We did a tour of Yellowstone Park as it is really huge and there would be no other way of seeing things there. The shuttle picked us up at the Madison at 9am and we headed off to the Park. Our first reactions were disappointment as it just seemed like undulating countryside full of pine trees and the first waterfall we saw was nice but that was all. As we went further into the park however it got better and better. What america doesn't have in beauty it makes up in shear grandeur. Remember this park is still a part of the Rockies and the vast canyons (not quite like the Grand) and changes in earth colours are here too.
Although we didn't get to see any bears or eagles we saw herds of bison/buffalo, some quite close, and also an Osprey on its nest.
We watched Old Faithful perform, we climbed a hill half a mile away and watched from there. I videoed it so I don't have a pic to put on here however there are lots of other great geysers there too and those pics are here. I think although it is geothermal like Rotorua it is very different in that it is set in open countryside and the setting is quite different from NZ scenery.
Today we went into 4 states = Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. It was an excellent day, ending at 5.30pm. We walked around the town again then hit the hay early.
18th Monday
Back to SLC on the shuttle arriving there at 4pm we put our gear in the lockers at the terminal and wandered through the new Gateway Mall which is really pretty. The train which was due at 11.30pm arrived at 12.15 and we were on our way to Sacramento.