Morning of the second day, we are still staying in Gardiner, at the Northern entrance. Alex decided to start the day with a hike up Mount Washburn (6.4 miles round trip). This is just a beautiful view near the beginning of the trail...
... and this is the point, about half-a-mile from the start, when I realized that at this altitude I cannot possibly walk uphill... not enough oxygen... Alex wasn't very happy, but we turned back. Later that day, I had to pass on several other opportunities that required walking uphill, which made Alex progressively more unhappy/annoyed.
Here is a case in point. At the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (Yellowstone has its own Grand Canyon, totally unrelated to the real one), there is a short trail to the Brink of Lower Falls that goes steeply down several hundred feet - which means a climb of several hundred feet on the way back - and so I didn't risk taking it, and Alex went alone. This is one of his photos from the platform at the brink of the falls...
... and here is another one.
This photo, also of the Lower Falls, is taken from an observation point further along the North Rim, where we are back together.
A close-up of the river below...
And this is a view of the Upper Falls from the South Rim. (There used to be a trail to the Upper Falls from the North Rim too, but it got washed away and was closed at the time of our visit. So was Uncle Tom's Trail to the base of the Lower Falls from the South Rim, 328 metal steps down - and then up - that I totally planned to do, even if very slowly.)
Since uncle Tom's Trail was closed, we decided to hike to the Artist Point - about a mile one-way along the rim. This is the view of the Lower Falls from this trail.
And here a very nice couple from North Carolina took our picture with the view of Lower Falls. Unlikely as it might seem, a few days later we met this couple again, on the trail to the Fairy Falls and Imperial Geyser, and compared notes on geyser eruptions and such.
A close-up of the Lower Falls - you can clearly see the observation platform on the other side (where Alex went without me).
Another view from the trail to the Artist Point. The colors of the rocks are amazing!
And this is the view from the Artist Point...
... I guess it does look like a painting...
I am taking a selfie because Alex left to get the car - even the trail along the rim, on the way there, proved too much for me, so I took some extra pictures at Artist Point and waited in the parking lot for Alex to pick me up in the car.
A bit later, here I am taking a photo of this beautiful view...
... while Alex is taking a photo of me taking that photo.
Tower Falls, with interesting rock formations around it...
... another view of the Tower Falls...
... just a beautiful view of the river...
... an interesting rock face...
... and another beautiful view.
Our first bison. We are not really that close to it, I am using the zoom - but see the orange cone, quite close to the bison? Alex asked me whether it was messing my shot and I said it was OK, I'll crop it out later... so what did my husband do?
See, now there is no cone because...
... my crazy husband went and picked it up, and moved it to the side. Fortunately, the bison was busy eating.
This is a petrified tree. They keep it fenced in for some reason.
Another bison.
Elks on the lawn near some houses in Mammoth Springs.
More elks - a mom and baby - down near the river...
... here they are again...
... and this is the father... Gorgeous, isn't he?
From another point a bit down the river, here is his whole family coming up...
... and he is following them and bugling.
September is the month when elks are organizing their harems. Later in our trip, another harem near the road to the Western entrance was causing horrible traffic jams every evening (everyone was slowing down and taking pictures), so much so that they posted a ranger there - to wave at cars and urge them to move along.
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Day 3
