yellowstone slam

took the long way- stocked up with farm stand produce (in brigham city) and road tunes- and we caught the late day choirs-of-angels light behind the tetons, sunset reflections in jackson lake, and a killer chocolate shake at the serpentine "lunch counter" grill of the jackson lake lodge. a nightcap of shooting stars outside our cabin in yellowstone's lake village ended friday.

saturday morning brought roadside bison, a quick peek at the brink of the upper falls & the virginia cascade and our first geyser basin of the trip- norris with the crowd pleasing steamboat geyser. lunched riverside on caprese salad and roasted red pepper spread before a tiny hike at artists paint pots to the glorping mudpots. mammoth delivered otherworldly vistas and brought to mind our visit to pammukale in turkey. soaked in the gallitan river where it meets the boiling river- nature's spa. hustled to make a late dinner at canyon village and when faced with a 45 minute wait for a meal at 10pm, opted for moose drool and appetizers in the lounge. our canyon cabin, while roomy, had some plumbing and heating issues but still, more luxurious and a simpler set up than camping.

sunday morning began with a chilly trek down to the red rock view point of the lower falls. we drove around to the north rim, crossing the sedate yellowstone river just above the upper falls. big canyon views and postcard falls vistas before we were off for another bison encounter on our way past the lake. we walked around the west thumb geyser basin before continuing on to old faithful where we scored great parking behind the inn and were able to walk up just minutes before the constant one erupted. we lunched in the historic inn and heard tales of the obama lock down of the day before before we circled the lower geyser basin and enjoyed a good send off from the castle geyser. crammed in a driveby of the firehole lake/ falls area on our way out but had to get on the road home. made it from west yellowstone in just under 5 hours. speed-national-parking at its best!