1300 Miles...Cooke City, Montana

It's now Day Four of our Yellowstone trip. No internet service for Day Two and too tired on Day Three, I am playing catch up on my travel journal.

Day Two was Cody, Wyoming. It was a beautiful drive over the Big Horn Mountains and into Cody. We went to the Cody Nite Rodeo.

Day Three off to Yellowstone. We drove the Chief Joseph Highway and over the Beartooth Pass to get to Cooke City. Breathtaking scenery and more snow on the mountains than I have ever seen and to think it's June. We arrived at Yellowstone early afternoon. What a beautiful place, so much to see and so many different landscapes. Wildlife watching is one of our focuses for the trip. Our first day in Yellowstone we saw Big Horn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Buffalo (they're plentiful), and Elk.

Day Four we were on the road before 6:00 am to look for wildlife. Upon entering the park, we were greeted by a buffalo who thought the road belonged to him. We were very cautious when trying to get around him. We headed for the Lamar Valley. The photographers and wildlife watchers with their spotting scopes and big lenses were at the first overlook in the valley. We pulled in and found they were spotting wolves. Also up on the ridge, way in the distance, were two grizzlies.

The one animal I really wanted to see up close was a bear. On our second day in the park, we were lucky enough to see two black bears up close. One was a full grown bear and the other probably around three years old.


We spent two nights in the town of Cooke City, Montana. Cooke City is a small historic town at the base of the mountains. You can stand at one end of the street and see the entire town. It's a snowmobile paradise in the winter and a great place to stay, just outside the northeast gate of Yellowstone in the summer. They have a general store that's on the National Historic Register and has everything from fly fishing supplies to groceries.

Day Five...Old Faithful