Day Three in Yellowstone

We got a bit of a slow start this morning thanks to the balckout curtains that meant we woke at 8:30!  I thought to title this post, "Where have all the bison gone..." a la Peter, Paul and Mary as we drove into the park this morning.  Where we had seen many bison yesterday there were only three today.  Disappointing-until later.

Obsidian Cliff held a precious Native American stone--extremely hard obsidian, perfect for arrowheads.

Golden Gate shows the difficulty of building a highway in Yellowstone.  Many twists and turns ahead.

We went on east from Mammoth Hot Springs with its amazing array of colors, toward the northest entrance to the park. 

The Undine Falles are wonderful as are so many here.  Along the way, we saw an amazing array of wildlife....

Three mule deer.

Many pronghorn deer--but this is the best we could do on getting close...

WOW!  Here's one of the four wolves we saw crossing the road.

For me, this is the shot of the day--an elk with fuzzy antlers just newly growing after losing his old ones not long ago.  And he's looking right at us!

But, ok, I could make a case for this black bear being the best shot of the day.  He or she totally stopped traffic as photographers pulled out their telephoto lenses and crowded the side of the road to get a shot.  The bear was scraping the ground and eating something.  What do black bears eat?

So, what is the Bison Count for the day after that slow start?   Maybe 2,000!  We lost count there were so many!

And now, after our last day in Yellowstone, finished off by a Buffalo Bar dinner of salad, buffalo meat balls, and mashed potatoes, it's time for sleep.  Tomorrow on to Craters of the Moon National Park....