Today's adventure was to travel from our accommodation in Yellowstone Lake (Lake Lodge Western Cabin), which I must admit was superb and drive the Beartooth Highway.
On the drive there, we stopped in to see the mud volcano area which has the mud geyser and the mud volcano and dragons mouth spring. And when in Yellowstone, "what is a must do" - well you must take a photo with the Ranger.
But before we started our day trip, we needed breakfast; and what wonderful company we had, with these majestic animals enjoying their morning breakfast with us.
Yellowstone National Park is known for some of the most amazing views that it offers. Calcite Springs Overlook is one of those views.
An 800 ft. path will take you along the edge of a deep canyon where the Yellowstone River flows swiftly hundreds of feet below you.
Mountain backdrops, unique cliff formations, and a thermal feature in the distance on the banks of the river is what you can expect at this must-see wonder. There are some stairs to go up and down but it is very easy.
Heralded as one of the most scenic drives in the United States, the Beartooth Highway, a National Scenic Byways All-American Road, features breathtaking views of the Absaroka and Beartooth Mountains. This 68 mile byway winds its way through southwest Montana and northwest Wyoming and leads into Yellowstone National Park at its Northeast Entrance.
You will encounter breathtaking views of open high alpine plateaus dotted with countless glacial lakes, forested valleys, waterfalls and wildlife.
The Beartooth All-American Road passes through what is known today as the Beartooth Corridor. Surrounded by the Custer, Gallatin, and Shoshone National Forests, traveling parallel to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, and abutting Yellowstone National Park, the Highway sits in a million-plus acre wilderness.
The Beartooth Highway provides easy access to Yellowstone National Park at its northeast entrance. Three gateway communities – Cooke City and Red Lodge, Montana and Cody, Wyoming put you in the heart of today’s wild wild west. The only disappointing part of our Beartooth Highway trip were the fires that were raging in many states. You can see the haze in most of the photos.
On returning from the Beartooth Highway, we opted to spend the night in Silver Gate and booked into Grizzly Bear. The accomodation was spacious and lovely; Bob (Manager) was a jovial character and the camp fire provided a great night meeting new people and telling many stories.
I had tried to book all of our accommodation in Yellowstone a year in advance, but even that wasn't enough for Roosevelt Lodge Cabins. The only cabin that I could get was a very small single bed Roughrider Cabin, and it was as described, "Rustic". Aside from knocking each other out every couple of minutes in our sleep, we certainly felt the cold - let's just say we are Gold Coast Australians and used to warm weather.
As we were up very early, we decided to hike the Hidden Lake Hike, with the trailhead being accessed from your accommodation in Roosevelt. The hike has some amazing views.
Including some very amusing squirrels - please check out the photos of these cheeky little squirrels and chipmunks.
After our hike, we went in search of Wolves at Lamar Valley. We did spot of pack of Wolves in the far distance. You know when there are animals around from the masses of people with their spotting scopes on the side of the road. We sat for hours watching the bison and pronghorns, and was joined by the little squirrel scampering along the log we had found.
On our way in to Yellowstone National Park a the Northeast entrance.
We spotted these lovely Eagles nesting in Lamar Valley.
