Yellowstone, Check!!!

Entering Yellowstone with our newly acquired serpentine belt and our Annual National Parks Pass, we drove directly to the campground to secure a spot. This place is like an amusement park, minus the amusement. Tons of slow moving traffic and people everywhere with giant name tags on, wearing bad sun visors with cameras around their necks. We cozied up to our not very private spot, H-380, of something like 425 camp sites. We instantly made friends with our new neighbors from Oklahoma. They were about our parents age cruising around the states with their tent, mini van and Harley on a trailer. They were so impressed with our van that they asked for a tour. Jamie, the husband, couldn't believe that a shower could fit inside our bathroom and opened the door in awe. After the grand tour, we talked for a bit about traveling and life and things to do and see in the park. Debbie then began to tell us about all the missionary work they've done throughout the world and it was at this time that we decided Yellowstone was calling us. We graciously said our goodbyes and hit the road in search of wildlife.

According to the guide map, dusk and dawn are the two best times to see wildlife in the park. Knowing full well that we will never get up at dawn unless we have a flight to catch or the van is on fire, we thought dusk seemed like the right fit for us. On the road we instantly saw buffalo just hanging out mowing on grass. Herds of elk walked through the fields near the creek and the smell of sulfur filled our nostrils. We stopped at several small thermal pools, mud volcanoes, and small geysers before returning to camp in the dark where we grilled steak, just a little bit glad that our missionary friends were already snoozing. 

The next day it was decided to grudge-f$#% Yellowstone. As Kai pointed out, you can easily see the whole park in a day and then bail. So that's what we did. We hit Old Faithful at the perfect time, watched it spew its hot waters for several minutes before walking the board walk trail to see all the smaller yet impressive geysers and pools. Nearly starved to death from the excitement, I insisted on getting lunch at the lodge's cafeteria rather than making yet another ham and cheese wrap in the van. Big mistake. The cattle call line should have warned us of our fate, but yet the menu seemed intriguing.. pulled pork sandwiches, pasta, salads, buffalo chicken burgers? It all sounded so good. It wasn't though. It was the worst meal we've eaten so far and we've eaten in the Yukon. When in Yellowstone, don't do as we did... pack your own lunch. That food was gross. 

Moving on, we continued to spot animals off in the distance like we were on a safari. The weather was perfect and the scenery wasn't too shabby either. That evening we approached the northwest area of the park and found the Boiling River, which is the only swimming spot allowed in the park. The Boiling River is a thermal, steaming hot stream that comes out of the ground and flows over rocks into the Gardiner River- which is ice cold. But if you get the perfect spot it's like a natural hot tub. When someone walked through the rocks it was like someone flushed the toilet while you were in the shower as the cold Gardiner current hit you. We sat in the rocky natural hot tub for a while before hiking back to the road to finish the rest of this grudge-f$&% tour of America's first national park.

It was now dusk and the animals were out in full swing. I looked at the guide and complained to Kai that I had yet to see a wolf, bear, mule deer, or a yellow bellied marmot. Kai said, "Just wait, there will be something around this corner." And sure enough, the yellow bellied marmot posted up on the side of the road just like in the picture! Later on we noticed a huge cluster-f#$% of traffic and I had remembered reading how the rangers here can tell what kind of wildlife spotting it is according to how messed up the parking is. There were a at least 30 cars and RVs parked in the opposite lane of traffic and people everywhere with binoculars, I thought, "This must be something good.." It was, there was a grizzly bear was kickin' it in the valley below oblivious to the gawkers above. We continued to see more animals and even got caught in a buffalo traffic jam on the way back to camp. 

The next morning we road our bikes to a natural rock formed bridge before driving to the Yellowstone Falls. There we hiked Uncle Tom's Trail down the 328 steps to the breathtaking view point of the falls. We were there all of 4 minutes before turning around and huffing and puffing back up the 500 foot drop to the visitors center. Check! Done and done. We totally kicked Yellowstone's ass.