The second day we drove to Gardiner, at the northern entrance to Yellowstone. We stayed at a hotel in Gardiner for 2 nights.
The day after we arrived we hired a GPS with position activated voice commentary of the park and it's sights. At USD$50 for a 24-hour period, it was worth every penny. It worked really well and gave us an informative and entertaining commentary of every sight and landmark in the park as well as it's history, it was really a fantastic device, I can highly recommend it to anyone, without reservation. Far better than taking an organised tour on a bus or coach, all the information without the hassle.
So, with 2 GPS's installed off we went into the north entrance, $25 entry fee for 7 days - not bad at all.
We thought we may find Yellowstone a bit ho-hum especially after visiting the thermal areas like Craters of the Moon, Rotorua and the boiling mud fields near Taupo, in New Zealand so often - BUT, not on your life.
The sheer enormity and number of the thermal fields is quite frankly, amazing. As one drives through the park (200 miles on day one and about 80 miles on day two), the sights and sounds are something to experience. Very often the topography changes so much one feels that a total different county has been entered.
One thermal field seems more impressive than the last, one geyser seems bigger, better, hotter and higher than the last and the colour of the water in these thermal areas is quite something - crystal clear and the most magnificent blue one can imagine.
One of the most impressive thermal sites is the Mammoth Hot Springs area - the size and colour of this area is stunning. Unlike NZ, the residue or minerals on the springs is marble-like in colour and appearnace
Of course, we had to "do" Old Faithfull, complete with thousands of other tourists, from all over the world. We arrived about 30 minutes before the next anticipated "blow" but while waiting the geyser behind it let off steam. This geyser is called Castle Geyser and in my opinion it was more impressive than Old Faithfull.
Old Faithfull, when it did let off steam, started very slowly and half-heartedly and for a slight moment we thought we were going to be terribly disappointed, but, a few minutes later it let go and we watched it release its steam and water. According to a guide at the park, the water currently being ejected is in the vicinity of 500 years old - long before Columbus discovered America!
Yellowstone Lake is enormous and impressive and the 40 mile drive along it shoreline was great with many sights to see.
We got to see thousands of Bison, quite a few elk, some had the most magnificent "racks", white-tailed deer, coyotes, prairie dogs and plenty eagles and hawks. Unfortunately we saw no bears or wolves but apparently they go to the top slopes of the mountains in summer.
One a number of occasions we had to stop the car as either a bison, elk or coyote was crossing the road. I managed to get a few great videos of the animals and the park.
We left Yellowstone via West Yellowstone, a small tourist town at the Western entrance / exit to the park. It's a typical tourist town complete with dozens of shops selling mostly the same goods, but interesting nevertheless.