Today we went back to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful Geyser erupt. Park rangers are able to predict eruptions from this geyser and post approximate eruption times daily. It was pretty exciting, waiting for it to erupt. We also revisited the mud volcano area, which Cliff and I had seen on our second day here already when the boys had stayed home. The strong sulfur smell and roaring bubbling mud was quite an experience. I posted pictures of this area on day 9. 
Later in the day we visited the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, a large canyon on the Yellowstone River with beautiful waterfalls. The highlight of the day was when we spotted a black bear - none of us had ever seen a bear in the wild and we were all in awe when the bear showed up close to the road. Unfortunately, we were not able to grab our cameras quick enough as the bear quickly disappeared back into the forest.
In the evening we strolled through West Yellowstone and stopped at our favorite old fashioned soda fountain place to enjoy delicious milkshakes. 
I also posted a few more of my favorite bison pictures. If you look really close at the picture of the bison head (second to last picture), you will see him grinning. 

After walking many miles over the last three days in 90 degree heat and high altitude, we took a much needed rest day today. We slept in, strolled through West Yellowstone which has many unique little shops, bought some souvenirs, and visited the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery center where they house wolves and bears that cannot be released back into the wild. In the late afternoon we strolled around the campground and enjoyed the pleasant evening temperatures and dry air. 

Today we spent our third day at Yellowstone and the sights were just as stunning as the ones we visited the past two days. We spent a lot of time walking to the sights, up and down boardwalks, in almost 90 degree heat and at 7000 feet high. We could definitely feel the effects of the high altitude and had to slow down a few times. In the afternoon we saw multiple bison herds; some of them were even crossing the roads causing traffic jams. I was within 10 feet of a bison as he walked in front of our car and then turned and passed by the passengers side - with me, the photographer, outside of the car, pinned flat against the passenger side door. What an experience!  

Today Cliff and I headed back to Yellowstone so I could take some additional photos of the sights we saw the day before. A big thank you to Cliff who drove me all around the park again so I could get those perfect shots. I still have a lot to learn in photography, but I am thankful for the support of my family, who patiently waits as I take an embarrassing amount of pictures at each site. Yes, I am that tourist that takes 20 pictures of everything.
The boys stayed behind as they had gotten sunburned yesterday. We did add a few additional sights today, which we will revisit with them. The highlight of our day was photographing a bison  sitting next to Sulphur Caldron.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir

Today we visited Yellowstone National Park - one of the crown jewels of the national park system. The hot springs and geysers were absolutely stunning!! We hiked many miles today and every turn we took offered new amazing views. There was so much to see and, so far, we have only covered a third of the park.
The temperature in the morning was very cool, but it heated up quickly to 80 degrees by late morning. Unfortunately, we did not apply sufficient sunscreen and the very fair skinned among us returned to the campsite with a sunburn. We hiked at 7000 feet above sea level today and the UV rays are so much more intense up here. It was also extremely windy, in fact, it was so windy that my hat would not stay on, no matter how much I tightened the string.
​We did see a bison perched on a sandy spot next to the road, most likely watching tourists.

We are in West Yellowstone, where we will stay for a few days. The west entrance to Yellowstone National Park is only a few miles away and we love our campsite. The temperature was a pleasant 79 degrees when we arrived. Per our weather app, it might get cold a night though. The 6am predicted temperature is only 48 degrees. The altitude here is almost 7000 feet and apparently we are halfway between the equator and the North Pole. 
Today's 4 hour drive led us through stunning scenery; so stunning that it will be difficult for me to leave. Unfortunately, the pictures I took while we were driving did not turn out well; I am posting only two that came out somewhat acceptable.
In preparation for visiting Yellowstone National Park, we purchased bear spray today. I am considering bringing along my onion goggles, in case the wind blows the wrong way....!
As our refrigerator still seemed to have some issues, we investigated further and finally realized that the RV service place installed the new refrigerator door without the seal (that black rubber strip), leaving a significant gap for cold air to escape and the door lock not to fit appropriately. We cannot believe that we did not notice that earlier. For now we stuffed the gap with paper towels and secured with painters tape. Problem solved.

We have made it to Big Sky Country! After a short 4h drive, we reached our campground in Billings, Montana. We passed through barren areas that were devoid of any trees and beautiful hills with ponderosa pines. While we seemed to have left the flies behind, the extreme heat followed us - it was 98 degrees when we arrived. We will stay here one night and will reach our campground in West Yellowstone tomorrow. 

Today we hiked the trail around Devils Tower. Definitely a monument worth seeing! Thankfully we got up early and completed the hike before temperatures soared close to 100 degrees. In the evening we were surprised by a severe thunderstorm with winds up to 60 mph and massive lightning. While the lightning bolts illuminating Devils Tower were spectacular, the overall experience was quite scary, as we were sitting in our shaking RV. Somehow, we all survived.

We awoke this morning to strong winds which shook the RV and made us jump out of bed. I grabbed the campground map and tried to find the tornado shelter; one of those underground bunkers I had seen on a campground in the Midwest last year. Well, there were none of those at this campground. I looked outside to see how other campers were handling this emergency. To my surprise I saw families eating breakfast outside, holding their plates, while others were busy packing up their RVs to head back on the road. Some campers were walking their dogs. I soon realized that this was just a normal day on the prairie in South Dakota.
We packed up our RV, tried to outrun the flies as we were getting in the truck, and hit the road again to head further west. We passed the Badlands and Mount Rushmore which we had visited already a few years back.
The drive through the Black Hills was beautiful and we arrived at our campground in Wyoming in the early afternoon. We are camping next to Devils Tower, which is absolutely amazing!
It was very hot here today (95 degrees) with humidity at 20%. I am starting to apply lotion to my hands multiple times a day. We are also 4000 feet up with increased UV intensity, which means long shirts and a hat for me. Just like in South Dakota, we have an abundance of flies here.
Today is also our 29th wedding anniversary, which we celebrated at the campsite restaurant at the foot of Devils Tower.
After dinner, the boys played mini golf at the campsite, while I chatted with other photography enthusiasts. We met a Canadian astronomer from Calgary who showed us amazing pictures of stars, galaxies, and planets he had taken. It must have been hours that we spent at his campsite, completely in awe of his work. We even saw shooting stars as we looked up at the Milky Way. What a perfect end to our wedding anniversary day – shooting stars at Devils Tower.

After driving along the cornfields in Nebraska and Iowa, we reached the plains and prairies of South Dakota. Trees are sparse here and the air is dry. When we reached the campground at 5pm it was 90 degrees with 26% humidity, a relief from the often oppressive humidity in the South. We also entered the Mountain Time Zone and gained an hour, giving us more time to enjoy the evening.
Our campground is surrounded by wide open space and we were able to catch a beautiful sunset. We also met two tent campers from Sweden who are riding their bicycles from New York City to Seattle. Their story is absolutely amazing! 
To my delight, I was also able to show off my fly swatting skills today. Yes, I have a talent swatting flies. There are a lot of flies here and I eliminated 22 out of 23 flies in the RV. I have mastered the hard surface swatting and am now moving on to practice swatting flies in mid-air. 
Our refrigerator is working again. We think that the refrigerator door kept opening during driving. We just had the door replaced, which must have affected the locking mechanism. Being a nurse, I quickly figured out a way to make it work with minimal supplies.