Jackson to Big Sky, Montana (Yellowstone Part 2)

Even though taking the interstate to Montana would be faster, I decided to go back through the slow-ass tourist traffic in Yellowstone. How often to you get to experience a world famous national park like this?

So since I'm desperately trying to catch on blog posts, this will be another photo-heavy, text-light post. But really most of the day was me riding up to through Yellowstone taking photos. Here we go...

The mandatory Yellowstone sign-and-I photo.

Saw my first ever wild otters in one of the lakes.

At one point in the trip, I saw a whole bunch of people milling about near some venting steam. Thought it would be worth checking out, damn I was glad I stopped.

Me next to the Emerald Pool.

The Emerald Pool.

The Emerald Pool again from a different angle.

Another spring in the same area.

More spring action.

The walkway around the springs eventually led to a track, where it said "1 mile to mystic falls". Seemed like a reasonable idea.

Walking the trail, looking out for Bears
(so I could kick them in the nuts)

Runoff from Mystic Falls.

Mystic Falls. After this photo I promptly lost my
lens cover into the river.

Me in my most practical-for-hiking motorcycle
jacket and Kevlar jeans.

Mystic falls from higher up.

Finally got one a photo of one of these little fuckers.

You've got to remember I was moving pretty fast, my hangover had faded away but again I was trying to beat sundown. I knew it got pretty cold there at night. So after seeing the springs, I found another place with a whole heap of them.

Run off from one of the larger springs.

One of the grand geysers, doesn't go off anymore but you
wouldn't want to be close to it when it did.

More springs and geysers.

These red areas were apparently full of microbes that feed off
nutrients in the water.

It was so windy in that area, many a lost
and unrecoverable hat.

A big-ass spring.

From here I rode about 20 minutes, where there were a heap of gathering tourists. I knew what that meant, maybe I'll get to see a bear? 

Nope, an elk... I think...

A big fucking elk-maybe-deer-I-don't-know though.

This is what happens when tourists find some wildlife.

The area that the maybe-elk was in was pretty sweet.

I eventually rode out of Yellowstone into Montana. I thought I was staying that night in a motel in "West Yellowstone", but upon further investigation that morning I found out that hotwire put me in a town called "Big Sky". I did however stop in West Yellowstone to get my first ever pulled-pork sandwich. 

West Yellowstone.

The road from West Yellowstone to Big Sky was actually really pretty, but unfortunately I didn't have my GoPro attached and I was way too tired to get off and take photos.  

I did get a sunset in Big Sky though.

That night I had a few Montana beers at my motels bar, and talked to a nice young couple road-tripping through the US. But it was a pretty early night (around 11:30), it was way too far for me to walk to any other bars in the area.