Grab some snacks, this is going to be a long post!
After leaving Jackson, we all caravaned (two RVs and a mini van) straight to Yellowstone via Grand Tetons National Park. Our campsite for the next 4 days was just north of the small town of Gardiner in southern Montana. We had to drive the full length of Yellowstone to get there, but we treated that drive as our first day of our Yellowstone National Park experience, so we definitely took our time.
Before we even left home, we were worried about the crowds at the national parks this summer. We’d been reading stories about record setting crowds, parks requiring reservations, and some parks turning visitors around at the gate when they reached capacity.
When we hit the South Gate of Yellowstone, we waited in line for a grand total of 5 minutes before making our way in. We’d definitely find some crowds in the park, but overall it was manageable and for the most part, we were able to park the RV wherever we wanted.
Over the years I’ve seen many pictures from Yellowstone but those truly don’t compare to actually visiting in person. The earth is alive in Yellowstone. Not in terms of the trees and animals (although there are of course those too), but the very ground itself. Whenever you’re on the high ground, looking over the vast carpet of forest you can almost always see active vents in the distance, releasing geysers of steam and scalding water high into the air. There are pools of bubbling mud, pools of bubbling crystal clear water, and pools highlighted in colors I’ve never seen in nature.
Our first stop in Yellowstone was the West Thumb Geyser basin, located right on the shores of Yellowstone Lake (fun fact: Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake above 7000ft). Like most of the geyser fields in Yellowstone, this one had a series of boardwalks that paraded visitors around the various geysers and pools. No stepping off the boardwalks either – and believe me, some of those pools looked so inviting! It’s hard to blame those poor decision makers who take the last dip of their lives in these beautiful pools of death (apparently that happens every few years). It’s not just humans of questionable intelligence either, a ranger we spoke with told us a story about how a grizzly was chasing some elk through the area and fell into one of the pools. That didn’t go well for the bear.
Once we took in our fill at West Thumb we headed off to do what everyone else probably has as #1 on their list of things to do at Yellowstone, catch an eruption of Old Faithful. For me this was an experience, but not what I thought it would be. After driving through some pristine forest, we pulled off at what looked like a freeway interchange and into what was probably the most built up and paved over part of Yellowstone. The parking lot reminded me more of Disneyland than a national park. At least there was plenty of RV parking.
We found our bearings and headed over to probably the most famous geyser in the world. After waiting for about half an hour with several thousand other folks, we saw the eruption. We got wet, it was nice. Then we went back to the RV and waited in some traffic before continuing on our way through the much less crowded parts of the park. It didn’t take long to get back to more natural parts of the park.
After Old Faithful, our next stop was the the Midway Geyser Basin and its star attraction, the Grand Prismatic Spring, which is the largest hot spring in the United States (#3 in the world). It may have been the most impressive thing we saw at Yellowstone. This is a huge spring, covered in steam and bordered by the most amazing colors. Like the other geyser/spring complexes, this one also had the boardwalks. While we were there, the wind may have been some of the strongest I’ve experienced in person. The vast collection of hats littering the ground, out of reach from the boardwalks, bore that out. So many hats.
The Grand Prismatic Spring was typically shrouded in steam, but every once in a while the wind would partially clear it and we would catch a glimpse of that cobalt blue water contrasted by the oranges and yellows of the border. So pretty. It was almost enough to make you forget about the tragedy of the lost hats. Another fun fact, those colorful borders are typically created by colonies of bacteria.
Back on the road again we hit another traffic jam, only this one was in the middle of nowhere. In Yellowstone that usually means some sort of animal. We were saying to ourselves, this better not be another bison. It wasn’t, it was a grizzly bear rooting for grubs off to the side of the road. Traffic had stopped in both directions and there seemed to be a hundred people already outside of their cars. Fortunately for us, we were able to make it to a pullout and park the RV off the roadway (because we’re considerate like that). After a quick calculation involving our top speed, an average grizzlies top speed, and the amount of unathletic people already out of their cars I decided that I liked our odds, so I took the boys out for a closer look and some photos (the gist of the calculations fell under the premise that you don’t have to be faster then the bear, you just have to not be the slowest or tastiest human around).
As it turned out, this bear didn’t care that the paparazzi were out in full force. It kept digging for grubs like it was his job. Eventually a ranger pulled up to the scene and began yelling at everyone, but by that time we were already heading back to the RV.
