Canyon Village, Yellowstone NP - Monday, Sep. 20 2010

After yesterday’s “driving day” we opted to spend today around Canyon Village. Canyon Village and Canyon Lodge take the first part of their name from the adjacent Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone – not as majestic as the Grand Canyon in Arizona but very impressive and spectacular nevertheless.

The Yellowstone River flows out of Yellowstone Lake and flows north. As it nears here it tumbles over two majestic waterfalls – the Upper and Lower Falls. The amount of water flowing over is enormous and one can only imagine what it must be like in early spring when it is swollen by snow-melt.

328 steps down & 328 back up!

There are two drives along the canyon – South Rim and North Rim. Both have a number of lookouts and trails leading to outstanding views of the canyon and the falls. One trail we took led us to a stupendous viewpoint of the lower falls. Perhaps a “trail” is a bit of a misnomer as it actually involved 328 steps down (and of course 328 back up). There was a warning sign for those with heart or breathing issues but we took the ascent cautiously and experienced no problems. It was a great view and well worth the effort.

After lunch we took on the trail to the brink of the lower falls for a different perspective. This involved a 180m descent (in 1.2 km) and with lots of switchbacks. Again the heart and breathing warnings applied but we came through just fine. It was a truly amazing experience at the top of the falls with about 140 000 litres of water flowing over every second.

When we went out on the wildlife excursion on Saturday we saw a fire (started by lightning) in the park. Fires are considered a natural event and are allowed to burn pretty much unimpeded, unless they threaten property or look like getting out of hand. As a result the road north from here is closed about 18 km away. We were hoping to do the northern loop tomorrow and come back this way so may have to reassess our plans if the road remains closed.

Grizzly bear cub

After Helen’s disappointment with the wildlife tour on Saturday, we set off this evening to rectify the situation, with great success. First we came across a black bear on the side of the road and a little further on a grizzly bear with two cubs. As a result Helen was in “bear heaven”. On the return trip the icing on the cake consisted of two elk and a number of mule deer. Mission accomplished!