Yellowstone - Day 2, Part 2: East Entrance

Finally, 2.5 hours after we originally planned on being in Yellowstone, we reached the East Entrance to the park. A really nice gentleman offered to take a picture of the whole family while we all shivered in the cold and rain.

Little Sprout spotted the first wildlife (a moose). I was too slow with the camera to catch that, but between Mr. Barefoot's superior braking skills and my quick camera, I was able to get this photo of an elk.

There was plenty of snow on the ground yet, and with the rain to further swell the streams there were waterfalls everywhere. I swear it was one of the most lushly beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life.

The best wildlife sighting of the day were a pair of buffalo that had absolutely no fear of humans or their vehicles. This one walked up through a picnic area straight towards me. I quickly jumped into the car, and it walked past my door so close that I could have reached out and touched it! Just a half mile up the road, Mr. Barefoot had a similar experience with another buffalo that was walking down the center of the road.

Barefoot and the Sprouts at the Continental Divide marker. Thanks, Mr. Barefoot, for turning around to get this one!

While we were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt, this cute little relative of the chipmunk (still have to look up what this guy is) posed so cutely for a photo.

Mr. Barefoot and the Sprouts with Old Faithful in the background...

Old Faithful

A parting gift from the park wildlife was this large herd of buffalo that crossed the road right in front of our car. There were several calves with the group, and they didn't seem to mind at all that we crazy humans were hanging out our windows in attempts to get decent photos.

This meadow was completely full of buffalo. We piled out of the Barefoot Vehicle, wrapped ourselves in blankets, and watched this large herd as they worked their way across a meadow by the river. Little Sprout was entranced, and Big Sprout was grinning ear to ear. There were probably a dozen calves with this group, and it was so fun to watch them run and play!
We left the West Entrance to the park around 7pm, after seeing only about half of the park. We were all sorry we didn't have more time to sight see, but we knew we had a long ways to go before we reached California. Mr. Barefoot and I are considering the possibility of maybe driving through again on the way back, so perhaps you will all see more of our adventures in Yellowstone!

Stay tuned for The Arrival: Day 3