May 15, A Calm Day with Lots of Wildlife

A Calm Day with Lots of Wildlife

Woke up in Cody, Wyoming to a beautiful morning to make our trek into Yellowston Park.  It's amazing how the landscape can change 
in just a matter of miles. 

The tunnels out West are the Best!  We went through three tunnels in a row with some sky light between each one of them.  As you come out of the 3rd tunnel is the Buffalo Bill Dam, built between 1905-1910.  At that time it was the tallest dam in the world.  Can't imagine  working on such a project!  In      1971, it was put on the Nationl       Register of Historic Places.     

The snow didn't seem as deep as the last time we went through Yellowstone 3 years ago.  However, it is still a little scary seeing signs warning you not to stop in certain places because of the possibility of an avalanche.  I was happy the sun was shining;  but then I thought... ummmm....that could be a factor in causing an avalanche.  Another factor is noise...so I didn't talk. :-) 

The yellow bus on the left is some of the neat vehicles you can take tours of the park in.  They are replicas of vehicles that gave tours to many during a bygone era.

A buffalo right in the middle of the median of the highway!  There were buffalo all over.  Buffalo appear to be slow because of their lethargic movements;  but they can easily outrun those tourists that are sneaking up on them to take their picture.  Hey...can you run faster than 40 miles per hours people?  

Saw lots of other animals; but they were faster than the shutter on my camera (good excuse huh).  We saw elk, mule deer, and even 2 black bears!  One of the black bears crossed the road in front of us.  I was messing with the GPS and missed the snapshot of the day!  Guess I'll have to be ready for the more photogenic ones in Alaska.

We're about 1500 miles away from home, in Missoula, Montana at a KOA campground and this is my last photo of the day.  It's my mom's birthday and I'll always think of her when I see lilacs, her favorite flower.  What a way to end a beautiful day... 

with thoughts of my mom.