Wow. Yellowstone.

Mammoth Hot Springs

I'd never been to Yellowstone and one thing on my mind was, "How will it stand up to Yosemite?" which I've only been to once, but was awestruck by its grandeur. I've come away deciding both are spectacular. Yosemite is the winner in my mind for the beauty of the natural features. But Yellowstone's array of hydrothermal features makes it the winner for amazement and curiosity. They're both spectacular in different ways, and I think both are "must go" places.

I'm headed slowly towards home now, but thought I'd share a little bit of Yellowstone.

Travertine terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs

There were bison (buffalo) herds everywhere, but on the evening I drove through the Mammoth area,
there was a herd of them right in the middle of the cluster of buildings

And in the next median, there was a cluster of elk. The elk herds were plentiful in the park as well.

I took my time driving through the Lamar Valley between 5:30 and sunset, hoping to see a good variety of wildlife. I spotted this wolf coming down from a hilltop toward the road, so I stopped to watch it for awhile. It ended up coming down right behind my motorhome to cross the road. I hadn't thought its motives through at the time. After watching it awhile, I moved along, and stopped around a corner to watch the herd of bison in the valley. In that short time, the wolf had taken down a baby buffalo, and the herd was clustering in a panic.
Wildlife being wild here. 

I didn't bring bear spray on my trip, and I kept my trail walking confined to short trails from the road to specific features of interest. Though the park wasn't too busy this time of year, there were always some other people not far away. But I did get two grizzly bear and two black bear sightings from the roadside.
The only "prized wildlife sighting" that I really missed was moose.

Old Faithful doing its thing

Bubbling mud pot. Not very interesting in a still photo, but mesmerizing to watch and listen.