Friday 8/23 For the final day in the park, we drove up to the Mammoth Hot Springs area and hiked the loop there. The hike goes past a portion of the driving tour route, but we skipped doing the full drive. I’m sure Mammoth is not the only area to… Continue reading
Thursday 8/22 Our first stop was along the north side of Yellowstone Canyon (near Canyon Visitor Center). We hiked down to the brink of Upper Falls then continued up part of the North Rim Trail stopping off at the various overlooks. We were able to spot an Osprey nest from… Continue reading
Wednesday 8/21 We were up early to grab a campsite at Norris Basin campground. We should have committed, given up the site at Indian Creek and taken the tent, but we weren’t sure what the chances were. There were expected to be around 15 spots opening up, including 8 in… Continue reading
Tuesday 8/20 We got a moderately early start heading back into the park, but we stopped briefly for groceries and coupled with it being an hour drive to the closest campground, we weren’t getting there until well past the line-up-to-get-a-site hour. We ended up trying three campgrounds, which might have… Continue reading
Monday, 8/19 Trying out a new area of the park in the Colter Bay area, we decided to hike the loop out to Hermitage Point and then back along Swan Lake. Overall, not as interesting as some of the other hikes and a bit more exposed on an open peninsula… Continue reading
Sunday, 8/18 We had done the Taggart & Bradley Lake trail before, but it was in April and covered in snow, and we couldn’t actually see the trail in some places. The hike was easier this time, though with more people around, but not too horribly busy. There’s nothing super… Continue reading
Saturday, 8/17 Back to the long hikes – we started up Cascade Canyon with some uncertainty as to how far we would get. There were a few logical stopping points – Hidden Falls, which we had been to before, the end of Cascade Canyon, Lake Solitude or the full loop… Continue reading
Friday, 8/16 Though sleeping in the car might not be ideal, it had the desired effect and we were able to get a first come first serve spot in the Jenny Lake Campground. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing that fewer than 10 spots opened up that day. … Continue reading
Thursday, 8/15 We hadn’t originally planned on driving the Fit, and it was close to needing an oil change, something that would seemed unwise to postpone for several thousand miles, so that was the first order of business for the morning. We found a Walmart that did oil changes and… Continue reading
Wednesday, 8/14 We were far from the first people in the parking lot the night before, nor were we the last. The late arrivals made sleep slightly more challenging than it already was expected to be. I always wonder in these scenarios how much sleep I actually get. I don’t… Continue reading