Bucket list: yellowstone ✔️

Last year, Conor & I had planned to take advantage of my new week-on-week-off work schedule, to take a long road trip into Canada towards Banff. Of course with COVID-19 & the closing of borders, we had to come up with alternate plans. And so we thought, what better time to cross Yellowstone off my bucket list? A year earlier than planned, but it fulfilled our hunger for adventure nonetheless!

OUR FIRST STOP: MAMMOTH Hot Springs

We entered the park through the North Entrance & headed towards Mammoth Hot Springs, with plans of exploring the top of the northern upper loop. Despite the crowds (most of which weren’t wearing masks) & the smell of rotten eggs, the beautiful colors of Mammoth made it worth it. We just kept our distance from large groups & only took our mask off for photos when no one was around.

As we headed East, away from the crowds, we searched for a quiet place for lunch. We found ourselves at less popular walking trailhead, utilizing our new Jet Boil for the first time & just looking for wildlife with our binoculars. Afterwards we drove all the way to the Petrified Tree at Tower, before turning around due to road closures. It was then that we saw our first animal! A lone bison! Yip-Yip!

Norris Geyser Basin: Porcelain basin trail

As we made our way towards our hotel for the night in West Yellowstone, we stopped at Norris Geyser Basin to watch the sunset. It was perfect because every parking lot was clearly emptier than earlier in the day. It felt like it was only us & 4 other families on the boardwalks of the Porcelain Basin Trail.

DAY 2: STORM LOOP POINT

For our second day, we explored the bottom of the lower loop of Yellowstone. & drove towards the East Entrance. Along the way we saw another bison relaxing just 30 feet from the roadside!

Eventually we drove past the junction of Fishing Bridge, which shortly lead us to the trailhead of our first hike: Storm Loop Point! According to our hike guidebook, this hike was known as a trail frequented by multiple wild animals. So with bear spray & bear bell ready, we were off!

Our first animal? A marmot! Can you spot him in the top left picture below?

The trail took us towards the water & along the coast. Before directing us back inland, we ran into a lone bison sunbathing along the trail! Because of the rolling hills of the terrain, we didn’t see him until we were about 50 ft from the bison. On the other side of the bison we saw another couple further along on the trail, motioning us to walk around. After planning our course, we walked around the bison as wide a circle as we could, quieting our bear bell. Before we knew it, we were on our way!

West Thumb Geyser Basin Trail

As we headed back west, we stopped at West Thumb, which would be the site of our next geyser basin boardwalk trail & the site of our next trailhead. We decided to give ourselves a break & start with the West Thumb Geyser Basin trail, which according to our Gypsy Guide should only take us 30 minutes. While short, I definitely think this was worth the stop for the varying colors!

West Thumb Overlook Loop Trail

After the boardwalk, we walked to the opposite end of the Fishing Cone Circle parking lot, changed shoes, and headed off on the West Thumb Overlook Loop Trail. This trail was a little bit odd at first, because the first quarter of it crosses a road with a crosswalk. Shortly after crossing the crosswalk though, we were greeted by a sign saying it was an area frequented by bears. Luckily we didn’t see bears. For most of the hike I was in doubt of the payoff of this trail, but once we got to the top of the overlook I was proven wrong. If you’re prepared for a bears (bear bell + bear spray), I highly recommend this hike. It’s short with a great view! Just stay Bear Aware!

Old Faithful

And man was that tea a great idea! When we arrived to Old Faithful, the next predicted eruption time was 30 minutes (+/- 10 minutes). That gave us enough time to do our gift shopping in the warmth before we headed outside to the 42F temperatures. It was quickly evident to us how many people outside had not checked how cold the temperatures were going to be that night. Some people were shivering outside in shorts (at 8pm might I add), some had a thin blanket, but we had warm earl grey tea!

All in all, another great sunset to end the night! May I add, that since we were watching the last eruption before sunset, that the parking lot was wide open & super easy to park in. Just a thought!

DAY 3: Grand Prismatic Springs

Say hello to our final morning in Yellowstone! The temperatures are 37F outside with on & off rain, and even sprinkle of snow! Was the Grand Prismatic Springs any less popular? Nope!

This rain can’t hurt us, we’re from Seattle.

Of course the cold rain did create a lot more steam coming off of the hot springs, but the Grand Prismatic was beautiful nonetheless with all it’s vibrant colors.
Coming prepared, we weren’t even cold or bother by the rain. It did make for a great exit to our Yellowstone adventure though! Ironically enough, our home Seattle was experiencing 90F that day. Time to go back home!

Thanks for coming along with us on this photo journey of our Yellowstone road trip! I hope you find our itinerary helpful in planning your Yellowstone trip. I can’t wait to come back in the fall or winter!