperatures. But nevertheless, it was a pretty good ndication of just how plentiful wildlife would be in the park.
We proceeded onward along the shores of Yellowstone Lake (and a sadly ugly stand of dead timber from a past fire) to Lake Junction.
Turning north we proceeded into one of the prime wildlife viewing areas of Yellowstone: Hayden Valley.
We saw our first bison of the trip. It’s always good to see the bison herds and to know that indeed you are in the heart of Yellowstone. It was especially cool to see all the bison calves since it was still only June.
We made our way slowly north toward the Canyon area until we came to a car jam and decided to check it out. I’m glad we did. Our first of many black bears.
This is one of my favorite black bear photos that I’ve ever taken, looking directly at the serenely content bear in the woods.
After unjamming ourselves from the car congestion we continued to the south overlooks for the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
I believe the view of the Lower Falls from Artists Point is one of the most spectacular viewpoints in all of the national parks. I’m pretty sure I’m right.
After taking our photos from Artist’s Point I convinced Shelley and Evan to take a little known trail from the overlook toward Ribbon Lake. Alongthe way there are some beautiful views of the canyon.
Along the way there were also some voracious mosquitoes. With no repellant on, we decided to cut the trail short and made our way onward to the hotel to check-in at the Canyon Lodge.
Our room was in a Western Cabin and it was a nice choice overall. It was tucked back from the busier main lodge area, had ice available for our cooler, and there was a trail to the north rim of the canyon nearby. Xanterra put ridiculous sideways recycling trash bins in the room, which I’ll discuss later.
The Canyon area overall, however, for as large as it is and with it being in one of the prime areas of the park, lacks any good restaurant options.
When we camped at Canyon Campground in 2017, there was a sit-down restaurant in the Canyon Village. This is now gone and the only option is a crowded cafeteria-style eatery with limited menu options. The cafeteria was also running out of ingredients and we didn’t get our side dishes because of it.
The staff looked frustrated too and acknowledged that the cost of the food versus the quality was a total mismatch. The woman at the cash register let us have our drinks for free to make up for the missing side dishes.
Xanterra just isn’t doing a very good job managing the lodges and restaurants in Yellowstone, in my opinion. We visited Glacier National Park in 2023 and the restaurants there are also managed by Xanterra, but the menus seemed better and the staff seemed a bit more relaxed.
I will state unequivocally that Xanterra seems too focused on virtue-signaling efforts for sustainability (like the laughable trash bins) and isn’t putting enough into the overall comfort and quality of the visitor experience.
As I wrote in my review, most visitors are there to hike and enjoy the outdoors. When we return from a long, tiring day and want to celebrate with a good meal, the last thing we want is overpriced cafeteria food or ridiculous woke choices like jerk tofu. Seriously. How about BBQ Mac-n-Cheese like we had in Glacier?
After settling into our room we decided to drive over to the north rim of the canyon. I would actually visit the north rim a few times on the trip since we were nearby.
The Brink of the Lower Falls
We drove over to the North Rim (since we hadn’t yet found the trail from the cabins) and stopped off at the Brink of the Lower Falls trailhead.
Evan and I made our way down the steep switchbacking trail to the bottom where a platform overlooks the Lower Falls. And it was flowing at an incredible rate. Almost too fast and powerful for comfort.
We walked onto the platform to view the falls before feeling like the platform would erode away beneath us. It was cool to see, but just a tad too powerful for comfort.
We hiked back up and felt pretty good about the day’s experiences. We were only at the beginning of the trip and had already seen bears, a moose, a bighorn and some terrific scenery. We had a hike planned for the next day and we wanted to be up early to enjoy a full day in the park.
I made this wood-burning a few years ago of two pronghorns on the prairie. We often see pronghorns when we venture into Wyoming and occasionally here on Colorado, and this scene is typical for how we encounter them.
There was an unusual leaf-shaped knot in the wood which I managed to incorporate into a plant. Can you find it?
