Our last day in Yellowstone Park and we woke with mixed emotions. We were sad that our Yellowstone adventure was over, but we were excited to be heading home. Imagine my surprise when I opened the cabin door to get the truck and found this…

…Elk calf enjoying a little breakfast just outside our door…and then I noticed the white stuff! SNOW on June 8!

Just a dusting by our standard, but fun and exciting nonetheless.

After brushing the snow off the truck, we loaded up, got a little breakfast, and headed out. Our route took us up the hill south of Mammoth Hot Springs and we saw the sign to drive the Upper Terrace Loop. We decided on a little side trip adventure. Holy cow – were we in for a surprise!

In this view, Mammoth Hot Springs is on the left just outside the frame. The road you see is headed to Tower Junction.

Looking down to Mammoth Hot Springs…with the snow, the colors were wonderful.

And then we found the Upper Terrace. This view through some trees…

…and this view of the Upper Terrace. This image went viral on the ‘Wyoming Through the Lens’ group on Facebook. I printed it as a triptych (3 panels, each 13″ wide x 19″ high) and display it in my home.

Having gotten in the habit of taking pictures of our ride each day, I couldn’t pass up the PhotoFun50 in the snow!

Continuing down to Madison Junction, the scenery and wildlife did not disappoint. We found several herds of Elk close to the road.

We had pulled off the road and I walked back to where we saw several Elk. When I came back to the truck, I saw this pair – closer – with a nice view of the river in the background.

This Elk cow was a little further down the road…and something on my left had her attention.

I love the new green grass under the snow cover, with a little frosting on the trees.

Beautiful scenery everywhere you look.

Of course, the Bison were looking for something to eat.

Leaving the Park by the west entrance, we passed all the Saturday traffic trying to get in. Some of our friends from the Yellow Bus were headed east and some were headed south to catch their plane at Jackson Hole. We’re not sure how their trips went, as the storm had closed the roads to the south, east, and northeast entrances to Yellowstone. The storm also closed Bear Tooth Pass, where we had traveled the week before (the day after that road had opened from the winter snows). Obviously, we got home safe and sound, a couple thousand miles added to the odometer of my pickup.

Thanks for sharing our adventure. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR