Yellowstone NP, part I

After 4 hours of driving from Twin Falls, we arrived in West Yellowstone, Montana. This small and touristy town, right next to the Yellowstone National Park entrance.

Yellowstone National Park is the oldest national park in the world. With 8987 km² area it is one of the largest national parks in the United States. 96 percent of the park are located in Wyoming, 3 percent in Montana and 1 percent in Idaho. Yellowstone is best known for its geothermal springs such as geysers and mud pots, as well as its wildlife such as bisons, bears and wolves. In 1978, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site.

We were greeted by a Bison (Bison bison) and a fantastic scenery. An Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) had chosen the top of a tree as a lookout point.

Bison bison - American Bison

Sunrise Scenery

Pandion haliaetus - Osprey

Together with many other people, we watched the most famous geyser Old Faithful errupt and walked along a boardwalk trail in the Upper Geyser Basin.

Old Faithful

Heart Spring

Spasmodic Geyser

Although night temperatures were already down to 0°C (32°F) and the trail was pretty crowded, we saw a Wandering Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans vagrans) close to Firehole River. The bluish eyes indicate the forthcoming shedding of the skin.

Wandering Garter Snake in its habitat

Thamnophis elegans vagrans - Wandering Garter Snake

Firehole River

Crested Pool

Morning Glory Pool

Twin Falls

We left San Francisco very early in the morning. After 11 hours of driving, we arrived in Twin Falls, Idaho. My girlfriend and I took turns driving, but we were still exhausted when we finally made it to our new destination. Twin Falls is a nice town surrounded by beautiful nature and many waterfalls, including the huge Shoshone Falls on the Snake River. I like the river's name by the way... very promising. 

Shoshone Falls is 65 m (212 feet) high

...higher than Niagara Falls

On the trails around the Shoshone Falls viewpoint we observed some lizards. When I was photographing these little reptiles, I think the people around were confused seeing me crawling between the rocks.

Sceloporus occidentalis longipes - Great Basin Fence Lizard 

We also liked the Perrine Coulee Falls, which you can view from the West Canyon Rim Trail.

Perrine Coulee Falls

We kept looking for reptiles in the rocky area around Snake River. After a little hiking we were succesfull.

Habitat around Snake River

Sceloporus g. graciosus - Northern Sagebrush Lizard

Sceloporus occidentalis longipes - Great Basin Fence Lizard

The highlight was the find of our first snake: a juvenile Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus).

Masticophis taeniatus - Striped Whipsnake

Portrait of the same snake

San Fran Sea Lions

My girlfriend and I have planned a round trip through the west of the United States.
The journey starts in the famous and popular city of San Francisco.

Heading for San Francisco Airport

However, I have to say that I am absolutely not a city guy. It was certainly interesting to experience San Francisco, but also exhausting. The sights like Golden Gate Bridge or Lombard Street were very crowded. Generally, the city is incredibly expensive. For example, we were recommended to eat in the Cheesecake Factory. We followed this advice, but had to pay more than 10 dollars for a (small) single piece of lime cheesecake.... 

Our favorite was the entertaining colony of the California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) at Pier 39. A lot of people are squeezed together to watch and take pictures, but you can ignore the crowds of people, while enjoying the funny animals. I will spare you the city's standard sightseeing pictures and show just some of the Sea Lions.

Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf

The second "happy couple picture" of this post

Scratching and resting  

...looks like this one is almost falling asleep while swimming