Last Big Day in Yellowstone!

September 1 - It was a long, 12 hour day of sightseeing and shopping! We left at 9 after a hardy breakfast for Yellowstone and we got home just before 9 PM.

Young elk stranded

We hadn't been in the park long when traffic halted. Someone spotted something but we headed on to the next traffic halt. This time there was space on the side of the road so Bill pulled off. There was a young elk in the middle of the river. It looked so scared with so many people watching and it carefully too a couple of steps while I watched as the water was flowing rather swiftly and it was for sure looking for its mother. I felt bad for it but hopefully it made it across.

Road work

Once we made our turn at Madison for the northern route the traffic thinned drastically. We knew we were in for a slow down once we reached the area where the road is being widened and repaved. Our wait was short but it was slow going for the next 6-7 miles. Once we were back on 2 lanes it was fine. As Bill rounded a bend I glanced to his side and spotted a bison extremely close to the side of the road but I hadn't seen it soon enough for him to stop so no photo.

The old and the new

The drive through that section is really beautiful. There are mountains and a lot of green area and valleys with grasses turning a lively shade of golden yellow. You see skeletons of old lodgepole pines looming above the new growth and it reminds you of the

Overlook view

deadly fires here in 1988. One of the areas we stopped for some scenic photos was above a valley that had been overtaken by fire and is once again plush and vibrant.

We enjoyed our quick view of the Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs as we passed by for a stop at the Visitor Center for a bathroom break. There I picked up confirmation instructions to the Boiling River. Nothing in our literature tells you about it, but Kam spotted it on public media and I checked for it on several blogs. As you leave Mammoth Hot Springs the road curves on the long decent and the last time we were there we wondered why so many cars were parked along the road and flooding the parking areas and we could see lines of walkers along the river. We thought it was just nice picnic area. That was the path to the Boiling River.

Bill on the path

My information said to change your clothes before arriving or do it in the vault toilet at the end of the parking lot. Since we were heading on to Bozeman later, we packed our swim clothes and water shoes and changed in the clean but pungent vault toilet. They said the walk to the “hot springs” was only 1/3 of a mile but

Boiling water flowing into the pools

by the time you walk around the bend to the bench area it's at least a ½ mile. Had we known the full scope of the area we would have stopped when we first saw people in the pooled areas below and their bags left along the path. From the bench area you VERY carefully walk into  extremely cold water from the Gardiner River and all along the left side BOILING water flows in to meet the ice cold water. There is steam coming off the water as they meet and a rock wall to sort of divide the river from the 

Found a nice spot!

pooled areas has been built. There are several large pooled areas far down that we had passed from above. I found a rock strategically placed in the middle where the water was perfect. That didn't mean that in one instant you wouldn't

More hot water flows

feel scalding water hit your leg and in the next instant cold. We were glad we waited until now to come back here since the crowd was much less than when we were by there last time. It was such a neat experience! They warn you all over the place about how hot the boiling parts are. Still some idiot

The Chippy watching the river

will stick their hand or foot in and complain. I can see why they don’t publicize the area, the crowds would be horrendous. It's the only place in the park you can enjoy a thermal bath for free.

Once we walked back and changed clothes we headed into Gardiner. We had our lunch in the car and then indulged in possibly our last treat of Wilcoxson ice cream. I had the Cream and Coffee and Bill had the Graham something. Then it was on to Bozeman.

As we headed out of town and through the valley I spotted 3 small herds of privately owned buffalo. I guess that's where the meat comes from that they have in the restaurants and stores. They were much smaller than the wild ones in the park. Either they were young or bred with cattle as we have heard. The drive was nice and we saw some beautiful homes along the rivers and on the hills overlooking the water. They're just too far away from civilization for me. Even the little villages, they don't have much so like we've done all summer you must carefully plan your trips to town.

The disappointing Ice Cream Factory

We stopped in Livingston, MT on the way so see if we could tour the famous Wilcoxson Ice Cream factory. I called and got an address and she said they do have tours. Then when we arrived that addressed didn't exist. I Googled again and got a different number and she gave me the address and we drove by twice and finally turned since it was on a corner to see if the sign was on that side and there was no real sign. There was a small sign on the door with the hours and a smaller sign in the window. They don't have tours as it's now just the plant and main offices. We determined that the first place I called was their facility in Billings where they make the individual servings, such as ice cream sandwiches. Oh well, I tried!

Once we arrived in Bozeman we decided to head out to the airport where we had been told I could get my last passport stamp for Yellowstone. They closed the Yellowstone Destinations store at 5 so we thought best to go there first. Well, no, they don't have a stamp since they are not “in” the park. Someone needs to get their stories straight!

We went back into town and made our stops at Bed, Bath and Beyond, World Market,

Sign in the restaurant

Albertson's and then to The Roost for dinner. We love that place. This time I had the half rotisserie chicken with collards and cheese grits and a biscuit. Bill had 2 pieces of fried chicken with slaw. I shared my biscuit and brought home the breast and wing half of my chicken but the grits and collards were so yummy! We stopped at the Rosauers grocery and they had some good sales on produce so I picked up what I hadn't gotten at Albertsons. Last stop was for gas and then I drove the trip home.

It was still sunny out until we reached the long narrow valley leading into West Yellowstone and then I had to put the lights on.  There was very little traffic on the 2 lane road which was nice.  It has plenty of curves and little hamlets along the way and its calming to drive along with the river rushing along side.  There was a much larger herd of privately owned bison along the road.  We didn't notice them when we went to Bozeman before.  We made our right turn in West Yellowstone for the final 14 miles back to Valley View.  The big sign outside was finally on and working, welcoming us home.

We missed the 7:00 Rizzoli & Isles but it repeated at 9 so we managed to unload and settle in just in time to sit down and enjoy the season finale – with a cliff hanger, of course!