Days 5-7 whew!

Today was the we hiked the South Rim of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It was beyond beautiful as the pictures will tell you.  It's funny but you can drive your car and get out at different points and take your pictures on the South Rim (really anywhere at the park).  But I think people miss so much by doing that when they could be really experiencing the park by hiking.  When we were riding on the trail ride, the wrangler told us that 3 million people come to the park but only 1 percent actually get off the road (either by boat, horse or hiking).  David and I are lucky that were are healthy and can hike it.  Artist Point was breathtaking!
After hiking to Artist Point, we continued to Sublime Point (a ranger had told us about this hike).  The scenery on the hike to the point was gorgeous!  The Point itself was not "sublime."
We hiked to Lily Pad Lake which was aptly named!  And then to Clear Lake which was NOT so nice a lake--- it was very acidic!  From there our hike to us past mud pots (which smell) and the landscaped changed to grey--- lots of thermals, hot springs and mud pots.
It has now turned much cooler in Yellowstone.  I had a pair of those zipoff pants BUT had lost 1 on my legs!  I know I brought both legs...    So I ended up buying a couple of pairs of zipoff pants. SCORE!!
The red touring bus that we rode in Glacier was "supposed" to be the last the 1930 buses. That's what our driver told us.  WELL.... the Yellowstone touring buses ARE still running too! They are painted yellow instead of the red of the Glacier buses.  Our guide had told us that the Yellowstone buses no longer ran.

Day 6
It was 33 degrees when we got up this morning!!  We saw sandhill cranes in the Hayden Valley on our way to our hike at Hellroaring Creek.  This hike has a suspension bridge--which of course had me just a little bit wary.  The hiking trail was shared with horses and the horses went over the suspension bridge too!  The hike began going downhill with switchbacks and that meant coming back was going to HURT!  We saw some coyote or wolf scat but that was all the wildlife we saw on this hike.  It was a 5 mile hike and a 727 elevation drop.  I think I may have cussed David on the way back UP the trail.
Then we rode back to Mammoth Springs to go on the Beaver Pond hike.  We had to hike .7 miles to get to the trail head and it was all UP!!  I almost came to tears at this point.  The Beaver Pond hike was 5.5 miles and it was beautiful!!  We saw mule deer in many places.  They spring upward as they "run".  As soon as their feet touch they spring upward.  We were in woods, around several ponds and hiked through meadows.  I kept expecting to see bear but did not.  I had traded Ellen Duffy's zumba bells in for a BIG bell but during this hike I kept it quiet.  We saw some blue winged teal and gold eyed ducks.
On our way home, we noticed a lot of people had stopped in Hayden's Valley.  We stopped and in the valley there were elk  LOTS of elk.  I used the binoculars to watch them.  There was a small group that ran around like they were possessed!  There was a huge bull elk off to the side and behind this group was the main herd.

 Upper Falls

 Artist Point

 Growing out my hair-don't laugh

 Bison wallow

Day 7 Grand Tetons
We rode south to the Grand Tetons today.  The mountains were massive but you viewed them from across the dried up Lake Jackson.  They reminded me of the Glacier mountains but in Glacier you were IN them and in the Grand Tetons you are away from them.
David went on a 3 mile hike around the dried up lake.  He didn't see any wildlife.  This was my day OFF from hiking and I blogged.
Yellowstone is getting ready for winter.  Since we have been here, they have placed the 6 foot road markers on the sides of the road.  The store hours have been cut back and some campgrounds have closed.  Today when we were eating lunch, our server told us that in 2 weeks everything will be closed except for the Lodge in Old Faithful and the Hotel in Mammoth Springs.  All the vistor centers, stores, restaurants.  It feels like winter is coming.