I was still loading the car on the ramp when my friend's flight came in. We poked around the Madison Junction area in the late afternoon and got to the Fountain Paintpot boardwalk just after sunset.
We visited the Norris Geyser Basin and Mammoth Hot Springs, with numerous stops along the way. Then, on the way to the Lake Lodge, we came upon an area that had gotten a significant amount of hail, and where a lightning strike had apparently set a tree on fire.
Some elk bedded down in front of the lodge made for a good start to the morning. We heard about a grizzly camped out at an elk carcass near the road to the east and went to check it out. Then it was off to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.