Yellowstone National Park: Elk! Birds! Mammoth Hot Springs Campground! More Elk! and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

By the way...   HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  Welcome to 2026 and new adventures to come!

Wapiti is the name for elk in Shawnee.  An elk symbolizes strength, courage, endurance, and spiritual connection among other things. Last post we saw a mama elk protecting her baby and, as the day continued, I was to see even more elk in beautiful and moving ways.  

But before we begin, be sure to catch up on my previous posts by clicking the links below!

Previously in the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone series:

Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons Day 1, Jenny Lake Campground, Elk Herd

Beautiful Jenny Lake, Foxes and Bears

Lovely Vistas full of Bison and Horses

Mormon Row, Pronghorn Antelope, and Ravens

Wildlife Art, Yellow-bellied Marmot, Colter Bay, and Ground Squirrels

Colter Bay to South Yellowstone

Black Sand Basin and Bison

More Bison, Old Faithful, Biscuit Basin, and Beginning of Artemisia Trail Hike

Hike to Morning Glory Pool! Plus Bison with Red Dogs, Elk, and Coyotes

Grizzly and Wolf Center in West Yellowstone

Fountain Paint Pots and Grand Prismatic Spring

Mama Elk for the Win! Lake Yellowstone Hotel and Surrounds

But first!  A map!

To continue our journey on this fourth day of our incredible road trip, we started from the left corner of the map and drove to our first stop - Mud Volcano. 

Now, I didn't spend too much time there.  I kind of regret that, but to be honest, the hills of the upper boardwalk intimidated me as I didn't think I could handle them at altitude. So I only did the lower half - or the pretty much level part.  

This photo is looking from towards the parking lot to the level boardwalk.

This is one of many muddy hot springs in the area and I think the name is Mud Geyser.  It was a beautiful green color but I understand that the mud hot springs vary in color and mud content from season to season or eruption to eruption. 

The next two photos are of the Mud Volcano itself.  It once was a 30 foot high cone shooting mud out of the top that covered the trees!  This area is located near a large vent of the Yellowstone Volcano and as such has had many changes as mentioned above.  At one point the cone blew itself apart and collapsed into the bubbling mud pot we see today. I loved the textures of it. 

But I love mud pots in general. Once upon a time in 2017, I went in search of mud volcanoes near the Salton Sea and it. was. amazing. The location had a plethora of mud pots and cool springs.  And some really cool "cinder" cone mud volcanoes that were up to 8 feet tall!  Here is an example:

So I was definitely excited to be here in Yellowstone to see mud pots.  

And another feature that was really cool in the Mud Volcano area was Dragon Mouth Spring!  This is a steamy hole which you could easily imagine was home to a dragon.  The steam and sloshing water inside the cavern was evocative of rumblings of the dragon that was just waiting to come rushing out and flame us!

 And it was pretty.  :)

After wandering about for a little while, I headed back on the road towards Mammoth Hot Springs ready to spot some more interesting and beautiful sights.  And it wasn't long before I spied a beautiful meadow through the trees that lined the road!  And there appeared to be Swans swimming in the small pond!

Luckily there was plenty of space to quickly pull over and park. I then hopped out of my car to snap a quick photo through the trees where you could see the swans. 

There was a faint path down to the floor of the meadow but it didn't go very far into it.  It was enough for me to carefully make my way down the hill that was littered with fallen trees and get a little closer to my target. 

It was so lovely; I couldn't help but just stand in the meadow and take it all in.  Wow.  But the stars were the Trumpeter Swans.  There were two of them - maybe a pair?

They were still quite a bit away so these photos aren't great even with my 600 lens. 

One Swan:

Two Swans:

And then Two as One Swans:

One my way back to the car, I spotted some wildflowers!  They were growing in the shade of a fallen tree trunk which I thought looked very cool. 

I later learned these are called Yellow Avalanche Lilies - also Glacier Lilies because they grow at the edge of snowbanks.  So pretty!

Back on the road and it wasn't long before I spotted another wonderful meadow but this time there was an Elk sitting in it.  

Again, I pulled over for a look.  And what a beautiful look it was. 

And then I saw a mountain.  Such a majestic mountain!  The fog and clouds were hugging the top like a blanket. 

It was only a short while until I saw another meadow with a bird in it.  lol  This one was a lone Sandhill Crane.  I love them!  These pictures turned out great. 

Okay, I am FINALLY on the road for real.  I made it to Mammoth Hot Springs campground and checked in.  Then I decided to head to Gardner for some food and because I wanted to see the Roosevelt Arch.  

I got one picture but it's not from the side with the plaque.  Oh well.  lol  Next time!

As I was heading back through the north entrance to Yellowstone, I saw a pronghorn in a meadow just before I got to the entrance.  It was so cute and also so close but I couldn't take a picture because driving.  The reason I'm mentioning this is the next day I also drove in to Gardner for gas and when coming back in, I saw the Pronghorn in the same place!  Same place.  It was weird. 

