Yellowstone Day 4

On our last day at Yellowstone, we ventured over to Lamar Valley and hiked Slough Creek. We started off on the trail around 7:30 am. It was still cold outside and the sun was just rising. This was an area we were told we would see a lot of wildlife, including bears so we were definitely prepared with our spray and lots of clapping. We got about thirty minutes into our hike when we were surrounded by large rocks. As we started to descend into the valley, we heard snorting and growling like noises coming from behind the rocks up ahead. We weren't sure if we should keep going to just head back. We decided to risk it and see if there was anything beyond the rocks. Luckily the sound was actually coming from a huge herd of bison out in the valley. We were surprised that they would make such sounds. Later on, we encountered two bison up close. One had a branch stuck on his horn and was trying desparately to get it off. The other just passed us on the side. As he walked past, he made the deep breathing growl and we knew for sure that the "bear" noises were coming from the bison. We also saw a variety of birds, gophers and chipmunks on the walk.

After finishing the trail, we went over to a few small water falls. There was a picnic area where we stopped to chat with a bird watcher who taught us about the American dipper that dives into the water at a rapid pace. It was quite neat to see them diving. We also stopped at Mammouth Springs but it was too hot. The temps were into the upper 90s. Erin had heat rash all over her face, neck and arms so she had to wear a rain jacket and carry an umbrella to keep out of the sun. We quickly saw the springs and ended the journey in Gardiner for some huckleberry ice cream. As we ate ice cream we watched the river rafters coming down ready avoid the many rocks in the rapids. The day ended again with a trip to Chico Hot Springs for some much needed muscle relaxing water then some Netflix shows before bed.