Adding Photos from Pam and James

On Day 1 of our trip we flew to Bozeman, Montana and walked through the downtown.

Walking in to Bozeman

Taking advantage of the street art in downtown Bozeman.

On Day 2, we took a shuttle from Bozeman to Mammoth Hot Springs and a Snow Coach from Mammoth to the Snow Lodge at Old Faithful. Each shuttle took several hours.

Note the ice-covered, yellow travertine formations behind us in these two pictures.

These are at Mammoth Hot Springs

The Snow Coach stopped at Norris Basin for our first really snowy walk.

Norris also gave us our first experience with Yellowstone's thermal features.

On Day 3 we donned our cute hats to visit the Continental Divide, Kepler Falls, and West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Kepler Falls in the background.

Snow was deep at the Continental Divide.

Snowing at West Thumb.

In awe of West Thumb, snow, cold, and all.

On Day 4, I mostly watched the snow from inside the lodge. Pam and James spent a few hours outdoors walking near the Old Faithful geyser.

Waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.

Past the closed Visitor Center, on the path marked by the posts, to Old Faithful.

Brrrrrrrrr

Antidote to brrrrrrrr.

On Day 5, we had gorgeous weather for walking all through the Old Faithful Upper Geyser Basin in the morning. In the afternoon, we took the Snow Coach to the west side of the Park, along the Madison River.    

Old Faithful, with a sign warning us not to approach the wildlife.

Beauty and calmness

Wearing my zaktrax and using my trekking poles in the snow

Looking at the sun over the valley

 On Day 6, we descend from the Park to the real world, stopping at Firehole Basin for a final farewell to Yellowstone and watching the vegetation change as we come down into Mammoth, Paradise Valley and Bozeman.

This and the two subsequent photos show bobby sock trees at Firehole Basin. They occur when the water gets hotter because of an earthquake or other natural happening. The tress die slowly however they continue to take up minerals for a while near the roots and those minerals accumulate at the base of the trees.

 

This beautiful hot springs is also at Firehole.

Farewell Yellowstone

We had a great time!

Last views, from the windows of the Snow Coach

 

The red trees are willows. they are returning in the Park since the re-introduction of wolves. There are about 8-0 wolves in the whole Park. They have kept the size of the elk herd in check and stopped the overgrazing by elk which had eliminated all the willows. The willows will support more small mammals and more birds.

Paradise Valley from the Mammoth to Bozeman shuttle.