Yellowstone Is Open

Yellowstone Park opened a week ago, but we did not take our first trip in until this past Friday. Leaving our house in a snowstorm, we passed a kite skier or two. You cannot tell where the snow ends and the sky begins. The snow level has dropped considerably in the past week, revealing the tops of the fence posts.

Here comes the plow, returning from Targhee Pass. There was less snow here than in front of our house.

The snowbanks in West Yellowstone are still pretty high but have come down considerably in the past two weeks.
The spring meltdown has revealed the side of this truck.
The animals in the park have had a tough winter. They say it was the most snow in several decades. This pregnant elk is quite bony.
Not everyone made it. The dark blotch next to the river is a buffalo carcass covered with flapping ravens.
Buffalo have their calves in April. The nursing moms look very gaunt this year.

The males are a bit better off but still thin.
A snowman appreciates the extra long winter season at Old Faithful.
The geyser is getting ready to spout.

Old Faithful reaches its peak but is largely obscured by steam in the cold, snowy weather.
The boardwalk running around the hot pools in the Old Faithful geyser basin provides enough insulation from the warm ground for a thick layer of snow to survive. The snow disappears when the boardwalk ends.
The elk appreciate the relative warmth of the area.
An unusually light colored elk still sports last year's antlers.
Swans have found open water in the Firehole River.

Now we are heading back out of the park, and we see that the buffalo carcass has attracted a bald eagle. It is perched on top, and the ravens are now lurking around the edges.
It starts snowing heavier as some buffalo block the road.