Into a snowy Yellowstone Ntnl Park

As we drove up and into the Flag Ranch area to find our Forest land camping area, we were greeted only with a road-closure sign which prevented us from going any further. This really threw a wrench in our plans and moved our entire trip forward a few days. We were left with no choice but to continue north and into Yellowstone National Park where we quickly found massive amounts of snow on the ground. It was at this point that we realized that if there was this much snow here in Teton and Yellowstone, Glacier National park would be worse or at the very least, equal… which meant ‘not hike-able’. We visited Ol’ Faithful and the other hot-springs before completing a half-loop of the southern portion of the park.

By morning, the van, and the surrounding landscape, was covered in snow. We were up and moving by 6am to drive along the Grand Loop Road towards Bridge Bay. This 16 mile stretch of road overlooks the valley and the Yellowstone River. In the early morning hours, you can find many different animals in this valley area. In the past I had seen the bison, elk, and wolves. This morning we say a mother Grizzly bear with her two cubs. This attracted a large crowd by 7am as we ate breakfast while the snow and rain continued.