Day 12: Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton

We start our day with breakfast at the Grand Canyon overlooking two buffaloes 20 meters away from us. Don't worry, we are sitting in a safe camper. Then we hike 180m down into the canyon. It is a paved path with sometimes small stones, so you have to be careful not to slip. Once we reach the bottom, we are rewarded with a fantastic view, right next to us the Yellwowstone River drops 94 meters into the valley. We experience the power of the falls and have a beautiful view of the canyon. After a while, it's time to go back up, which is exhausting. In the last few meters, David falls asleep on Rene's back and he walks bent over so that his head doesn't fall off. The other visitors find it cute. Now we are sitting in the car and driving south. Then, shortly after the Canyon Village, a crowd of people. I get out and there are two moose lying there. The ranger on site explains that this is a rarity here. Many of the animals used to live in the park. In 1988, there was a big fire that caused the animals to migrate. At that time, 25,000 firefighters from all parts of the USA came to help. On a map in a visitor center, we see that about 80% of the park was affected by the fire.

We pass by the Yellowstone Lake again. Then, again, a gathering of visitors, same procedure, I jump out and there is a bear. He is 30 meters away from the road, in a forest with dead trees. He is stomping around there. Unfortunately, the fallen trees obstruct the view of him. Then Rene has the idea to climb up the ladder of the camper and take pictures from above. Our adrenaline levels rise again and we are very excited. Later we find out that it is a grizzly bear. This can be recognized by the raised hair on the neck. Not everyone who visits the park is lucky enough to see this.
We leave Yellowstone National Park with its 8987 sq km area. This huge area with its unique fauna and flora is definitely worth a visit. It is one of the most important retreat areas for the largest concentration of wildlife in the USA. It is good that it was founded as the first national park in 1872 and thus nature was protected. We are glad that we have fulfilled this dream.

Directly adjacent to Yellowstone Park is Grand Teton National Park. It has an area of ​​1255 sq km and was declared a national park in 1929. It once again showcases beautiful nature with forests, meadows, and mountains. Then along the road, Jackson Lake appears. With the mountains in the background and bright sunshine, the area looks even more beautiful. Unfortunately, David doesn't want to drive anymore and starts crying. We continue driving and reach the Colter Bay Campground shortly after 12 noon. We can rent a spot and are happy about it. After a snack, we walk to the lake, a 10-minute walk. The lake has a stone beach and clear water. We relax there and Erik splashes around in the shallow cold water. It is pleasantly warm, the other visitors swim there or go out on their paddle boats.
Then we pick up the Junior Park Ranger program at the visitor center and buy the obligatory souvenirs for ourselves. In the supermarket, we get some ice cream and then stroll back leisurely. Erik wants to swim again, but it's too cold for him and we are back at the car around 6 pm. Our spot is nice, not too close to the other spots and with a small clearing. This way we can see the bears better if they come. On a poster, I read that in the area, including Yellowstone, 14 people are killed by bears every year.