I woke up to this:
Then I began my drive through Yellowstone. I passed some really pretty views:
Mountains speared the sky as I neared the park. The Tetons.
In the park, encountered some unexpected traffic. A bunch of cars were pulled over, the people crowding around something I couldn't see from the car. Many of them were carrying cameras with these huge, two foot long lenses. I figured there was something to see so I pulled over too.
Apparently, a grizzly bear and her cubs had been there just 5 or so minutes ago. But she had fled into the forest. She was "399", a 28 year old grizzly whose story is apparently pretty famous. Gah! I wish I'd seen her. A couple of the retired-looking folks with huge cameras were joking about how "the bear-jam" was clearing up. Bear-induced traffic jams seem to be a common occurence here.
Then I passed Jackson Lake by the Tetons.
Finally, I made it to Yellowstone.
The only place I stopped for more than a few minutes was Mammoth Hot Springs. I will pass through Yellowstone again on my way back from Glacier to Dubois, and I plan on seeing most of the highlights then. Grand Prismatic is first on my list of priorities.
There was less water flowing than I remember last time I was in Yellowstone, but it was still nice.
Making it through Yellowstone took much longer than I thought, so I didn't make as much milage towards Glacier as I would have liked.
I stopped at an Exxon with attached convenience store "Town Pump." So far it seems to be a Montana-exclusive chain. They had a whole aisle of jerky and a very American hat for sale:
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