day 8: beartooth highway, yellowstone: lamar valley, mammoth hot springs, norris geyser basin.

Hello again, dear friends!

I’m writing from Wilson, Wyoming, just 15 minutes from the entrance to Grand Teton National Park. And we have internet! So I’ll jump right back in . . .

 

Beartooth Highway

This wasn’t really part of our trip itinerary, but is one of those happy surprises that come with road-tripping. The route we took to get from Badlands area in South Dakota to Yellowstone National Park was through part of Montana. I mentioned how much we loved staying the night at the Alpine Inn in Red Lodge.

We woke up early again Wednesday morning and packed up. When David turned in our room key, the nice man at the front desk seemed genuinely hurt that we weren’t staying for the homemade lodge breakfast. The one actually decent breakfast of this whole trip, and we had to get on the road! It was devastating.

He also told David that Beartooth Highway, the mountain road we’d take for about 2 hours before reaching the northeast entrance of the park, is one of the prettiest highways in America. He sighed, “Everybody’s in such a hurry to get to Yellowstone, they can’t even enjoy what’s right here.”

We felt as if we’d personally insulted our kind host, the town of Red Lodge, and the Beartooth Highway!

As we drove the 68-mile stretch, we understood exactly what he meant. It truly is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.

 

 

 

We reached an elevation of 11,000 feet, and marveled at the craggy mountains, studded with patches of snow (“glacial cirques,” as they’re called), the glittering lakes, pine trees, and rocky tundra. We pulled over so that David and the kids could go touch the snow. The photo above makes me laugh (now, not then), because of David’s firm grip on Gabe and Noah’s hands. The ice was slippery and there was a sheer drop in front of them.

But they stood on a glacial cirque, whatever that is!

 

Yellowstone: Lamar Valley, Lamar River hike

It took us about 2 1/2 hours to reach Yellowstone, and I love that we began our stay at the north end of the park in the Lamar Valley. It was far less crowded there, and was a sweeping, lonely, beautiful place.

We got out to begin our hike at the Lamar River and almost instantly saw a pronghorn. David and the kids decided to follow it for a bit.

 

 

 

Next, we saw something even bigger:

 

 

The valley was full of bison. Actually, the whole park was. People told us, “You’ll get as used to seeing bison in Yellowstone as you did elk in Estes Park.” They were right. But it never, ever got old. We love bison.

There was a touchy moment on this hike though. We took the hiking trail up over some hills, then turned around to hike closer to the river. There are so many signs in the park about sticking to the path and being cautious around wildlife, and we did. We stayed on the hiking trail to the river, and saw a herd of bison at the river. We were happy. Did I mention that we love bison? And we’d been hiking near them all morning.

Well something funny happened. As we hiked along, a number of the huge animals looked up at us. Quick as a wink, they were standing up and heading right up the hill toward us, watching us. A whole herd.

So we turned and started casually-and-quickly walking back the way we came, trying to remember our national-park-safety-protocol. Is it bison we’re supposed to run from and bears we must not, under any circumstance? Or the other way around?

Then David and I began arguing in vehement, low tones. Well, I was arguing in vehement tones, and he was not listening to me. The argument was over whether we could stop and take some pictures. Or perhaps just step aside and let the herd pass, then continue on the trail. Because he wanted to take that trail, darn it!

Don’t worry, guys. I prevailed. We got away. Our hearts finally slowed down to a normal rhythm. Well, Amie’s heart and mine did, anyway. The three boys seemed relatively unconcerned, along with their dad. They seemed to think it was an adventure.

There were several baby bison in the herd, so all we could figure is that the parents were feeling protective and decided to make sure we didn’t come closer. Because we saw the huge, regal animals the whole rest of the week and never felt alarmed again.

 

 

 

Just a few minutes later, we saw movement in the brush near the river: a gray wolf! It was huge. It’s rare to see wolves in the park because they stay well hidden, so we were thrilled.

It was an eventful first hike!

 

 

 

Mammoth Hot Springs

Next we drove south to Mammoth Hot Springs. This and Old Faithful were the most crowded parts of the park that we encountered. It was a little jarring to go from peaceful Lamar Valley to the packed Mammoth Springs Village, circling the lots to find parking, following the crowds around the boardwalk in the blazing afternoon sun. But it is truly a remarkable place.

 

 

I knew so little about the hot springs before visiting Yellowstone that I actually thought they were just springs that are hot. But they’re filled with chemicals that cause the “yellow stone” of Yellowstone, and make the pools such vibrant colors.

 

 

They also fill the air with the rotten-egg smell of sulphur!

You can see the village of Mammoth Hot Springs in the picture above, and, crowded as it was, we enjoyed it. In the visitors’ center, there are real, taxidermied animals found in the park, and right outside the visitors’ center, we found elk!

 

 

We walked to the General Store for cold drinks, and sat in the only shady spot we could find that wasn’t occupied — on the strip of grass outside the store. It was perfect.

 

 

Next, we checked out the lobby of the fancy Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, and Gabe and Judah played a round of chess while the rest of us found the bathroom. Isn’t that view something else?

 

 

 

Norris Geyser Basin

We loaded up and drove to our last stop of the day, the Norris Geyser Basin. The line of cars waiting to find parking snaked out into the road, and after waiting awhile, I jumped out of the van and asked a random couple, “Is it really worth it?” They assured me that it was, so we waited for our parking spot.

 

 

 

These eerie wastelands with their dead trees and pillars of steam look like the setting of a post-apocalyptic movie. Or maybe Mordor. It’s hard to believe that they’re real. They have a strange sort of beauty.

 

 

 

 

Nothing says “daddy-daughter bonding” like sweating in front of a sulphurous pool.

 

And that was it for Day 8!

We drove a few miles further to the Canyon Lodge at Canyon Village, and checked into our room. The first time we got to stay in the same place for two nights!

It was a very long day, and we were all dirty and ready to collapse. Our room at the lodge was very nice and clean but had no microwave! Out of desperation, we tried to heat our lentils and rice in a sink full of boiling water.

 

 

Needless to say, it didn’t work. But we were too tired to care. We scarfed down a lukewarm dinner, took showers, and dropped into beds (or sleeping bags, if we were Gabe and Noah).

Day 8 was a success!