On Saturday, we did a snowcoach tour of the lower loop - from Old Faithful to Lake Yellowstone, up to the Grand Canyon, over to Norris and back down to Old Faithful. It was a full day trip and we saw some amazing scenery. It was incredible to see huge Lake Yellowstone completely frozen over, and to see the immense waterfalls as sheets of solid ice was simply awesome. But the highlight of the day was watching otters frolic at Alum Creek - they chattered and played and really put on a show!

Our tour used an old Bombardier snow coach - most of them were manufactured in the 1950's and 60's and have been in use ever since. They are rougher riding and noisier than the new Mattracks like we entered the park in, but they do have the advantage of a roof hatch that enables you to pop up and take pictures without leaving the vehicle (only when it is stopped, of course!)