Saturday, March 22, 2014

Yellowstone National Park - Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River

June 19, 2013

The guys at the Canyon Village Service Station were very helpful and said they could fix my camper but they would have to order a metal strap and in the meantime I shouldn't drive too much.  I was within walking distance of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone so I took many trips there before my camper was repaired.



Above is a view from the Artist Point. In fact there were a number of visitors there with their paints and drawing pads.


I hiked the Brink of the Lower Falls Trail and got a good workout. The lower falls is 308 feet.


The white in the lower left side is snow.


My first good photo of a Yellow Bellied Marmot.




The colors of this canyon were very interesting and different from any I had previously seen. It turned out to be one of my favorite locations of my entire journey.




One of the most rewarding moments was watching an Osprey bring in fish to its mate and chicks. The nest was on a pinnacle in the middle of the canyon and you can see him in the direction about 10 o'clock just a short distance away.



I watched him drop off the fish then circle around and fly below me to look for more fish in the Yellowstone River below.



Not as spectacular but very abundant were Violet-Green Swallows.  I had seen them earlier in my trip but here I had my best views. Look to the right in the photo below and you will see one sitting on the ledge just below me.




Many of the overlooks reminded me of Japanese paintings.



4 comments:

The Furry Gnome said...

Spectacular looking place! Is there anytime you can visit Yellowstone and avoid huge crowds? When were you there?

DeniseinVA said...

Awesome photos and you brought back great memories of my trip there last September. I love that place and thank you for taking me back :)

squirrel said...

When I was there in June there were crowds but I don't think they were massive yet. The nights got down to 32 and I think that discourages some people. For me it was like spring. I had reservations but when I had to stay an extra three days I could get a campsite on a first come first serve basis. I don't know how the hotels were. It was the most crowded park that I visited but it is so big you hardly notice. Most trails I was on I only saw one or two people.

squirrel said...

When I was there in June there were crowds but I don't think they were massive yet. The nights got down to 32 and I think that discourages some people. For me it was like spring. I had reservations but when I had to stay an extra three days I could get a campsite on a first come first serve basis. I don't know how the hotels were. It was the most crowded park that I visited but it is so big you hardly notice. Most trails I was on I only saw one or two people.