Wednesday, April 28

Snowed during the night. 2-3" on the car. Hard to remove. Cleared the windows and left it on the rest of the car to melt and blow off. Headed out after a good breakfast of waffles, cereal and juice. Snowing on us immediately but cleared when we got to Lamar Valley. Got some photos of baby buffalo, then stopped at Lamar lake and got some more photos of the black bear who was still guarding the carcass he has been feeding on. Headed on to Mammoth Hot Springs and saw elk, antelope, deer and buffalo on the way. Snowed off and on. Headed for Norris Junction from Mammoth Hot Springs and were immediately in heavy snow. Visibility very poor. Stopped at Swan lake as we had heard there was a grizzly and two wolves fighting over a carcass there, but the snow was so bad we couldn't see anything. Could have been anywhere in the large area, but just couldn't see good enough. Just before reaching Norris Junction we were delayed almost an hour due to three vehicles sliding off the road. Interestingly enough all three belonged to the same company who also had their own wrecker service. See a lot of their vehicles in the park but don't know what service they provide. Got to Norris Junction and headed for the next Junction to head for Old Faithful and the South entrance. Ranger told us the South entrance is closed until late May, so out the West entrance we head. Bad. Very bad. Snow and visibility very bad. Actually saw buffalo and elk by a river and also saw a bald eagle flying to it's nest next to the road, but driving conditions are very bad. Finally made it through the twists and turns and construction zones in the park and reached West Yellowstone, Wyo. Got gas and a hot dog and noticed their trash containers are bear proof. Interesting. Heading to Idaho Falls, Idaho to try and get out of the snow. Just west of West Yellowstone saw a couple on the side of the road with binoculars so we stopped and I started scoping for what I figured was a moose in the willows south of a large field by the road. Oops. Big bear by a tree just sitting in the snow. Looked like a bit black bear, but when he got up and ran for the trees, looked like he had a hump and was cinnamon color. Was too far to get photos of him, but Terri was excited about seeing a 2nd bear today. Driving in heavy snow again. Very tiring but it has been a great trip. Got to Idaho Falls and decided to go to Pocatillo, ID, spend the night and head across south Wyoming and on the way home. Ate at Perkins. Resting. Been a long but good day.