Yellowstone Part 3 and Grand Teton National Park

Mike's truck was exhibiting some issue with the transmission so we found a Dodge dealer in Jackson, WY, and drove down from Yellowstone just east of Grand Teton National Park.  We started out fairly early in the day and found this guy grazing by the side of the road.  We had wondered where the stags were, as we had seen lots of elk cows and calves but no stags.  They stay in the high country until fall when the velvet falls off the antlers and they fight for breeding rights with the cows.

Note the velvet hanging from his antlers.  He's not quite finished rubbing it off.  The passing cars and gawking tourists didn't seem to phase him at all.  He passed so close to the truck I could have reached out and touched him.  Good luck this fall, big guy!

Returning from Jackson, we detoured into Grand Teton National Park.  Same traffic and crowd problems we have encountered in all the national parks so far.  Couldn't even get close to the visitor center.  We drove north to an area where we could picnic and then drove south along the shore of Jenny Lake.  

Beautiful, clear lake, and quite cold.  We did see a few brave souls dangling their feet but it must have been freezing.  

Imagine our surprise, as we turned into the campground, to be greeted at the entrance by this guy.  His name is Henry and he likes to visit Fishing Bridge Campground fairly regularly.  

Biscuit Basin

Our last day in Yellowstone we headed over to the southwest part of the park in the general vicinity of Old Faithful.  We got lucky and found a parking spot in the Biscuit Basin area.  Below are photos I took.  This entire area is eerie...steam vents, small geysers, scalding hot pools.  

Notice that there is a railing only on the section of the boardwalk closest to the parking lot.  I saw several tourists taking photos or selfies who could easily have stepped off the boardwalk.

Sapphire Pool

We tried to see two different areas called paint pots.  Traffic was the Wild West, with cars parked ON the road, blocking the outbound lane.  After waiting for some time to progress, when we got to the parking lot, we saw the problem.  Mike somehow turned the truck around (?) and we exited without seeing the paint pots.

This brings me to my final thoughts on the national parks:  they are out of control.  In Canada, you buy a pass for a date; and they check the receipt when you are in the park.  If your receipt is expired, they politely but firmly point you toward the exit.  They have traffic "cops" everywhere getting people in and out of the lots and keeping people from parking illegally and blocking the roads.  At Lake Louise, they actually close off access to the park when the numbers hit a certain level.  

Our national parks do nothing of the kind.  Just let enormous tour buses with dozens of visitors block parking lots and roads, ignore cars parked in areas which block access, look on benignly at the traffic and congestion chaos.  

If you are planning a trip to a national park, plan to go the first two weeks in May or the last two weeks in September.  You may actually get to see the park.  June, July, and August are increasingly impossible.  After this trip, I am done with the national park system.  We have found that the national monuments and national forests have far fewer visitors and in many cases, are just as beautiful.