I think I saw a wildlife!

We had the pleasure of riding through two of probably the most majestic of our National Parks, Grand Teton  and Yellowstone National Park.

The Grand Tetons

On the way out of Jackson Hole and into the Tetons we saw several signs warning us of wildlife on the road and to be 'bear aware'.  Thus far this Buffalo ranch is the only 'wild' thing we've seen. Mmmmm, don't they look delicious?

"Oh give me a home.."

"..where the buffalo roam."  

Rest break and photo op.

Yellowstone is arguably one of the most popular National Parks. It is know for it's geothermal features and wildlife. We just had to take a day to meander through and stop at some of the points of interest along the way.

As you can see from this map the park is massive and it would take several days to see it all. We took the route from Jackson Hole to Gardiner via Old Faithful.

The entrance was a little too crowded to stop.

Lewis Lake

 Rest break at the General Store. I think they're just saying that there are bears so you will buy their Bear Spray.

Meh, we'll take our chances thank you.

Awww, so fluffy!

And now for the famous Old Faithful Geyser.  We arrived to a cozy group of nearly 1,000 sightseers just as he was teasing the crowd with little spurts of steam and water.  Kids and adults alike started countdowns to try to encourage him to show us what we all came for. Lucky for us we didn't have to sit for an hour or so to see the show.

Crowd waiting for signs of life.

You can feel the anticipation of the crowd.

Oh my, signs of life!

And there he goes! 

Magnificent!

 And now we've seen it and sneak off before the crowd floods the parking lot.

Hehehehe

Vroom Vroom

Random YellowStone hot spring on the side of the road.

Gibbon River

Gibbon Falls

A little farther up the road we stopped to see the Fountain Paint Pots.  The signs warning all to stay on the path or burn and die were pretty daunting. The sulfur is quite pungent and sting the nostrils a bit, but the views are worth it.

No touchy!

We ran into a little road construction on the North end but lucky for us we have just the machine for the job!

Our last stop for the day is dinner in Mammoth Hot Springs.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Just before we exit the North side of the park we finally see wildlife! A sizable group of reindeer graze and mess with traffic.

His antlers are so fluffy.

Excuse me.. I'm Walking Here!

They're both posing for me. 

I think she smells our dinner.

Just North of Yellowstone is the 45th Parallel (the 45th Parallel is the halfway point between the equator and North or South Pole) and this is our first of several 45th crossings on this adventure.. For now we are heading into Montana, big sky country!