Yellowstone National Park
The trip from the airport to the hotel took about 40 minutes, with little to no traffic (except in Bozeman), 75-80 mph speed limits outside the towns, and some wide-open roads. We checked in at the hotel, dropped our gear off and promptly drove ten minutes south to a pull off along the river. One thing about Montana is that if there is a river, there is a pull off for swimming, boating or fishing access. We clambered out or the car, made our way down a shallow embankment and jumped into the Yellowstone river. The water was cold but felt amazing, especially after our morning of flights. The heat of the 92F/32C degree weather and the cold water was exactly what we needed to recharge. We relaxed there in the sun with a cold beer, hopping in the water to cool off as needed. After a few hours, we headed down the road deeper into the Paradise valley to find a nice patio and some dinner.
Twenty minutes later we were at the foot of those same mountains, stopped at a place called Chico Hot Springs Resort. We walked around for a bit checking the resort out, looking at the thermal pool and the other facilities before hunger mandated we decide on dinner. Chico has a couple places to eat on its grounds, but we wanted to be outside so we grabbed a spot on the patio of the Saloon and ordered a Jerk Chicken Sandwich and a Bigger Mack Burger along with a few Cold Smoke Scotch Ales. Both the chicken and the burger were pretty amazing, and the beers hit the spot as well. We sat there for a while chatting with a local couple at a table across from us about different things before calling it a night. We made a plan to come back tomorrow to soak in the hot spring pools after the day’s adventures.
The next day we were up and out early, heading down the Paradise valley toward Gardiner, Montana, which marks the Northern entrance to Yellowstone. The hour drive took an extra thirty minutes because we kept stopping to take pictures of random rivers, mountains, and elk along the road. At the park entrance we handed over the $35 fee and we were on our way into the park, and promptly got a few hundred feet before we stopped again to take pictures of some pronghorn grazing on the prairie. They were just there, doing their thing, eating, with not a care in the world. We drove on a bit more before parking along the side of the road to climb a large hill to get a top-notch view of the mountains surrounding us and valley behind us.
Our first big stop of the day was Mammoth Hot Springs, and from a distance it looked more like a snow-covered hill, then a hot spring. The place was impressive, rising out of the ground like some sort of weird alien landscape. Once you drove closer you saw it for what it was, with rising steam and pools of hot water interspersed among the rocks. The whitish colour that we saw from a distance was a result of calcium carbonate deposits over the years. Some of the formations reminded me of Roman columns while others would seem more at home on the inside of a cave. We were there early enough so the crowd was sparse, and we were able to make our way around on the boardwalks to see the pools and rock formations with minimal interaction with people. The walk itself wasn’t too bad, although it had a pretty decent vertical to it and it was very hot out.
Our next stop was Norris Geyser Basin and Steamboat Geyser, and then onto Lower Geyser Basin…except the traffic and the crowd had other plans. The road to Norris Geyser Basin was very congested and there were so many people, that in the interest of time, and not wanting to ruin a great day being surrounded by all kinds of people in the blazing sun, we kept on driving. After brief stops at Roaring Mountain, Beryl Springs and Gibbons Falls for some pictures, we arrived at our main destination.
Lower Geyser Basin was crowded, but nowhere near as bad as Norris Geyser Basin and Steamboat. We parked the car, donned our masks and headed out onto the boardwalk trail which wove in and out of the paint pots, hot springs, boiling pools and geysers. I was impressed with both the Fountain and Clepsydra geysers which kept spewing water and steam. Another site which I really enjoyed was the Celestine Pool, with a calm surface and a deep blue colour which masked the extremely dangerous temperature of the water. Unfortunately, this beautiful pool is actually a place that has claimed a human life in the Lower Geyser Basin.
Our final planned stop of the day was Old Faithful, the iconic geyser which for many is the image of Yellowstone park itself. When we arrived, the geyser had just gone off and the crowds were melting away to their vehicles or to the lodges in the area. That was fine with us though, it gave us plenty of time to get some water and an ice cream, before finding a quiet spot in the shade. Old Faithful erupts roughly every ninety minutes, so we had about 50 minutes until its’ next eruption once we settled down. As the time got closer, more people showed up and crowed onto the boardwalk to get a close-up view. However, I was quite content with my spot under a tree about 60 yards from the boardwalk which allowed plenty of social distancing and a solid enough view of the geyser erupting.
And with the conclusion of the eruption, we were on our way out of the park and heading back to our home base. Before we arrived however we made with two quick stops, one to snap some pictures of a herd of Elk we saw, and the second to cool off in the Yellowstone river. We saw a ton of things today and we exhausted, but it was worth it. Just to be outside and see some of the natural wonders Wyoming had hidden away in Yellowstone really made us both glad we took a chance. Tomorrow we had planned another busy day of exploring Yellowstone Park and figured we better be well rested for it!