He sniffed the air, steam rising from his thick brown fur as he padded through the deep snow. This was our first encounter with a grizzly bear, the moment we had come to Yellowstone National Park for, and it was truly magnificent.
But while we felt we’d hit the jackpot by seeing a grizzly in the wild – and living to tell the tale! – there’s so much wildlife to see here in the spring that it really is hard to choose a favourite moment.
Perhaps it was the time we spotted a moose grazing on the roadside, or the majestic lone wolf we saw scanning an icy riverbed for food.
Maybe it was the time we got stuck behind a herd of 60 bison as they ambled across the road.
Mesmerising creatures with calm, wise eyes and gentle faces, bison actually cause more deaths than bears in Yellowstone.
Despite weighing a tonne, a bison can run at speeds of up to 30mph and jump 6ft into the air.
Much of Yellowstone sits inside an ancient exploded crater and heat from the volcanic activity creates around 500 hot springs, fumaroles, mud pots and geysers that erupt spectacularly.
It was unlike anything we’d ever experienced before.
Old Faithful and the geysers
Along the main geyser walk, we saw The Grand – the world’s tallest predictable geyser – which shoots steam up to 200ft in the air and Old Faithful geyser, so-called because it spurts hot steam 130ft into the air every 90 minutes.
Getting caught in a whiteout, we could barely see in front of our own noses, and, as the blizzard started to ease, there stood a coyote in a clearing, watching us with beady eyes.
Camping near to the Fountain Paint Pots, we discovered the Red Spouter, a huge bowl of plopping, squelching gloop, the gurgling sounds of Atomizer Geyser and the Clandestine Geyser where sadly, in 1996, a Californian man jumped in to try to save his dog and both died.
The Cruise America RV was perfect for dispersed camping here as we were completely self-contained and didn’t need any facilities.
We walked around the geysers of Biscuit Basin, marvelling at the azure waters of the Sapphire Pool surrounded by orange and red bacteria and microorganisms that thrive in hot temperatures. Near to the misty Grand Prismatic Spring, we saw a vibrantly-coloured bluebird.
The Jewel geyser gave us a big blast every 10 minutes, which was fun. As with all of the national parks, it is accessible due to decked pathways over the hot land, although some were slippery in the ice.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
That night we ended up at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone – a 24-mile-wide golden rockface reaching depths of 1,200 ft with a bright blue waterfall cascading from top to bottom into the river – watching bald eagles circling overhead.
Waking up the next morning to -29C temperatures, we found our boots had frozen to the inside steps of the RV.
Despite the extremities of climate and nature, we never felt vulnerable or under-resourced.
The solid reliability of the trusty RV made us feel snug, secure and safe. It never let us down. We made pancakes, bacon and coffee then put on lots of layers and headed out for more adventures.
We had driven to Yellowstone via Grand Teton National Park, a stunning mountain range, which was even colder due to its altitude. This gave us our first experience of moose, bald and golden eagles, antelope and elk – a taster of what to come as we headed north.
The south and east entrances to Yellowstone were closed due to snowfall, which meant we had to navigate our way through Idaho to enter the park and through Montana to exit.
Wildlife abundant Lamar Valley
Eight foot icicles hung over the winding road around Roaring Mountain, which lived up to its name as belching steam hissed out of its rockface.
Lamar Valley, the best place for wildlife spotting, gave us not one but two bear encounters – the grizzly and then a huge black bear lying under a tree.
It was an absolute treat to watch him from the elevated safety of Yellowstone River Bridge for 20 minutes as he lazily got up and ambled on to a clearly well-trodden track up the hillside.
The terrain here is jaw-dropping and has some great names, from the pretty town of Mammoth Hot Springs and Obsidian Cliff, which towers at 7,383ft high, to the three-tiered Undine Falls.
We drove around 30 miles from Tower-Roosevelt up to the north east entrance, going on a bit of a wild moose chase (literally, we didn’t see any!) but we weren’t disappointed as we saw plenty of bison, antelope, elk and pronghorn.
Making our way out of Yellowstone via Gardiner in the north, a lovely lady in a shop told us there had been a wolf kill that morning right by where we had just driven.
Apparently, a pack of wolves had taken down a bison.
It brought home just how wild this experience really was, how small we were in this huge park and how very lucky we were to share it with our children.
It was around a 265-mile drive to Grand Teton, Wyoming, from Flaming Gorge, Utah, then around 150 miles onto the West Yellowstone entrance.
This would be quicker when the south entrance is open. We did around 450 miles driving around Yellowstone.
Book the holiday
The Motorhome Experts offer USA road trips in 2023 with rental of a Cruise America RV starting from around £100 per day for up to seven people (basic rental). Book early with Flexplan pricing for the cheaper rates. Flights/fuel not included. themotorhomexperts.com
- Plan ahead for winter road closures, research weather conditions and pack accordingly. We slept in base layers and were glad we did!
- Dispersed camping gives you the freedom to sleep under the stars in the heart of your destination. There’s no hassle in booking and finding campgrounds and it’s totally free! Be sure to leave no trace and to be mindful of your surroundings.
- Be prepared. We bought bear spray and extra propane for the hob and fridge, emptied our waste and filled our water tank before heading into the snow as we knew we’d be completely unsupported.
Click here to find out more about Cruise America.
Listen to Zoe's road trip adventure on the award-winning Brummie Mummies podcast here.
