Monday morning we woke up to find out we had slept in a very pretty place - it was dark when we got here.

Initially the morning had low hanging clouds and was a bit chilly, but by the time we'd had our coffee and eaten it was a lovely day. So we headed off to Yellowstone (a mile away) to first get a camp spot, then do some exploring. Last night as I was going to sleep I heard lots of yip-yip-yippings. Do coyotes yip?

Anyway, we found a spot in the Mammoth area campgrounds. It may be the worst place we've camped in ever. The place itself is OK; flat (important for sleeping in the van if one of us doesn't want to end up squishing the other or both of us sliding off the bed), the bathrooms are clean and, of course, the views are great. BUT, they built the campground right where the main road of the park makes a sharp U-turn. So, there are cars and trucks traveling on either side of the campground all day and night. It's like living in LA.  But, enough ranting.

We decided to go hike Bunsen Peak (named after the guy who invented the Bunsen burner) and Osprey Falls - a nice 10 mile loop. At the start of the hike was a small pond and an osprey was flying above us. All of a sudden it tucked its wings and dove into the water. It came up empty beaked, but so cool to see. We took it as a good omen for the hike. We made it up to the peak.

Passing through areas where the 1988 fire had gone through. It was interesting to see how quickly new growth comes back.

We then went over the peak and down the other side to reach the falls. Somehow we missed "the sharp left at the burned out tree" (did I mention we'd been hiking in a burned out forest?). All was not lost; we didn't see the falls but hiked in a beautiful mountain meadow and had amazing views. We probably hiked a bit over 7 miles. Maybe we should have paid attention to the empty beaked osprey...

After the hike we decided to go back to camp, rest for a couple of hours, let the crowds subside (have I said how busy Yellowstone is right now, in September? What's it like in the summer?) and then hike over by the Mammoth Hot Springs area. In my hiking book is mentioned a trail off the beaten path.

So, that's what we did. The hike is suppose to be a nice, leisurely trail to hot springs off the boardwalk or to Beaver ponds, round trip about a mile. We start hiking at 5:30 and it is a beautiful evening. After a bit, we realize we've definitely hiked at least a mile in one direction and haven't seen a hot spring or beaver pond, but have been walking in a lovely forest. All of a sudden we hear an elk bugling, and then another. What a great sound to hear in the middle of the forest. After going off trail a bit and waiting patiently we, see one of the bull elk. What a great sight. Eventually he moves on and so do we. But, almost as soon as we turn around to head back there's a coyote on the trail. It doesn't hang around long, but was wonderful to see. We hadn't done the hike we had planned on, but what an experience we had.

We did get back to the hot springs and saw the obligatory sights.

Steve thought this looks like "The Scream" by Edvard Munch (maybe he was inspired by it??)

Then it was back to camp for dinner (a Mexican concoction) and bed.