August 21, 2014
It was another cool day driving into the Yellowstone Park. It was 50 degrees and cloudy. The cool, damp weather didn’t stop the crowds.
In the Madison area we took the 2 mile Firehole CanyonDrive. The road was a one-way drive through a beautiful canyon along the Firehole River and past Firehole Falls, a 40-foot waterfall. We have seen people swimming in this area on previous trips, but not today. We encountered rain on this drive so we stayed in the jeep.
We decided to pass by the thermal features because the crowd was very large, the parking lot full, and cars parked on the roadway. Instead, we continued on to the West Thumb and Fishing Bridge.
We drove along the Yellowstone Lake, the largest freshwater lake above 7000 feet in North America. It is 7,732 feet above sea level and it’s deepest part is 390 feet.
Fishing Bridge is at the north end of Yellowstone Lake. This used to be a popular fishing location, on the Yellowstone River, to catch cutthroat trout. Since 1973, fishing has been prohibited from the bridge. Now it is a good place to observe fish!
After crossing the bridge, we drove to the Fishing Bridge RV park. We stayed in the RV park a few years ago and since then they had made improvements. After driving through the camping loops, we were convinced that we can’t camp there in our 43 foot RV. Before leaving the area, we made a quick stop at the gift shop for a t-shirt.
As we drove along the Yellowstone River, we stopped at the Lower and Upper Falls viewing areas. There were several bus tours at these locations so the overlook areas were crowded.
We stopped at Beyrl Spring. It is one of the hottest springs in Yellowstone,averaging 196F and boils up to a height of 4 feet. Іt was a beautiful blue color when the steam dissipated!
Our last stop was Gibbons Falls. On the Gibbon River, Gibbon Falls was a long and ribbon-like cascade rushing over the caldera rim and tumbling 84 ft.
As we headed towards the west entrance, we saw a line of stopped cars along the road. We were sure that there was a wildlife sighting ahead! Yeah! We saw an elk grazing along the river. What a good ending to our day in the park!
We ate dinner in West Yellowstone at the Three Bear Restaurant. Ken had the Pork Loin Special and I had the Bison Sirloin Tips. In the words of our waitress…”it was dang good”!
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