Home of Remarkable Diversity

This is our last day here in Yellowstone and we have no special plans. Early this morning we headed to Sylvan Lake to do some fly fishing. It's cold and a little windy. We fished for a while but neither of us had any bites. There wasn't even a ripple in the water. There was so much to see here that we really didn't take a lot of time to fish. While we were standing on the bank a Red Tail Hawk flew lazily over head. Heading back towards camp we pulled into another turnout along Yellowstone Lake and had lunch. We spent most of the afternoon here just enjoying the lake view.

It's late afternoon and a good time to take our last wildlife viewing trip through Hayden Valley. Seeing Bison along this road is not unusual, but today they caused a 2 hour backup on Canyon Road. 3 park rangers in SUV's were herding the very large critters off the road using a high pitch sound the Bison obviously didn't like. However, the silly tourists wouldn't move either they just kept watching and the Bison came right back (dumb!). On the way up Canyon Road the traffic slowed again as people were watching the far side of the river. Suddenly we caught sight of two grey wolves running along the bank and then disappearing into the trees. What a treat! People very seldom get to see wolves as they are very allusive.

Eventually we turned onto the South Rim Drive loop we found ourselves at the side of a fantastic cascade known as the Upper Falls. The water rumbled over the 109 ft falls and into the Yellowstone River. Following the road we really didn't know where we were. We walked the footpath through the gorge and listened to a ranger talk about the area. The canyon is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and it's gorgeous. We didn't even know this was here! The canyon walls are shear and crumbly. The canyon is 900 feet deep and 1/2 mile wide. It was created not by glaciation but by erosion and it's still eroding today. Leaving here we crossed the Yellowstone River and followed North Rim Drive. This drive gives you several different views of the cascade as it tumbles through the canyon. The first stop was the 308 ft Lower Falls which threw water and spray into the air and up against the steep canyon walls. Next stop was Lookout Point where you can follow a path along the top of the canyon to a platform at the very top of the falls. It was fantastic - we saw rainbows in the mist as the sun filtered through the gorge.

Back to camp. We stopped and talked with the park ranger at the visitor center and she gave us some great information for our next destination. What a great time we've had! I'm sad to leave but we are looking forward to our next stop - the Grand Tetons...

Note: Pictures - Lower Falls & Outlook Point, Upper Falls View, Canyon Walls, Upper Falls, Sign Grand Canyon, Canyon Walls, Upper Falls & Gorge, Canyon View