Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone Road Trip -- Day 4:  From Cody, we drove into Yellowstone and to the Fisheries office along Yellowstone Lake where Lauren was to meet her new boss and co-workers.

Big Horn Sheep along the road

More wildlife along the road

We tried to drive to the Yellowstone Falls for lunch but apparently a bison herd blocked the road so we had lunch on the lake shore.

Lunch on the shore of Yellowstone Lake.  Too bad it's too cold to swim in.

I dropped Lauren off at the fisheries office.  I think she was a bit nervous, but then a bunch of other college age kids showed up and she knew "this is going to be the best time of my life."

The new employee tour.

Assembling a new Lake Trout torture device.

Biologist housing -- nice!

After 3 days and 1,500 miles in the car, Lauren was ready to start her adventure on her own and I needed to be in Idaho by nightfall.  "Bye, love you!"

Yellowstone is considered the crown jewel of the park system and that means crowds.  At the West Thumb Geyser Basin, the boardwalk was jammed with tourists posing for photos.  It was practically impossible to walk.  I gave up being polite and ended up photo-bombing dozens of selfies.

Later on the road, traffic came to a halt for a elk herd photo opp.  As I watched some idiot running through the meadows, over-sized camera in hand, trying to get close to the herd, I thought, "too bad it's not a herd of hungry wolves."

West Thumb Thermal Basin

As a biking destination, Yellowstone is a mixed bag.  They only allow biking on a few trails which are very nice but few and far between.  The road biking along the lake is sweet with good sight lines and a wide shoulder, but on other park roads the shoulders narrow and the biking is a bit harrowing.

Lone Star Geyser Trail, one of the few bike-legal trails in YNP.

Lone Star Geyser Trail

Lone Star Geyser

Kepler Cascades

Fountain Flat Trail

After the throngs at the West Thumb, I didn't even think to visit the Grand Prismatic Spring which was a mistake because there is an unmaintained trail right off the bike trail with a nice overlook of the spring -- sans crowds.

Fountain Flat Trail

Firehole River

Family Truckster loaded up

Idaho!

My destination was the Red Rock RV and Camping Park.  Near Henry's Lake, Idaho, it's a bit off the the beaten path.  After chasing some free range cattle off the road with my car, I arrived at the RV park.    

Free range cattle giving me a dirty look

Turned out I arrived after closing time, but the manager didn't make a big deal about it and soon I was cooking dinner looking out over Idaho's open range land. 

Henry's Lake, ID

State:	Wyoming
Date:	2014-08-11
Route:	Yellowstone National Park, Lone Star Geyser Trail and Fountain Flat Trail
Distance:	15 miles