Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Park - July 4th weekend - Part 4

Yellowstone National Park - Day 2
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Continuing from previous day of Yellowstone Park... as everyone was really tired, couple of friends decided to skip the park for 2nd day and instead just hang around in the nearby area to see the downtown, check out the skyway (which takes you to the top of the mountain for a beautiful view of the Grand Teton), etc.  This required some re-shuffling since now only 2 out of 4 cars were going back to the Yellowstone Park.  So, from the entire group, 5 of the friends decided to stay back and the rest (10 people) decided to adjust in 2 cars and continue the day 2 activities.

First (and for most) stop was the famous Yellowstone National Park sign!  We stopped there, took pictures and then continued our ride.  Beware of the mosquitoes at this spot as I got bunch of mosquito bites from here...so make sure you have mosquito repellent before you decide to stop here.  The view is gorgeous at this spot.

At the sign of Yellowstone National Park

For day 2, our first stop was West Thumb Lake which was not very far from the entrance compared to the previous day drive to the Old Faithful.  This place also had some different looking geysers along with a magnificent view of the lake surrounding the park.

West Thumb Lake @ Yellowstone National Park

West Thumb Lake @ Yellowstone National Park

Next, we headed to Mud Volcano which was basically a mud geyser (very surprising to see!).  What was surprising me the most was that we found Bison sitting right next to the mud volcanoes which seemed very scary (for the bison, of course).  I guess they weren't scared of it at all.

Mud Volcano @ Yellowstone National Park

Next, we headed to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  On the way, we were lucky to spot a herd of Bison with bunch of baby bison as well!!  Once we got to the upper falls (another name for grand canyon), it was a sight to see.  There are bunch of spots from where you can take pictures of the falls from different angles.  I guess we must have taken picture from every possible angle.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

After a heavy load of photo session, we had our lunch and decided to head to the last spot for the day.  This was a long drive from where we were to where we had to be, however, it was a beautiful drive!!  On the way, we encountered, for the very first time, a jam-packed traffic with people all over the side of the road!  Before I could even guess, my friend excitedly said "There has to be a Bear! It's a bear!"...and indeed he was right.  The entire traffic was jammed because there was a bear spotted in the woods at the far distance.  We also tried to see the bear and it was very hard but we surely spotted it!  I think that is what was missing from our trip and we were able to fulfil it with this last experience of spotting a bear :D.

This brings us to our last stop not just for the day but for our Yellowstone Park trip.  We came to Mammoth Hot Springs which had its own unique formation of geyser and stones.  At this point in time, it was screaming hot and my skin just felt like burning.  We split in 2 groups where 5 of us took the hike to the top of the springs, only to find that there wasn't anything there!  It was kind of disappointing but still there was a nice view from the top. 

Mammoth Hot Springs @ Yellowstone National Park

With this last stop, it concludes our Yellowstone National Park trip!!  We headed straight for our condo and made it there in time for dinner.  We had our dinner and decided to meet at the other friend's condo to hang out together with everyone. We hung out for a bit, talked, and saw part of a movie and then off to bed.

This was the only night where all of us were able to sit together and relax before everyone starts taking off the next day separately.  We only had 2 cars (out of 4) leaving early the following morning, so we bid goodbye to the rest of the friends and headed to our condo.  The next day, started our journey back home around 8:30 am and got home before dark.

This was one of the memorable trips with great group of friends and family for me!!  It has given me moments to cherish for lifetime!  Hope you enjoyed reading my trip experience and get some useful info out of it when you decide to go for the Grand Teton and/or Yellowstone National Park.

Have a great day :)