YNP Post #4

Gardner, Mt to West Yellowstone, MT (through WY)

Today we entered the park through the Main Entrance of Gardner, MT where we stayed the night before.

Gardner, MT from our hotel balcony.  The bridge crosses over the Yellowstone River and into downtown

Sprouses at the main entry.  The arch reads:

"For the benefit and enjoyment of the People"

 Our first stop along the way was to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Mammoth is the headquarters of the park, and one of the oldest parts.  Lots of elk hang out here.  People too.

The springs come out of the ground where they are heated by the thermal activity below.  While underground, the water picks up minerals and deposits them on the surface.

The water coming out of most of the springs is around 150 deg F, however, in some places it can be boiling.  It is really important to stay on the paths. The crust on the surface of the ground can be thin and people have fallen through getting terrible burns, or sometimes even dying.

The colors around the springs are caused by thermophytes - heat loving bacteria.  You can even tell the type of bacteria by their color.

Dormant Hot Spring Cone

After Mammoth, we drove south into the park and took our time stopping at different pull-offs.  We stopped at a moose exhibit (Ian's request), and really enjoyed the quiet and calm of the low lands (bogs) where moose frequent.  No luck on seeing a moose - yet.

kids on a moose hunt following tracks

this is supposedly where moose like to hang out

an awesome coneflower I was geeking out on.  That's the bloom with barely any petals.

So one of the smartest things we have done along the trip is to carry lunch stuff with us.  Restaurants in the park are stupid expensive and are really just mediocre at best.  We have a cooler with us each day with some essentials like apples, cheese, hard salami, a good mustard, crackers, and other assorted easy stuff to cut up and eat.

We've stopped to replenish once along the way.  Every time we have stopped to picnic, we see something we wouldn't have sen otherwise, and we saved about $50.

The next two nights we stay in West Yellowstone, MT.  It's a great home base and one of the closest towns to the park.  Staying in a good chain hotel with an indoor pool makes everyone a happier person the next day.

One sad note - I was excited to go back to an iconic restaraurnt and bar about 10 miles outside of West Yellowstone called Eino's.  It's where we would go for a fun night out as employees in the park.  It was a place you bought your raw steak at the bar and grilled it out back yourself.   Eino's sold years ago to Hi Country Tavern and Grill, and all signs showed they were still in operation.  Tonight, we drove out to find a new sign saying Hi Country was sold and close until further notice.  :(

Hi Country Grill (Eino's) - closed :(