Our next stop was the oldest and biggest national park of them all: Yellowstone National Park. Here we were lucky to secure a campsite at Mammoth Hot Springs. We toured the park and witnessed the white terraced landscapes, gurgling geysers, bubbling mud volcanoes and turquoise blue hot springs that make the area famous around the world. Yellowstone is a hotbed of geothermal activity and wide sweeping valleys which provide excellent opportunities for viewing the abundant wildlife. We spotted pronghorns, mule deer, coyotes, elk, eagles, and even got caught in a few bison-induced traffic jams during our stay. One day we got stuck on a bridge 100 feet above the Yellowstone River with a group of bison blocking our path for thirty minutes until a cowboy ran along the cars hooting, hollering and herding them across the bridge.
With half of the campgrounds already closed for the season as of September 15, the remaining areas were packed with visitors. Apparently, a National Geographic article on the elk rut a few years back has created a surge of park visitors at this time of year. When we arrived, the elk rut was in full swing with bull elk bugling in the misty mornings and keeping a protective eye on the females of their herd. The park was packed with overseas visitors and North American seniors armed with binoculars and cameras to rival those of the folks at National Geographic. Most of the campgrounds were scheduled to shut down the day after we left and half of the roads were closed due to construction which made travel a little more challenging and lengthened our daytrips to visit spots like Old Faithful.
On September 18, Heidi celebrated a wonderful 7th birthday in the park with cake, presents, balloons and streamers. She and Nicole became Junior Rangers and burned off the icing induced sugar highs by playing outside all day.
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