Today we left Mammoth Hot Springs to head south to our last destination in the park: the historic Yellowstone Lake Hotel, right on Lake Yellowstone. We didn't plan to stop on the first leg of the route to Tower because we had seen it earlier. However, we ended up stopping along with many others on the side of the road. I figured if I didn't see a bear, wolf or coyote on this trip, that was okay, but this black bear was down in a meadow 25 feet down on the ravine at the road. So it was safe.
Our first planned stop was at a viewpoint of the cliffs along the Yellowstone river, which we caused by volcanic eruptions long ago, as well as the cuts down the cliff by the river.
This is Overhanging Cliff, which hangs out over the highway and is formed of the same basalt as the cliffs above.
Not much further down the road is the lovely Tower Fall, where the water drops straight down.
We walked all the way down the mountain side (about 1/4 mile) to just above the Yellowstone River, where the creek from the fall joins the river. Here are the views in both directions.
On the way back up, I got a lucky shot of this yellow rumped warbler!
I also saw these Rocky Mountain Iris, which were reintroduced to the hillside by the park.
Our next stop was Dunraven Pass, but along the way, we saw these views of Antelope Valley:
This mountain is not in the Antelope Valley but further down the road to the west.
When we got to Dunraven Pass (8800 feet), we decided to climb up the hill for additional views. Here's Chuck starting up Mount Washburn Trail. There was a lot of snow around!
Here's a view of the valley about 100 feet up:
We assisted a family in getting a group photo, and they returned the favor. The view behind us is just a bit east of the photo above.
We continued the climb for another half mile and were rewarded with this view.
I also got photo of this little guy, who is a golden mantled ground squirrel (yes, he does look like a chipmunk!).
We travelled on with a stop in Canyon Junction for lunch and then some time to do our wash. As we made our way to Lake Yellowstone, we passed through meadows with buffalo herds. This photo shows just how close they often are to the road.
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