Anyhoo, my next stop was the 45th Parallel along the Gardner River.  I had seen a sign on my way to Gardner and I thought it would be a cool photo op.  And it was.  :)

I absolutely loved this journey along the Gardner River.  The river is so gorgeous and I love love love a good curvy drive with scenic views, and the North Entrance Road has that in spades.  That's one reason I drove this route twice in as many days!  

I'm so thankful that I have these pictures and memories of this beautiful drive.  

Just one year later, Yellowstone received unprecedented amounts of rain which caused a 500-year flood event.  The North Entrance Road along with the North East Entrance Road were severely damaged and the North Entrance road was determined to be unrepairable.  Within days, the National Park Service quickly reopened the Old Gardner Road - originally built in 1879 - after hauling and applying tons of gravel.  It served as a passable one-lane road for employees to shuttle to and from Gardner. It has now been improved into a two-lane and is above the Gardner River rather than hugging it through the canyon. 

I, of course, haven't driven the new road but it sounds like it is a scenic route as well; it's just different from what I experienced.  And what I experienced was magical. 

A few turns from the 45th parallel, I saw a small group of elk walking by the river so of course I pulled over and got out of my car with my camera.  

As it's a narrow river, the elk were quite aware of me but didn't seem to be concerned.  The younger member of the group waded into the river and walked upstream a bit. 

After this magical encounter, I made my way back to Mammoth Hot Springs campground.  I loved my spot!  Lovely view and close to the bathrooms.  haha

I parked and sat in my car to eat some dinner. 

And then!  Another magical moment!  This time with a mama and teenager Elk.  They were coming down the road right towards my campsite!  I exchanged food for camera and started taking photos from my car. 

The mama elk led her baby down the road while they stopped to graze every so often. 

Pretty soon, there were in my campsite.  They just wandered everywhere and I do mean everywhere.  The baby even stuck it's head through some trees and looked at me!

Then he made his way through the trees and stood looking at me from not too many yards away. 

And then it walked back to the other side, pretty close to my car!  I had my window open to take the photos and it was so cool!  

And then they met up across the road and went back the way they came. 

Wow.  What a day!  My encounters with the Wapiti were definitely going to be a a legend in my mind for a long time.  I'll say it again...Yellowstone is AMAZING!

And then, to finish off my day, a Black-billed Magpie landed on the tree right above my windshield!  I love magpies but the ones that live near me are Yellow-billed Magpies so I was so excited to get a (decent) picture through the windshield of my car.  

What a wonderful day!  I finished my dinner and then prepared for sleep not knowing what wonders the next day would bring!

xoxo

Nikon D600 28-300 lens

Nikon D7200 150-600 lens

I Saw a Touron in the Wild! - Mama Elk Wins at Lake Yellowstone Hotel May 20, 2021

Mama Elk, Baby Elk, and Touron were all okay at the end.  But more on that later... 

Previously in the Grand Tetons/Yellowstone series:

Grizzly and Wolf Center in West Yellowstone

Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons Day 1, Jenny Lake Campground, Elk Herd

Beautiful Jenny Lake, Foxes and Bears

Lovely Vistas full of Bison and Horses

Mormon Row, Pronghorn Antelope, and Ravens

Wildlife Art, Yellow-bellied Marmot, Colter Bay, and Ground Squirrels

Colter Bay to South Yellowstone

Black Sand Basin and Bison

More Bison, Old Faithful, Biscuit Basin, and Beginning of Artemisia Trail Hike

Hike to Morning Glory Pool! Plus Bison with Red Dogs, Elk, and Coyotes

Fountain Paint Pots and Grand Prismatic Spring

We're back on the road in beautiful Yellowstone National Park!  In my humble opinion, everything about Yellowstone is just magical.  And this drive just proved me right!

A little preview of our title:  Mama and Baby Elk  

Can you see the baby?

The Touron involved did NOT see the baby or she might have made different choices.  But again, more on that later. 

We'll start with a map of where we went on this glorious day after a storm. The pink over the red line is the focus of our drive.  Left Madison Campground pretty early, went to Fountain Paint Pots and Grand Prismatic (last post), and now we are driving the southern-most part of the Grand Loop road. 

I pretty quickly arrived at West Thumb but to my dismay, the parking lots were full since it was mid-day.  So that will definitely be on my next trip's itinerary. 

I kept driving until I found a beautiful beach still bordered by ice on the water!  It was gorgeous.  And what a contrast with the dark, pebbled beach.  It was so peaceful that I just sat for a long while, drinking it in. 

 

I loved the textures created between the ice and water. 

And the textures on the beach were unmatched. 

Love these shots of the Absaroka Range across Lake Yellowstone to the East.  Such beautiful mountains!

And if you look hard at the next photo, you can see a line of beautiful ducks on the shore of the little island(?) or peninsula(?).  Unfortunately for me the distance made it too difficult for me to ID their species.

I love ducks. 

