Do-Over – Thurs., Aug. 16

Natural Bridge, Brink of the Upper Falls, and Crystal Falls:

Out the door at 6:30 a.m. on a wolf-spotting trip to Hayden Valley. Things didn’t look good as soon as we crossed Fishing Bridge. Fog was forming. We drove north toward Hayden Valley. The fog got thicker. By the time we arrived at Hayden Valley, the fog was so thick we couldn’t see the valley. No wolf-spotting this morning.

Next on the agenda: Natural Bridge by Bridge Bay. We parked at the start of the bike path so we’d only have to walk two miles roundtrip (instead of three from the trailhead at Bridge Bay). Time 7:09 a.m., temperature 39 F. Brrrr. Big mistake to leave the 5er with only a fleece jacket. I needed my big, heavy winter coat. The trail was easy, but it didn’t make it any less cold. I had my sleeves wrapped around my hands, my collar turned up and, from time to time, I pressed my fleece-encased hands up to my frozen cheeks. Miserable hike…too cold. We made it, looked at the Natural Bridge and walked fast back to the truck. 

Natural Bridge near Bridge Bay.

I told Bob, “I want to go back to the 5er and sleep until it’s warmer.”

So we did a do-over. We turned on the space heater in the bedroom and went back to sleep until almost 11:00 a.m. Got up, ate lunch, then headed up to hike Brink of the Upper Falls Trail and another short hike to view Crystal Falls. 

Looking upriver--Yellowstone River

Looking straight down thundering Upper Falls.

Stairs back up from the viewpoint.

Crystal Falls.

Crystal Falls.

Bob on footbridge at top of Crystal Falls.

Grotto Pool at top of Crystal Falls.

Bob asked if I wanted to continue to the North Rim and hike Red Point Trail into the canyon. I said, “No, but if you want to do it, I’ll sit in the truck and wait.” He opted not to hike down into the canyon.

Now we’re back at the 5er. Around 4:00 p.m. Bob will go to the Post Office and hopefully our package will be here from our mail forwarder because we leave the park tomorrow!

Then he plans to run. While he’s running, I’ll vacuum, mop, dust and get the rig ready to roll in the morning. He’ll put the bikes up on the ladder and take care of the outside tasks before it gets dark.

We feel we’ve really gotten to know Yellowstone in two weeks. There are things we didn’t do, e.g., the Firehole River Drive, but we’ve done them before so we passed this time. It will be a while before we return (it’s been eight years since our last visit), and by then we may be more amenable to driving tours. This time, we wanted to hike.

That’s it for now. Tomorrow starts another adventure: Cody, Wyoming and the Wild West. 

Fur-kids photo. Awwwww.

Bowie and Sunnie.

Travel Bug out.