Approaching Yellowstone from the North

Another long day...

and I am kicking myself that I didn't know about Pompey's Pillar near Billings.

The first photo is of the mountains to the east of the Yellowstone River 

on the 50-mile way into Gardiner.

Then, a bull elk at Gardiner, by the edge of the Park. 

This park is not only closed but acting like it is under siege. It is a strange feeling. 

People are unnerved, outraged, deeply disappointed. 

There are stories about victims: 

people stranded at Cooke City with planes to catch in Bozeman; 

school kids not allowed to travel through the park to get 

from West Yellowstone to Gardiner for a game; 

Asian travelers who spent a fortune to get here; 

the last vacation of someone who is terminally ill: 

a few of the many travel stories interesting in their own right.

Still, only inside the park can one see the geothermal features all we visitors came to see. 

Further down, pictures are of ancient tour busses, 

an interesting stone in the historic Gardiner Cemetery, 

and the two-minute light show up by Electric mountain that does not correctly predict the snow coming tomorrow. These mountains generate their own weather.

Wapati or American Elk

We saw nine male elk together in this open area just inside Rocky Mountain National Park above Estes Park this morning, resting and grazing. They were only mildly alarmed by us. What a sight! 

We drove about 6 miles further into the park, reaching an elevation of 9691' at Many Parks Curve. Beyond here the road across the top of the park to Granby is closed from October to June.

We were foiled in our desire to see big views of the Rockies by an intermittent translucent icy fog. There was blue sky in breaks, and near views of Ponderosa Pine, valley parks and rocky knobs. 

The temperature was below zero, so the snow-packed roads were not slippery. 

Now we're back in Denver, waiting to see how the huge storm from Oklahoma to New England will affect Megan's flight plan tomorrow and mine on Thursday.

I expect to be back home and shoveling out most of Friday.