If you go to Yellowstone I highly recommend visiting the Lamar Valley in the Northeast corner of the park. The wildlife is abundant and you get a true sense of what big country is. The hike and campsite we picked for this area was the one I was looking forward to most and I was not disappointed.

As we drove through the valley to the trailhead we saw hundreds of buffalo in different herds. We were lucky enough to stop while one herd crossed the road around us.




Lamar Valley is a favorite place for wildlife watchers and they were parked in so many places on the side of the road. People camped out all day with chairs, scopes, and lots of time hoping for a glimpse of something wonderful. Very few of them ever leave the road. So many people willing to sit for hours in the hope something amazing will walk by.

The hike Jay and I chose took us right through the middle of the valley and it was nothing short of spectacular.



We camped a little over three miles in and near the creek. Jay fished for a bit and I chilled out a took a few photos.



About 8pm is when I really started looking at the cloud cover. It wasn't looking so much like clouds to me but a lot more like smoke and it was moving our way. Jay wasn't convinced until I told him I could smell the campfire smell. Not good.

So, we were three miles from the road, it was almost 9pm, it would take us an hour and half or so to hightail it outta there. Hiking in the dark, on a buffalo trail, in bear country. Bad idea.

Staying at our campsite, near a large creek, with what is most likely a forest fire that could be miles away. Not ideal, but safer. So, that's what we did. Ash was coming down when we went to bed and I for sure took quite a while to go to sleep. The next morning the skies were clear but there was a light layer of ash on everything.

Pretty nerve racking but we made good decisions. In the end I'm very glad it was so late before the smoke starting rolling in. It would have been pretty crappy had we hiked out. Especially when we learned the fire was from a lightning strike and was on a small island in the center to Lake Yellowstone. I'm happy we stayed.

We saw these guys the next morning heading up the same trail we hiked in on.



After breakfast we had plenty of time to hike around the area before going back to the car. Jay didn't catch any fish but the scenery was worth each stop.



On the way back Jay saw these:





We spent the next couple minutes trying to figure out if they had been there when we walked by the first time or if they were new. The direction was coming right out of the forested area we just left and headed towards our camp. About the time we figured that out is when Jay looked up and said 'BEAR!'

My first thought was 'Yipee!' There is a reason Jay carries the bear spray. He took it out of it's holster and removed the safety. I would have dropped it to get the lens cap off my camera. The bear was across the creek and running from us as fast as his little legs could carry him. So fast in fact I didn't get a single decent picture.

This is the best of them. He's the dark fuzzy spot in the very middle.



So bummed I didn't get a photo but it was pretty amazing.