A Visit to Canyon

Elk and her young right at the camp

After a much better night of sleeping we woke and had breakfast watching the elk on the hillside above our site.  Cooper just laid there with his water dish and watched them too.  

After some discussion on our day's plan we headed off the Canyon area of the Park.

Our Mammoth campsite...much quieter

Wraith Falls

Only a few miles away is a short hike out to a water fall... Wraith Falls.  We've hiked to it in the past and it really isn't much to it... except this time the large amount of water coming down it had cleared away the debris and moved it down the face to the bottom of the falls.  

Cooper enjoyed looking at flowers and searching for his elusive ground squirrel friends while Bill hiked out to falls.  I shot a few pictures of flowers, knitted and swatted flies.  Those darn things are worse than the mosquitoes.  The bite hurts and itches for days.

Looking for bison bones

Once back on the road we decided to see if we could find the remains of two bison carcasses from the winter.  Lots of flowers, but no remains to be seen.  That seems hard to believe that nothing was left behind from such huge animals... not a speck of hide or bone.  The meadows were covered with green grasses and so many flowers... wish I could grow flowers like this back home.

Wildflowers

Storm rolling through

Lower Falls on the Yellowstone...Canyon Area

Since the winter and spring (snow and rain) have been so wet the Park is definitely greener than last summer.  The waterfalls are SPECTACULAR and the Yellowstone River is running faster and higher than we have ever seen it.  We each killed time waiting with Cooper while the other took a turn hiking out to see the Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  
 

The Yellowstone running through the Canyon

Opsrey and three young

We discovered a family of Ospreys nesting right below the walkway on one of the rock pillars.  It was pretty neat to peer down into the nest and watch the parents feed their young a fish. 

Baby ospreys are really ugly... just saying.

Lake lunchtime views

 

First bison herd

Sunset at Mammoth campsite