June 13, 2021
Our second day in Yellowstone, was another long one. We left Colter Bay at about 7:30 AM and got to the South Rim Drive in the Canyon Village section of the park at about 9:00 AM. Our first stop along that road was at a view of the 109' Upper Falls.
We continued down the road to Artist Point to get a view of the Lower Falls. As I walked to the overlook, there on the hillside was a moose, so I was sidetracked for a few minutes until he wandered into the woods.
The view of the 308' Lower Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River was spectacular.
Next, we drove around to the North Rim Drive to Inspiration Point. From there you have a great view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River as it flows away from the Lower Falls.
We backtracked to see the brink of the Upper Falls.
It's hard to see, but there's a rainbow in the bottom left corner of the water next to the rock ledge.
We left the Canyon area and headed south following the Yellowstone River through the Hayden Valley.
An elk gazing out across the river at the mountains
Bison grazing
It's almost impossible to go anywhere in the park without coming to some sort of hydrothermal feature. Today was no exception. This time, we came upon a mud volcano, a sulphur caldron, and a hot spring.
The Sulphur Caldron
The Mud Volcano - In 1870 explorers watched as the Mud Volcano erupted, spewing mud into the treetops. Two years later, it was a pool of muddy water. It had blown itself up.
A hot spring named Dragon's Mouth
Another hot spring with an unusual color
We were told by a ranger the day before, that Harlequin Ducks were seen at LeHardy's Rapids. So we continued through the valley until we arrived at that spot on the river. We didn't see any ducks, so we started photographing the rapids.
Then, all of a sudden, I spotted two of them sitting on a rock!
Then there were a few more. We watched them swim in the rapids and climb back up on the rocks. It was very entertaining. I took tons of photos, here are a few of them. I got a little carried away.
Getting a drink of water
Going for a swim then climbing back on the rock
Drying his wings
We finally said goodbye to the Harlequins and started heading for home. On our way, we spotted a few elk grazing along the road.
We finally got back to the campground at about 8:00 PM. We were so tired, we ate ice cream and leftover pizza for dinner. It was a great day!
My next post will be Yellowstone Part III. Lamar Valley and lots of wildlife. Stay tuned.
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