Summer in Yellowstone - Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley

Other posts in this series:
Summer In Yellowstone - Getting There
Summer in Yellowstone - Sunday Morning
Summer in Yellowstone - Sunday afternoon & Canyons lodging
Summer in Yellowstone - Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley
Summer in Yellowstone - The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Summer in Yellowstone - The Last Days

We spent the next two days driving all around the park and continued to be amazed at the diversity of the terrain.  We stopped by Roaring Mountain, so named for the large number of fumaroles which make it appear to be steaming:

Roaring Mountain

Then we stopped by Sheepeater Cliff, which was named for the Shoshones who made wide use of bighorn sheep:

Sheepeater Cliff

We continued up to the Mammoth Hot Springs Visitors Center where we stopped to tour the small museum.  There were some elk who wandered right into the grassy area across from the visitors center and just made themselves at home:

Elk at Mammoth Hot Springs Village

We took the drive out into the Lamar Valley, which we had been told had the best wildlife viewing opportunities.  We had been told correctly as we saw pronghorn, mountain goats and an osprey on her nest.  We even saw a bear very far away in the distance.  I like how the park had multiple parking lots off the side of the road where wildlife was common.  I was also appreciative of the aficionados who brought their massive telescopes out so that we could get a closer look at these animals.

Pronghorn in the Lamar Valley

We'd planned to stop for lunch at the Roosevelt Lodge but unfortunately it had not yet opened for the season.  Word to wise: when in the park in early/late season check to be sure the restaurants are open.  We were a long way from anywhere that served food and it was several hours (due to road construction) before we were able to eat.

The road from the Tower-Roosevelt area back to Canyon Village takes you over Mt. Washburn, the highest point in the park at just over 10,000 feet.  It somehow seemed fitting that we'd drive through a small storm of snow flurries.  It was mostly sunny but still those flurries gave it their best shot!

We decided to have a light lunch and then an early dinner.  We toured the museum portion of the Canyon Village Visitors Center and went to a ranger chat that evening.  For several years C has thought about perhaps becoming a ranger once she retires from her current job.  But we learned that a lot of these rangers have advanced degrees in geology or other earth sciences.  Not that she wouldn't be accepted - and I have no doubt she'd be terrific at it - but there are some very, very smart people guiding the public around these parks.