Yellowstone – July 22nd – 25th, 2016

So… camping in and around Yellowstone is crazy! Especially if you are anything like us and did not make any prior plans, just showed up and hoped for the best. The first come first serve campgrounds fill up by 8am, but that doesn’t mean you should be there by 8, a queue starts forming before 6:30am! Since we left in the evening from Jackson there was no hope for us. Instead, we camped just off of a dirt road in Caribou-Targhee National Forest; we arrived at dusk. We woke the next morning at 5:45am and went into the Yellowstone, hoping to get a campsite in the park. On the way we saw the sunrise and learned that if you enter the gates early enough you don’t have to pay – BONUS!  We arrived at Norris campground a little before 8am and stood in line for 2 hours before getting one of the last campsites available!

We spend the next 3 days driving around Yellowstone National Park. There are so many amazing thermal features. You are literally walking on the opening of a volcano that filled with debris during the last eruption. Our favorite spots were Norris Basin, Black Sand Basin, Mammoth Terraces, and Lone Star Geyser. We were amazing lucky timing the geysers. Both Old Faithful and Lone Star Geyser erupt every several hours; both times we stumbled upon them seconds before their major eruptions. During our hike to Loan Star Geyser we saw a mamma moose and her baby. We also saw a ton of buffalo throughout the park. No bears or wolves though…waah waah. 

Baby moose (and her momma, out of picture) on the way up to Lone Star Geyser

Dandy in front of Lone Star Geyser

Midway Geyser Basin