Serengeti of the Yellowstone 09/24/20

picnic in bear country

Located in the northeastern corner of the Yellowstone is Lamar Valley. It is known as one of the best locations in the Yellowstone to view buffalo, bears, and wolves. The valley is often called America's Serengeti because of the large animals you can see along the Lamar River. This valley is located approximately 160 miles from our condo. I drove, Harry navigated, and Linda and Amanda sat in the back and supervised. We left on the trip at 9:00 A.M. and after numerous stops along the way, arrived in Lamar about 3:00. We saw a lot of buffalo, but no bears or wolves. We then turned around and headed back to Jackson.

On our way to Lamar Valley we stopped at the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" and took pictures of the waterfalls and the canyon. The best way to describe it is the views are stunning. We continued on, driving through Hayden Valley. The Yellowstone River flows through this valley and several herds of buffalo call this valley home. Another photo op.

The reason it took so long to get to Lamar Valley was a portion of our route was closed for a major highway construction project. So we were detoured. This turned into being a good thing. We went by the Mammoth Hot Springs. They are a steaming hydrothermal area with travertine terraces. We walked along to boardwalks that gave us a close up view of the springs.

We drove into the Mammoth village, home of Fort Yellowstone ( a former Army post from the late 1800's). A herd of elk had taken over the village. (photo op). Lamar Valley was our next stop.

We got back to our condo at 7:30 P.M and enjoyed taco soup that Amanda and Linda had prepared in the crockpot.... the end of a long and interesting day. Tomorrow we explore the Teton National Park. Until then....