Yellowstone National Park

We leave the delights of Jackson Hole and drive north to Yellowstone where we have booked a space for the night at Fishing Bridge Campground in the middle of the park. The campsite is very clean and orderly, and full - we are very lucky to get the penultimate spot, probably because it's still early in the season.

The lady at the reception desk gives us some local knowledge for walks, mentioning to be careful of the very grumpy old bison. We walk out to Storm Point, an easy 3 mile hike seeing marmots, ground squirrels and various birdlife. The strong scent of fresh pine in the woods comes through as the snow is melting. At the furthest point we sit on some rocks for a quick tea break overlooking the partially frozen lake which has huge ice mounds along the shore. It is stunningly beautiful.

On the way back we come across a HUGE lone bison just by the path. We are VERY close to him, so take evasive action, but he appears very docile and doesn’t seem bothered by our presence.

Then off to Old Faithful to see the geysers, deliberately going late in the hope of few people being there. The pools and holes are very active, with lots of steam, bubbling and gurgling and a hugely pungent smell of sulphur. Some pools are turquoise blue, some golden orange, and all are beautiful.

Back to our campsite as it’s late and getting dark.

We sleep really well in the camper which is warm and cosy - we are so impressed with the whole rig. After a lovely hot shower, we have a hearty breakfast - using the little once slice 400w toaster and egg boiler which we found in a Target store! As we are hooked up to mains electricity, we can plug them in and enjoy a little luxury!

After breakfast, we pack up, stow away and head out via reception to say thank you. We have already planned a hike, but change our plans as on the way out the ranger tells us about bear sightings at a trail called Slough Creek. We take a lovely scenic drive following mountainous roads with tall craggy outcrops on one side, and breathtaking drops down to the river valley to the right. The road follows the Yellowstone River which is full and fast flowing as the ice melts into its tributaries.

We reach the turn off for Slough Creek, a 2 mile long dirt track winding up to the trail head. On the way we pass various small groups of vehicles with the owners out on the grassy verge, large camera lenses and binoculars all focused on a spot on the side of the distant hill. We establish that they're waiting for a family of wolves to appear - apparently their den is there and they've been spotted earlier on.

We carry on and park at the trail head, setting off on a steep winding and rocky path, full of anticipation - and slight trepidation - about sighting a bear. The scent is fresh, earthy and piney and although the sky is blue with clouds, there are a few small snow flurries and a chilly wind. The path winds steeply upwards to a ridge, with lots of busy little ground squirrels darting around. As we pass a collecion of fallen pines, there is a tremendous drumming noise, like a lawn mower starting up, and we immediately stop to try and locate the noise. A big bird starts flapping its wings, and we see a ruffled grouse tucked into the undergrowth.

We eventually reach the ridge and continue over it down the other side where it opens out into a huge grassy meadow, dotted with bison. The trail is meant to be a loop, but at the halfway point the path is cut off by the river, and the path submerged, so we turn back, passing a lovely mule deer and spotting a Townsend's Solitaire, a type of small thrush. After a tea stop, we head back down the trail to the truck.

Driving away from the trail head back down the dirt track, Neil suddenly slams on the brakes and grips my arm, saying "there's a f.....g bear!" and there he is, a large grizzly sitting on a rocky outcrop. We leap out of the car to get a better view of him - he's about 50 yards away and sligthly above us - and as we watch, he gets up and nonchalantly wanders away, along a tree trunk where he stops for a scratch, and then walks off into the woods. Quite incredible, and we are so excited to have seen our first bear, and a grizzly at that!

Following all that excitement, we drove to Missouri Headwaters campsite, a lovely small and very rural national forest campsite where we grilled steak and tosated our amazing day with a glass of fizz.