It was getting closer to dusk and our last stop in the park for the evening was a random pullout overlooking a field and some ponds. Seemed like a nice place for some pictures, and I was right. I managed to catch three bull elk running across the field with some mountains as a backdrop. There was the sound of wolves in the background, which may have been what was motivating those elk to get a move on.
After leaving the park, we finally made our way to our campsite, Yellowstone Destinations, about 15 minutes north of the park itself, and located right on the bank of the Yellowstone River.
Day 2
Our second day in Montana saw us get up for a leisurely breakfast (I am clearly a big fan of leisurely breakfasts) and some exploring of our campground. During our walk we ran into a couple and their husky mix, Teddy. We spent the next hour watching those two get their zoomies out at the onsite dog park. A tired Boomer is a good Boomer.
In the early afternoon we all piled into our RV and made our way to Mammoth Hotsprings, located just past the north gate of the park. Some pretty impressive scenery with a post apocalyptic sort of vibe. Despite enduring some rain we had a nice walk along the boardwalk at Mammoth.
After Mammoth we headed off to Lamar Valley, we were told that’s where the best animal viewing was. Driving through the typical yellowstone coniferous forest we transitioned onto what looked like Yellowstone’s version of the African Serengeti. If you like Bison, Lamar Valley is definitely for you. Bison off in the distance, bison rolling around on the ground next to the road, bison staring at you from the middle of the road, bison everywhere! In addition to the bison, we saw the occasional group of pronghorn up in the hills. They say Lamar Valley is also one of the more likely areas of the park to catch a glimpse of the wolves, but we didn’t see any.
It was getting late by the time we started making our way back to the campground so we decided to find an abandoned pull out near a pond to make dinner (bison burgers of course) and catch the sunset. I’m still not sure how smart it is to BBQ burgers outside in the boonies of Yellowstone, but we managed to avoid having any bears crash the party.
Day 3
We decided to relax on our third day in the Yellowstone area by enjoying Yellowstone Hot Springs, which happened to be connected to our campground. Unlike the hot springs in the actual park, these were heavily modified and designed for swimming.
After getting our soak on, we headed off to explore the town of Gardiner. The town is small and definitely geared to accommodate the influx of summer time Yellowstone visitors. We were told the town is pretty dead in the winter as the park closes due to snow. While in town we booked a white water rafting trip on the Yellowstone River for the next day.
Day 4
This was our last full day in the Yellowstone area After a bit more follow up relaxing at our local hot springs we all piled into the RV and drove back to town for our rafting trip. Lana elected to hang out in the RV with Boomer to get some work done.
The river was pretty mellow but did have a few sets of rapids to keep it interesting, and our guide Jake made the experience fun. There were a few times we drifted by some cow elk drinking from the banks of the river. Some of the more adventurous kids jumped in while we paddled through calm water, and some of the more annoying ones were thrown in. Overall it was a nice experience.
While we didn’t finish with the rafting trip until the early evening, the long days meant there was still plenty of light left so we decided to head into the park for one final time. Based on a recommendation from a friend, we spent our last evening at the Norris Geyser Basin. According to the National Parks Service, Norris Basin is the oldest and most geologically dynamic part of Yellowstone. It didn’t disappoint. We walked a loop that was about 2 miles long and took us past a large number of geysers and pools, including Steamboat Geyser, which when it fully erupts (not often) is the tallest in the world, at over 300 feet. There were also some awesome views from the high ground where we could look out over a field of geysers vents. Pretty cool.
Once again it was getting late so we pulled the RV into the abandoned Norris Lookout parking lot for another bison burger BBQ. Apparently we were looking too comfortable with our RV slide in the out position because some volunteer busy bodies pulled up and informed us of the no camping rule. Despite our protestations that we weren’t going to camp there, they said they’d call us in and when the ranger came by at 10pm he’d write us a ticket. I felt good about myself when I told them we’d be long gone by 10pm, but then a few minutes later when I looked at the time, I noticed it was already 9:45. The long days were playing tricks on me. Either way, I’m happy to report we had another successful in-park BBQ without being accosted by either bears or ticket writing rangers.
Day 5
Our last morning in Yellowstone was also our last day traveling as a group of 12. After saying our goodbyes it was just the 4 of us again. Next stop was visiting with some new friends in Helena for the next few days.
