December, 2004
Yellowstone Winter Trip
Part II
I-90 across northern
Wyoming.  Not a lot of
people here.
In fact, more pronghorn
antelope than people,
and the residents like it
that way.
The Avenue of Flags
and the grand
entrance to Mount
Rushmore.
Terry is not calling
turkeys.  It was bitterly
cold the day we were
there.
This is what we came to
see.  This has to be
seen to be appreciated.
No photo can do it
justice.
It was almost too cold to pose
for pictures.  The temperature
had plummeted 30 degrees from
the day before.
There was an excellent
museum with many of
the tools used to carve
this monument - and it
was heated.
The dining hall was
not crowded.  We
were the only people
there!  The cooks
were all getting
take-home boxes.
We drove around to
the back side of the
mountain for this
impressive sight.
By this time the sun
was warm and the
wind calm.
Now we had the long
drive back to West
Yellowstone, MT for our
tour.  Martha was
fascinated by the huge
oil refineries at Billings.
We were supposed
to go into the park
on a snow coach, but
there wasn't enough
snow, so we went in
a four-wheel drive
van.  We were the
only people on the
tour!
Normally, the snow
would be three feet
deep at this time of
year, but not this
time.  We did get to
see lots of animals in
the road.
There were a few tricky
places, but for the most
part the road was better
than summer - no traffic!
The cold weather made
the steam from the
geyser fields put on a
fabulous display.
The frozen steam
gave the landscape
a surreal look.  This
is a color picture
that almost appears
black and white.
The bacteria growing
in the hot water runoff
from the geysers
provided a colorful
palette.
Thank goodness
someone left the
geysers turned on
for the winter.
Old Faithful was
right on schedule.
We pose while Old
Faithful catches its
breath.
The Old Faithful Inn is
closed for winter.  This
is where we came for
our honeymoon.
These snow coaches
came in from the south
side of the park where
there was more snow.
These snowmobiles also
came in from the south
entrance.  This would be
fun if one didn't have to
stay with the group.
Wouldn't we all love to
have this to drive to
work on those snowy
days?
We had our sack
lunch in the warming
hut at the Old Faithful
Lodge.
Martha and our
private tour guide,
Scott.
This large bull buffalo
was grazing near the
lodge.  
Terry back in his
favorite place with
the TV remote
flipping through the
channels.
This is near Big Sky,
MT on highway 191 as
we traveled back to
Bozeman.
We were fascinated
watching the logging
operation using a
helicopter near the
mouth of Spanish
Creek.
Sadly, the time had
come to go back
home.  We had to
clean up the car
before we turned it
in.  Terry missed a
few spots when he
washed it.