We took a winter trip to Yellowstone to cross country ski and see wildlife. Winter is a great time to go, no crowds. Maybe it’s the minus 20 degree weather and deep snow that keeps people away. We loved it but are a little crazy.No we did not camp! We stayed at the Mammoth Lodge, building on the left is where we had breakfast and dinner. The food was really good.I love maps! This is a large wooden map of the US, each state was a different type of wood. We did a hike by the hot springs near the lodgeView from the hot springsOne of the many formations by the trail, most of this was boardwalk that you can see in the background.This was an interesting formation, looked like an elephant to me.We booked a snow coach tour that would take us deeper into the park for a day of skiingYou could kind of tell where the trail was but we were in fresh snow all day.We skied past this beautiful creek. Leann saw a Dipper and was thrilled.The scenery was not too badMore mountains, more snow We were all by ourselves, wonder why?Back into the treesThe driver got the stove going so we had a warm place for lunchNext morning we did a wake up to wildlife tour, look closely for the wolf. They were hunting and we could hear them howling. A wolf howling and an Elk bugling are two of my favorite animal calls. Apparently the wolves were successful since one ran in front of the coach with blood on it’s face. If you want to see a wolf in the wild, Yellowstone in winter is the place to be.Anita loves sheepBison use the roads for easier walking so they can get very close. FYI: they kill more people in national parks than any other animal. They can run 30 miles per hour and jump 6 feet. People think they are docile until they got stomped to death or thrown 10 feet in the air.We had a car and were able to drive to the trailhead and ski to Tower Falls, I just realized we hiked there with the kids on our first trip to YNP.The trail is the same road you use for driving to the falls in summer.View across Yellowstone CanyonTower Falls frozen solid, it’s cold.Skiing past the cliffsLeann, Ed and Anita at the fallsGrand Canyon of the Yellowstone RiverHeading back, we usually don’t ski by Bison back home. What a great trip in a very special place, America’s first National Park. Thank you Teddy Roosevelt.
