Day 19 - Further touring of Yellowstone and switching gates

So the original plan before variation 146, we were going to bike through the park and stay somewhere in the middle. Because of the road closure from the Canyon to Tower Junction, we had to alter the biking through the park idea. I had us exploring the northern part of the park today, and staying in Gardiner, MT, just outside of the northwest entrance. This meant today was another touring day. On the advice from a lady at our hotel in West Yellowstone, we explored the Lamar Valley.

First I drove us through the park from West Yellowstone to Gardiner, MT so that we could drop the trailer at the hotel and be free to explore. I managed one turn around and descending the mountain with the trailer. Once we dropped the trailer we headed towards the Lamar Valley. It’s been entertaining listening to the boys talk about my driving. Like when I answer the question “where are we going?” with “for a drive!” they have learned that doesn’t mean I’m lost, but have a destination in mind.

We weren’t far into the Lamar Valley when I spotted a cluster of vehicles, which always means there is an animal somewhere. In this case it was a 2 year old black bear cub (we asked him his age), and his mother. The cub was roaming free a good distance from his mother. We drove to Tower Junction and then turned around and hit the Petrified Tree and a hike to a lake. While on the hike to the lake we encountered a bison on the same path. We headed to a hill and left him pass by, he seemed determined to get somewhere and ignored Al standing on an adjacent path. The lake had lily pads, but no moose!

After our hike we hit a picnic area, where the boys not only entertained themselves, but also several families surrounding us. They are very good at rock throwing, tree bouncing, water walking, and just doing random things. The leaders put the kibosh on flipping from the bridge, much to the delight of the “grandma” sitting at another picnic table. It’s great to see them making up games and enjoying each other’s company. They even played “8 Seconds” by seeing how long they could stay seated on a log while the rest of the team bounced the log (I don’t think anyone lasted more than 4 seconds).

After lunch we hit Mammoth Hot Springs and found a herd of elk hanging out in the shade. We then toured the hot springs, before heading out of the park to check into our hotel. Once in Gardiner, we walked down the street for a taco dinner (well burrito dinner for all of the boys). Then we returned for devotions and a talk about our ride day tomorrow. It will be good to be back on the bikes, I think, as we have a hill to climb (but not the major hill yet).