Yellowstone!

Milage: 2616miles ...some where in Idaho

Leaving Yellowstone and heading to Reno, Nevada. We had mostly good weather the whole time which is amazing because the weather is so unpredictable. There is sooo much to see in Yellowstone, it is the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined and it contains more then half of the worlds geothermal features due to the active super volcano that created it. You could spend days seeing mud pots, gysers, canyons, hot springs and waterfalls without even leaving the major roads! The best shit is, of course, off the main roads though. The parks wildlife is amazing aswell. Herds of buffalo can be seen calmly grazing by the roadsides, usually surrounded by gawking tourists inching dangerously close with cameras drawn. Bison my look docile but they will charge people! There are deer, elk, moose, bears, coyotes, wolves, the list goes on and on.  The lucky traveler may see a few of these animals from the roads but you are more likly to see moose,wolves,coyotes and bears in the back country. We had a brief run in with a bear on a back country trail, it scared the crap out of me but honestly the bear was more scared of us. The key is to make alot of noise so you don't sneak up and startle the bear or any wild animal really, if they hear you coming they will usually run away. We enjoy loudly quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail, bears don't seem to like it as much as we do.

We stayed in the Indian Creek campgrounds just south of the Mammoth Hot Springs. Its a great campground; small, mostly tents, only a few rv spots and no generators. Only $12 a night and is off the beaten trail so there is not alot of traffic, highly recommended. One of the coolest things you will hear almost any night if you camp in Yellowstone are the erie echoing howls of wolves and the yelping of the coyotes in the distance. It starts as only a few howls and then builds into a symphony as the whole pack comes together in high pitched yips and yelps like echoing screams in the distance. Pretty amazing stuff.

      We got to do some awesome hikes . Finding a good trail map is harder then it should be and we unintentionally  ended up on a 5.5 mile hike up the Golden Gate. Stunning view from the top but damn what a climb. We also did a hike along the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone that traced the canyon cliffs from which I have amazing photos to post tonight or tomorrow. The trailhead for that hike is at Artist Point in Madison, just elbo past the hundreds of car tourists trying to get pictures of the upper falls to find the trail entrance in the back of the observation area. Trust me this trail offers some of the most spectacular views of the canyon that few ever see.

All and all one of the most amazing places I have ever been lucky enough to visit. Heres a few pictures from my phone, look for the good shit under the photography tab soon!