We decided early on to be deliberate in our visits to Yellowstone National Park—taking our time to see as much as possible, and as thoroughly as viable.  Prior to today, we still lacked the canyon area, Lamar Valley, and the Yellowstone Lake area.  Also, we wanted to spend at least one night at Roosevelt Lodge, sit in the big rocking chairs on the front porch, and eat in their dining room.  Then, we would spend some time in Lamar Valley, “hunting” bears and wolves with binoculars, drive the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge, on to Bozeman for some shopping and “big city” chores, and back to Red Rock RV Park.  We chose this particular time to do the trip because we were finally able to find a vacancy at Roosevelt Lodge!
Our first stops were at Running Bear Pancake House for breakfast, the car wash for a MUCH NEEDED wash, and the gas station for a fill-up.  While waiting for breakfast, I was able to reach my brother, Ronnie, on the phone, and we were able to talk briefly (I love you, brother, and look forward to seeing you in early September).  As we drove through the park, we stopped briefly at Canyon Village to make some last minute phone calls and send emails letting folks know where we were and would be the next couple of days.  The crowds were down today, and made visiting the park a bit nicer.
Lower Falls and Upper Falls.  Much of the area along the  South Rim Drive to viewing areas for both Upper and Lower Falls is closed due to recent bear and bison activity; it was not too far from here that one visitor was killed a few weeks ago, and another was mauled just a few days ago by grizzly bears.  There were several viewing locations along the road, but the best and best known is Artist Point.  The first time I brought Kay to Artist Point to view Lower Falls, 308 feet high, she began weeping because of the overpowering beauty.  This is still one of the most picturesque places in the park, and regrettably, photos do not do it justice.  (Please see the web album for more photos of Yellowstone National Park; I’ll try to put a link at the end of this daily entry.)  After departing Artist Point, we stopped at Uncle Tom’s Point to view the Upper Falls, 109 feet, a bit anti-climatic.  Re-crossing the Park bridge over the Yellowstone River, we stopped to walk to an observation point on the very brink of Upper Falls.  It’s a bit scary seeing the millions of gallons of water dropping over 100 feet, hearing the roar, and feeling the vibrations while on the viewing platform.
We began the one-way North Rim Drive, stopping to hike the steep trail to Brink of Lower Falls; the trail dropped some 600 feet, with over 10 switchbacks.  Fortunately for us, there were many places to stop and rest.  It’s difficult standing on the precipice and not having some fear, wondering who designed the platform, and what would happen in the event it failed.  From here, we could see Uncle Tom’s Trail and Artist Point.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  Even more awesome from the Brink of Lower Falls platform, at least to us, was a spectacular view, complete with rainbow, of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, up to 1200 feet deep and 4,000 feet wide.   Depending on the sun, the canyon has many shades of golds and browns, giving it its name, Yellowstone.  As we made our way along the North Rim Drive, we stopped at Lookout Point where I took a side trail, steeper and dropping as much as the one to Brink of Lower Falls, to the Red Rock viewing area.  Further along North Rim Drive was Grand View, and Inspiration Point, though Inspiration Point was closed for trail repair, and at this point, we had received just about as much inspiration as our legs and tired bodies could stand.
Dunraven Pass and Roosevelt Lodge.  We left the canyon area of Yellowstone NP, and drove northward towards Roosevelt Lodge, crossing over Dunraven Pass at 8,859 feet.  On the drive down, we stopped at one of the turnouts and were fortunate to see a grizzly bear foraging in one of the far meadows.  Interestingly, a number of elk were laying down within relatively close proximity to the bear.  This is one of daughter Jenny’s favorite viewing areas and she has seen bears here on every visit.  It began raining during our stop, and tired from all the walking, we drove to Roosevelt Lodge, checked in, and sat on the porch in their big rocking chairs.  Dinner was okay, but not up the standards our memories had enticed us to believe—after several visits, memories of meals at this place left us imagining that the food was going to be spectacular; it was not bad, just okay.
Lamar Valley.  With a couple of hours of daylight left, we drove to Lamar Valley with hopes of seeing bears and wolves.  We spotted a grizzly bear on a far mountain peak with our binoculars, and watched it feed for about 30 minutes.  Then, someone stopped to say that a wolf was trotting near the road.  We drove a short distance to another viewing area, anticipating where the wolf would appear, and were rewarded with a close-up view.  The almost black wolf stopped at a 4-day old kill, retrieved the remains, and sought a place of solitude to enjoy a meal.  For us, this was a real treat, and particularly since we were able to photograph the wolf.

Here’s the web album link:  https://picasaweb.google.com/DunnGoneTravels/Idaho201102?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIyBlc3Wn9WGuwE&feat=directlink

P.S.  Today was a bit sad as we said good-bye to new friend, Jack.  Jack was our neighbor at Red Rock for the last couple of weeks, and tried to coach us in getting the satellite hooked-up.  Formerly from the Gary, IN, area he is a full timer, and has criss-crossed the country a few times, always seeking good weather.  He knew a lot about northern Arkansas, having camped there several times.  He made a “to die for” cherry cheese cake.  Jack, Kay, and I visited several times a day in our shared common space, and he introduced Kay to the Strongback folding chair (strongbackchair.com); it offers tremendous back support.  So long, Jack, and we hope to see you on the road again.  Safe travels, and God be with you.