Yellowstone Day 2

We planned an early start for the day. Our objective to get to Lamar Valley (probably the furthest point from where we were staying) by around 7:30am. We left the hotel at 6am, with the temp at around -7C. It took a bit to scrape the ice off the windscreen as we had no ice scraper and poor Mark had to use a plastic fork! But it did the trick in short time. Or maybe he was just so cold he went as fast as possible. Then as we pulled out the dashboard communication system displayed a message that the air was low in one of the rear tyres, so again Mark was out in the cold this time handling freezing metal in the dark, with no idea how much air was going in as the guage was frosted over. He just kept putting in air till the message went off the dash.... we headed through several deserted towns and eventually were near the final leg to see a sign saying the road was closed ahead. DARN! and no we didnt check with any ranger as it is quite clearly signed what dates everything closes. Roads, buildings, etc. So alas we didnt quite make it to Lamar Valley but we did see some amzing things anyway.

The biggest falls here on the Yellowstone River. This is the lower of 2 falls. Its quite an iconic image of the region and it is also their Grand Canyon.

Another view of the canyon.

These are the trees on the shade side of the canyon. All the mist off the falling water has frozen on the trees.

This is the Hayden Valley. It was spectacular. Note the ice starting to build up on the sides of this narrow stream.

Relaxing at lake Yellowstone. Is massive and the sunshine makes it deceptive. It was still freezing. I had moved to the vest only over my merino top but this didnt last long. I soon had beanie and full jacket back on. We enjoyed another picnic lunch here. This time we managed to stay outdoors.

We got back to our hotel around 4pm and wandered over to another lodge for a coffee. Ever hopeful that it would be better than we had been having. No luck Im afraid! They did however have this most amazing view over the Old Faithful Geyser. So we relaxed in the warmth for an hour watching the crowd build to watch outside. The portion you can see here of people is probably less than a 1/4 of the boardwalk.

Outside our hotel. Snapped one of the local tour buses.

This is inside the lobby of our hotel. Note the massive fireplace. The fire grills are approx 5' tall. The chimney... huge! If you look closely you will see people sitting around the upper level. On the other side there are another 2 levels you can sit at overlooking and listening to the pianist. Its a good spot for a glass or two. You can buy from the bar or bring your own. BARKERS - we had a Kendell Jackson, cab sav 2009, from Sonoma this evening, in your honour!