Day 2 in Yellowstone

 There is so much to see in Yellowstone!  In light of the rain and how long we were on the bike the first day we decided to take the girls and the car for day 2.  The park road is in the shape of a figure 8 so we decided to complete the north loop regardless of how long it took. 

As we did our first day, we saw hundreds of bison including some just wandering down the side of the road totally unaffected by the cars stopping all around them.  Our first stop was at the mud volcanoes.  The stench of these is almost overpowering.  There are boardwalks everywhere so tourists can walk all over the area to see these things.  They look like boiling and bubbling mud and are very acidic boiling springs. If you fall into one you can die or end up badly burned.  I put the dogs on leashes to walk over to these things and they put on the brakes because of the smell.  At that point I realized just putting them both in our doggie stroller would be best.  I think they had as many pictures taken of them as the mud volcanoes and sulphur cauldrons!

Across the road were the sulphur cauldrons which are more ponds of bubbling mud and steam coming out of the ground.  These are very acidic sulphur-rich gases that rise up out of the ground here.  The sulphuric acid breaks the rock and soil down into the bubbling mud.  I found myself thinking often how we were moving around on top of an active volcano and it's a bit eerie. 

From there we made our way up and around to the Roosevelt Lodge to get a quick bite to eat and take a break.  We ordered to go and ate on the front porch of the hotel so the girls could be with us.  Then we headed up and around the top of the north loop to Mammoth Hot Springs.  It was a bit of a drive but the landscape was completely different from where we had been and breathtaking.  When we finally arrived at the hot springs we were a bit disappointed.  What we saw were lots of boardwalks that involved quite a bit of walking and much of it uphill.  There was also no parking as the place was packed.  So we kept driving only to find that at the top there were more places to see the hot springs and to park with much less walking. 

 

After leaving Mammoth Hot Springs we were really getting tired so finished out the north loop and headed for the RV.  After leaving the park we make a quick stop beside the north fork of the Shoshone River to cool off and give the girls a break as well.  Bailey loves getting her feet wet and exploring on the rocks but April - not so much.  After putting the brakes on hard as she approached the water she finally got her big girl panties on and got near enough to get a drink.

 

Tomorrow we are taking a break from the park and heading into Cody to check out the Buffalo Bill Museum which everybody has told us is worth seeing.