YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-12-11

Here they are again this morning.  The elk hanging out.  And why not?  They could go up on the plateau and chomp on sagebrush and dodge the wolves who might want to eat them or hang out here, soft grass--no wolves.  Since we got a late start we're having breakfast here and checking out before our hike.  Breakfast, we agree, rivals Waffle Shop.  Tom can't even finish his pancakes with blueberries, but is getting a to go box.  I ate the granola and blueberries and the top layer of oatmeal.  Well fueled we will take on Bensen Peak with a 1,300 ft climb.  Views better be good!!  The views were absolutely worth it.  And although it was a 1,300 foot climb in 2.1 miles, it was switch-backed so well and the views were so great that we hardly even noticed.  We checked in on the elk in Mammoth and then headed to Gardiner to check e-mail and let all know that we are well.  Coming back to Fishing Bridge we stopped at a river fed by a hot spring.  Tom got in to his knees and reported some toasty warm water.  Many folks were in the river just soaking in the hot water.  On the way home we had two animal-jams - one for a black bear and one for the bison.