Up before 6:00 to get breakfast out of the way and be on the road north so we might beat any crowds that could have the same idea we have for our day.

Trekking up the mountain was great in the early morning, except for the 1300-foot (396m) elevation gain.

Along the way, we passed a large herd of bighorn sheep that paid us absolutely no mind as we and other hikers went by within eight feet of the resting animals.

Thank our lucky stars, we made an early start on hiking Mt. Washburn in Yellowstone National Park. Not only would today be in the 90s (33c) but by afternoon, the mosquitoes, deer flies, and horse flies were unbearable. The peak of Mt Washburn is up at 10,243 feet (3122m) and offers the best view of Yellowstone and the surrounding mountain ranges, including the Grand Tetons, the Bear Tooth, and the Absaroka.

On the way up, I was forced to take many breaks as not only the elevation took its toll, but so did my extra weight. On the way down in the afternoon, we could not stop more than once or twice due to the mosquitoes buzzing about our ears, threatening action while the flies were all business: one moment of pause and they hooked on for a mid-day snack.

This is our sixth visit to Yellowstone, and not a single corner, bend, or spot in the park is so familiar that we can overlook it.

Mammoth Hot Springs was convenient enough to drop in on, and although we were supposed to be focusing on new places, we couldn’t help but revisit the familiar.

Not two hundred feet away and everything looks different.

Not the best photo of a bear, but a bear.

It’s all so beautiful we just have to grab more photos to drag home with us.

Around this time, we started getting bored, so we made our way back to the Old Faithful Inn, took up seats at the sports bar, and watched something featuring a ball and a bunch of men running around; just kidding, there’s no sports bar at Old Faithful Inn, we had to watch this in our room. Ah, just kidding again; there are no televisions at Yellowstone. Come to think about it and if I want to be truthful, we don’t watch sports, and we certainly didn’t get bored.