Mammoth Hot Springs

We're camped at Mammoth Hot Springs Campground, got here Sunday.  We couldn't get connected on the computer and phone we normally use but we're having better luck on Linda's tablet.  But typing is harder without a keyboard.  I was getting desperate to get a post up before we lose our audience.  Thanks for your patience.

The weather has taken a turn for the worse but not too cold.  It rained some every day so far but there have also been breaks with some sun.  Some roads in Yellowstone are closed for construction but one important one for us between Mammoth and Norris opened today after a two week closure.

Yesterday, Monday, we drove east to Tower Junction and to Canyon Village and the falls. We saw lots of scenery, falls, canyon, bison and elk.  But we were hunting Moose.  We had Moose on our menu.  But we saw none.  We even waited at Hayden Valley for the creature but eventually gave up - THEN...

On our drive back to camp about dusk, a mile west of Tower Junction, a bull moose darted out of the woods right in front of us.  I had to brake pretty hard to miss him.  The picture is below.

The speed limit is 45 and I was under that, about 38.  There were 4 cars stacked behind us, we were in the lead.  Two cars had passed us earlier.  I mention this because I think that if our speed was higher - and it was dusk - we could have had an accident.  If timing was different one of the cars that passed could have had an accident.  So we will be traveling very slow and cautiously around here.  But I don't want to encourage anybody to pass either.

To reinforce this point, about 15 minutes after the moose a bull elk did the same thing - right in front of us.

A few pix mm of the day...

At camp.

One sided elk at Mammoth.

The subject moose.