We left the Jackson airport around 1 p.m. and headed north on US 89 toward Yellowstone. We missed the turnoff at Moose for the inner drive and continued on 89 at a distance from the Tetons. We weren’t sure the mountains to our left really were the Tetons because they just didn’t seem that big from where we were. We stopped at Teton Point Turnout to get a few pictures.

We arrived at the Lake Hotel at Yellowstone around 3:30 p.m. and checked in. I thought we were at the Lake Lodge Cabins, but they were closing on the 17th. We were in the Lake Hotel Cabins. Our cabin was kind of disappointing to look at from the outside and generally looked like a regular motel room on the inside. It was painted yellow to match the Lake Hotel, and that color seemed out of place. Over the week, however, we really got to like our cabin a lot.

After we got checked in, unpacked and settled in, we did a little driving. We drove to Fishing Bridge just before dusk. We saw our first bison on the way and stopped to take pictures. Little did we know how many bison we would see in the next week.

At Fishing Bridge, we saw a couple of pesky ravens and some waterfowl that looked like loons in the Yellowstone River. We stopped at the Hamilton General Store at Fishing Bridge to get some fishing tips. Rooster tails are legal in Yellowstone, even though they contain lead. Since rooster tails are Lew’s favorite lure, he called the company to check what they are made of. When he found out they contain lead, he figured they would be illegal in Yellowstone, so we bought a bunch of other lures to take along. The clerk said all their lures were approved by the National Park Service, so we could have used the rooster tails. He suggested we check out the fishing by the Fishing Bridge Visitor’s Center.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped and walked out on Fishing Bridge. Up until the 1970’s, you could fish right from the bridge. There’s a descriptive marker showing pictures of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder on the bridge catching cutthroat trout. Fishing was banned because the area around the bridge is a big spawning spot for cutthroat trout and the fishing was depleting them. It was also getting too dangerous.

There were lots of LARGE trout under the bridge. It’s no wonder people liked to fish there.

We also saw some goldeneyes swimming out towards the lake.