05-22-2026 Friday Lamar Valley, Sough Creek Hike, Yellowstone

Today’s destination is Lamar Valley. This valley is supposed to be full of wildlife if you get into the area around 5:30 or 6:30 AM. From Fishing Bridge, it was an hour-and-a-half drive, so an early morning was not possible for us. I think if we ever come back, we would stay in West Yellowstone and get there early in the morning. West Yellowstone has a nice-looking RV park. 

We did stop at an overlook area, and a person who works for Yellowstone Forever had a scope hooked up to her iPhone. She let us look through it. We saw a black wolf running through the valley. Such a beautiful sight. Barry and I decided we are going to get a scope as she has. It will be great for all the NP Sites we plan on visiting. She had a map that showed each area where the different wolf packs hang out. The name of each pack is in the colored area of the map. 

We stopped at the Tower Falls area and took photos. I could hear a bird but could not see it. I pulled out my Merlin app and recorded it. It turned out to be a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I finally saw it and added it to my life list in Merlin. The mountains on the opposite side of the falls have rock formations that look like fortifications for a fort, very cool. 

Doesn't this look like fort fortifications?

Checking out the photos he took. 

In this area, we also observed a Black Bear on the roadside. We pulled over quickly, on a good slope, and parked, then walked a few yards up the road. The bear was eating something on the ground and barely brought its head up. Whatever it was, it must have been really yummy! As we continued to observe the bear, a ranger came by and told us we should not be parking on the side of the road. We obviously agreed with her, walked back to our jeep, and headed out. The bear was the same size as the one we have on our property. 

We drove to the Slough Creek area and decided to hike the trail. We hiked a mile up and decided to head back. The trail continued for a few more miles to Bliss Pass. The hike was uphill, and given how far we had come, we might have taken the trail farther if we had had more time. On the way back, we saw two snakes, one about a foot long and one about eight inches. Both looked like gopher snakes. I’m not a snake fan, so this was not something I was excited about.

We were going to go farther into Lamar Valley to hopefully observe more animals and see if we could visit the Forever Yellowstone Institute, but on the way out of the Slough Creek area, the jeep started making noises. It sounded like a rock hitting metal. The noise was on my side. It was really weird. As we drove further down the road, it continued. This was not something we could figure out.  I spotted two antelopes down the ravine next to the road. Where they were positioned was a tough spot for a photo, but I was able to get one. 

The noise continued, so we decided to head back. Once we hit the main road, about a mile later, the noise stopped. Very weird. The jeep seemed to ride more smoothly and quietly. There is a part we have been waiting for for months, but Chrysler is having trouble getting it. There are thousands of people waiting for it. It's just a sensor for the ABS system. The ABS warning light stayed on, but after the noise stopped, it went out. Barry pulled over to a viewing area and called our mechanic. Bottom line, he had no idea. Too much stress, and we were still worried on the way back to Julie.

It ran great all the way back to the campground. Who knows what was going on? The only thing we could figure out was that there had been something stuck for a while, and it worked itself loose. That’s our theory for now. Once we reached camp, we were happy to be safe. 

Tomorrow will be another adventure. 

I'll end this post with a cute photo of a ground squirrel from the Sough Creek Area. 

Copyright © 2026 by Jacqueline Threet Henderson, Jacqueline's Jaunts. All rights reserved.