Yellowstone National Park

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We got to Yellowstone the moment the East Gate opened and ended up waiting for over an hour to get in.  Construction had one lane blocked and the were letting the campers who wanted out, out first.

The drive in was beautiful, as we especially took note of the snow still around in late June!  We rarely get the chance to see snow, so at one point we did pull over and make a few snowballs.  So much fun!

The white was so bright and the colors magnificent.

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We continued on and walked around the sulphur springs and got to see the Dragon's mouth which does have a roaring sound.  We saw the mud volcanoes and got stuck in the steam and smell of things when the wind shifted.  A smell you will always remember.

We got wonderful views of Bison and very large elk.  Since one was right nest to a walk way we were headed for.  We were amazed at how large these creatures really are.

The Mammoth sulphur springs was in it's own right beautiful.  I was amazed at the way things were formed by it's hot waters.  The white was so bright and the colors magnificent.  This place was truly fascinating.

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We got close and personal with bison.  They decided to block our way and we had to wait until they moved to drive on.  One came across the road shaking his head from sided to side blowing as if he were mad that we were in his way.  He got right next to my window and made us a little nervous.  I did roll the window down a bit to listen to them as the rubbed in the dirt to remove unwanted hair and they sound like a bunch of lions.  Amazing.

we did get to see a young bear eating off the road and took several pictures.  I have seen one before but it was nice to see one with it's true freedom.

Later on we came to a bridge and noticed a lot of people pulled off and mostly blocked the bridge down to a one lane.  We saw people running with cameras, so I grabbed mine and jumped out, to see what hopefully wasn't just another Elk.

It wasn't.  this time it was a rather large bear and I got two pictures before people started blowing their horns wanting everyone to move.  I ran back to the car and wished that Shane had been able to see this massive thing to.  Big Black bear.