7/18/2010
After our Edward Eaton Hike, we went back to Fishing Bridge Campground. I captured this photo of a sunset & smoke from the forest fire. The picture looks like the sunset is the actual flames of the fire.7/19/2010
On this day we decided to drive up to Hayden Valley where the buffalo roam.
On the way up we stopped at LeHardys Rapids, of the Yellowstone River. We were suppose to see this rapids on the Edward Eaton Trail, but someone misread the map! If you are lucky, you will see trout jumping up the rapids to get upstream to spawn.
Time to proliferate.
Some kind of dragon fly I think.
Off to the side of the road I saw a lone buffalo.
Dust is flying off him as if he is Linus of Charlie Brown.
So I keep watching him.
He rubs his head in the dust.
Then he gets on his back in the dust and rolls back and forth.
At a rangers program at Fishing Bridge one night we were told that the buffalo do this to get the bugs off them and to make themselves a lighter color to help reflect the sun.
The farther up the road we go, the more buffalo we see.
On the way, we stop at Mud Volcano and see Dragon Mouth Springs.
This spring actually made a sleeping dragon exhale sound as the steam came out, and it's breath was really nasty smelling!
We arrive at Hayden Valley which is a grassland valley that use to be a former lake bed, from melting glaciers from an ice age years ago. The small dots in the picture are the herds of buffalo that love this valley.
A close up of a small section of the valley.
This buffalo is still carrying around his winter coat. They rub against trees, trying to remove their coats.
Here is a baby calf.
Both the male and females have horns. This one has just a piece of it's winter coat left.
You don't have the right of way here!
The buffalo here are much bigger than the ones we saw in South Dakota last summer.
Here is a Bull Elk that has every one's attention.
A ranger was called in to manage the people and to keep the traffic flowing.
I jumped out of the car and got is shot. Joe said, "I can't believe you got that close to him!" I said, " ever one else was that close." OK , I should know better than that, I just got got up in the moment, I just wanted to get a good picture of his rack. All the Yellowstone information tell the tourist to stay 25 feet away from the elk.
7/18/2010
When we were in the Teton's, we did a hike around part of Jenny Lake. I did the last bit of the hike up to Inspiration Point. I paid for it the next day. Both my right leg and arm were very sore, and I limped around like Chester on Gun Smoke for 5 days.
I am finally able to walk comfortably, so we decided to do another hike. It starts at Fishing Bridge, bridge. 
From the bridge you climb up a few stairs. So we were on top of a hill looking down. Can you see the pelicans on the island below. 
Here is a close up shot. Now you can see them. 
I am sure this is a weed, but it is an interesting weed. 
Side view of weed/ flower. 
We come to this marshy area, with some sticks laid down to help you cross. It's a balancing act.
After the marsh, we walk along a meadow edged with a forest. 
Joe spots this deer. 
A nice set of antlers. 
As we walk further, we see another deer. 
Joe points at the deer so you know where he is! We watch the deer pass us and into the woods. 
And then he goes behind a tree and takes care of business. You know you've been in the wildness for too long when you get pictures of animals going to the bathroom. 
Off he goes again. At this point we are starting to think maybe we are not on the Edward Eaton Trail. The trail seemed to end there and was not going toward the LeHardys Rapids, but instead to Lake Yellowstone. Oh well, we will make our own trail. 
I look back at Fishing Bridge. I know you can't see it, so I will give you a close up shot. 
Now can you see it? 
We are now walking along Yellowstone Lake toward Lake Village. We had to watch our steps, because Canadian geese poop was every where. We all of a sudden noticed a fire off to the north of us. It must have just started, because we had been heading in this direction for a while. 
These Canadian geese were in front of Joe, but he got to close, so they flew to the lake. 
We decide to turn back at this point, so we don't push our luck with over doing again. 
I saw some more of those weed/ flowers I saw earlier. 
Pretty neat in a close up shot. 
The fire is getting bigger. 
We started to cross the sage brush meadow. 
But decided to return to the lake shore, because it was easier to tread. 
On the way back to the shore, I see these q-tip weed/flowers in the meadow. 
We though, "we must get back, the park could be having an evacuation and we are out here hiking." 
Sun shinning through the smoke. 
We followed the shoreline until we got back to the meadow edged forest, where we saw the deer. 
We found where the trail had ended, and started back on it. We decided this was a buffalo and or deer trail we had been following. A buffalo pie to prove it. 
The fire continues to enlarge. 
We passed where we had seen the deer that was lying in the shade. He was still there. 
Both of them were there when we back tracked the trail. 
I sat and watch them for awhile. 
Back through the flower meadows. 
We saw another deer across the meadow. 
Joe climbed up the hill, and I yell at him to clap as he approaches the top. 
I am always tagging behind, looking for interesting things like this moss like looking stuff on a tree.
Cool looking stuff. Joe is alway charging ahead on a mission. 
Almost back, we saw the pelicans again. 
I looked down the hill at Fishing Bridge, as Joe stepped down the last step. 
Years ago you could fish off of Fishing Bridge. But they realized that the trout spawned around the bridge, so fishermen were killing new generations of fish. You can fish in Yellowstone, but not on Fishing Bridge anymore. 
We got back to our car, and looked back at the fire. Everybody was going about their tourist way. No evacuation , so we check our map for the Edward Eaton Trail. We were suppose to take a trail across the street from where we went. Oh well, that will be another day.
On the way up we stopped at LeHardys Rapids, of the Yellowstone River. We were suppose to see this rapids on the Edward Eaton Trail, but someone misread the map! If you are lucky, you will see trout jumping up the rapids to get upstream to spawn.
Time to proliferate.
Some kind of dragon fly I think.
Off to the side of the road I saw a lone buffalo.
Dust is flying off him as if he is Linus of Charlie Brown.
So I keep watching him.
He rubs his head in the dust.
Then he gets on his back in the dust and rolls back and forth.
At a rangers program at Fishing Bridge one night we were told that the buffalo do this to get the bugs off them and to make themselves a lighter color to help reflect the sun.
The farther up the road we go, the more buffalo we see.
On the way, we stop at Mud Volcano and see Dragon Mouth Springs.
This spring actually made a sleeping dragon exhale sound as the steam came out, and it's breath was really nasty smelling!
We arrive at Hayden Valley which is a grassland valley that use to be a former lake bed, from melting glaciers from an ice age years ago. The small dots in the picture are the herds of buffalo that love this valley.
A close up of a small section of the valley.
This buffalo is still carrying around his winter coat. They rub against trees, trying to remove their coats.
Here is a baby calf.
Both the male and females have horns. This one has just a piece of it's winter coat left.
You don't have the right of way here!
The buffalo here are much bigger than the ones we saw in South Dakota last summer.
Here is a Bull Elk that has every one's attention.
A ranger was called in to manage the people and to keep the traffic flowing.
I jumped out of the car and got is shot. Joe said, "I can't believe you got that close to him!" I said, " ever one else was that close." OK , I should know better than that, I just got got up in the moment, I just wanted to get a good picture of his rack. All the Yellowstone information tell the tourist to stay 25 feet away from the elk.