And more ice along the shore along with some cool-looking rocks.  I don't know if it was man made but it was the only formation like this that I could see. 

After I admired the Lake and beaches for awhile, I hopped back into my car and kept driving towards the Lake Yellowstone Hotel which would be my next stop. 

On the way I passed a burn scar area.  It's beautiful, as is most of Yellowstone (if not all), but brought a feeling of thoughtful sadness concerning the previous devastation and loss of animal lives during prior fires. 

But the visible rejuvenation brings out a sense of hope as well.  

Shortly after, I found myself at the hotel. I pulled around the driveway to the back road which stands between the hotel and the lake and spied a group of people in the lakeside parking lot staring towards the hotel - many with cameras. 

Technically the hotel was still closed so I wondered what was going on.  Then I saw a big, beautiful elk on the lawn. This photo is approximately what it looked like to the naked eye although I cropped it instead of shooting it at 50mm.  

Still, the rapt interest with which everyone was looking seemed a little excessive for a lone elk just walking around on the lawn.  So I asked the nearest camera bearer.  And he pointed out a baby elk semi-hidden under a small tree!  

There is a red circle in the photo above, which is where the baby is. Mama was walking around the lawn and grazing and mostly ignoring the people. 

The next photo is a screenshot from a shaky-ass video I took. It shows a lady who I will not call a Touron but possibly should.  She was sitting on the left side of the lawn across a driveway of sorts and just watching the mama elk pace around 

The elk did not seem bothered by her, but if she changed her mind, this lady would have been toast. 

Luckily that didn't happen.  The mama elk continued her lazy circle of the lawn, grazing as she went. 

Ohhh the baby is so cute!!

Although mama seemed relaxed, she was ever vigilant.  She watched the people moving around on the road and it seemed like she looked right at me a couple times. 

Now for the Title Story: Touron in the Wild!

So as I was standing there watching, a car came up and passed in front of me.  It was a family of four:  dad (driving), mom, and two little girls. The Touron was in this car.  

They pulled up beside the driveway where the older lady was sitting and proceeded to ask some of the people if the restaurant was open.  Most people said it was not. 

I took this opportunity to walk down to the little beach on the other side of the parking lot. And I'm so glad I did. 

Did I mention that I love ducks?  I think I did. And what did I see but two beautiful ducks on the water!

Awesome!  A male (right) and female (left).  And as I watched they slowly made their way to shore. 

Barrow's Goldeneye! They're so lovely! And a lifer for me.  :)  

After observing the ducks swim to shore, I headed back up to the parking lot.  When I got to my car, I saw that the family had parked right beside me, and the dad and two girls were standing there looking at the lake.  I didn't notice the mom. 

I was back watching Mama Elk when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a bright pink shirt to my left and saw the mom walking up the driveway to the back porch of the hotel!  Luckily Mama Elk was on the right side of the lawn. 

We all watched her in fascination, wondering what she was trying to do.  She seemed completely oblivious to the Elk Mama and the possible danger she might be in.  

She went up to the porch and peered in a few windows and knocked on the doors. There were mutterings amongst the people on the road.  

And then?  She began to walk back down.  The Elk Mama was walking towards the left side of the lawn.  She saw the bright pink shirt!

And then it happened:  Mama Elk started to trot towards the women with increasing pace. The people on the road - myself included - started yelling out to the women, trying to let her know she was in danger. 

Her children started crying and the husband asked me what was going on.  I pointed out the Elk Mama and told him she had a baby hidden so she would be protective and possibly fierce. 

It took the woman a second to realize what all the yelling was about.  And then she saw Mama coming towards her and she smartly turned around and ran back to the porch!

Mama Elk looked like she was trying to figure out how to get up there so the woman went to the right side of the porch and hid behind one of the pillars. 

That's her arm in the red circle.  lol  She was up there for about 5-8 minutes with Mama Elk completely fixated on her and stepping back and forth.

Suddenly the previously locked porch doors came open and the staff quickly called for the lady to come inside!  

After a few minutes, we saw a bright pink shirt come out of the doors that were halfway down the building.  I pointed it out to her husband who quickly bundled the girls into the car and drove down to pick her up.  

A happy ending to a semi-moronic story.  lol

And with that, I decided it was time for me to head out as well. On to our next destination - Fishing Bridge and the icy mouth of the Yellowstone River. 

The original bridge was built in 1902 but this one was built in 1937.  It is no longer a fishing bridge; the bridge was closed to fishing due to the decline of the cutthroat trout.  But you can still observe fish from the bridge. 

I did a lot more driving on this day and saw a lot more wildlife and gorgeous scenery.  But I think we'll end this post here at the mouth of the Yellowstone River with Yellowstone Lake and the Absaroka Range in the distant background.  

See you next time!  Be well and be kind. And go on adventures! :)

xoxo

Nikon D600 28-300mm Nikkor lens

Nikon D7200 150-600mm Sigma Contemporary lens

Some photos Sharpened/Denoised with Topaz Photo AI