Gardiner Montana

I think Jayden loves this place as much as his Pop and Cici....

Yellowstone's newest Junior Ranger

Tuesday.  Jayden was excited to eat breakfast, get dressed and head to the ranger hut!  We cooked breakfast (pancakes and bacon) and then went over to the ranger hut so that Jayden could get his badge.  They swore him in as a Junior Ranger.  While at this Madison River campsite, we saw Jackrabbit, chipmonks and ground squirrels.   After breakfast we headed north towards Mammoth Hot Springs, stopping along the way to see thermal features.  We visited Steamboat geyser (the tallest geyser in the world) and saw a minor eruption. 

This area has a small display hut and a log cabin that sells YNP Association items.  Jayden always wants to stop and do a little shopping.  We decided to save Mammoth Hot Springs until later and go to Chico Hot Springs to swim. On the way out of the park at Gardiner, Jayden wanted to stop and have his picture taken by the arch - and read the words inscribed on the arch: "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People."  I love seeing the smile on that little cutie....I bet that he'll be back someday....

On the way over to Chico Hot Springs, we saw 6 female big-horn sheep on the side of the road. 

The water in the pool at Chico seemed much warmer than it is during the winter when Phillip and I usually go.  We swam for a couple of hours and then headed back into Gardiner.  I did not get a picture while we were at the pool.  Since we haven't had a bath since Sunday, all I was thinking about was getting into that warm water!   We ate dinner at the Log Cabin on the river in Gardiner and then headed to the Absaroka Lodge.  It is not fancy, but Phillip and I have stayed here many times.  We have a great view of the river from our room.

We are all tired and looking forward to a little TV before bed and a good shower.

Monday, June 18

We  ate at the fancy smancy Old Faithful Inn for breakfast and then headed out to view the thermal features.  Jayden was amazed and excited to see the geysers, boiling pools and boiling mud. 

We started to take a hike, but our bear spray is so old that it doesn’t work (we did a test). We are a little scared to set out with just the three of us since the bear appear to be very active this time of year.  We spent the day stopping at the thermal features, making our way up to our next camping site at Madison Junction.

During our drive, we saw a nursery herd of bison along and crossing the street.  This "Yellowstone Traffic Jam"  lasted about 20 minutes and was so cool.

Along the river by the Firehole Falls,we saw a female elk.  Jayden was the one to spot this!  He has a good eye for spotting wildlife :)  

We got to the campsite and explored the area.  We visited a ranger station and Jayden got the information about the Junior ranger program.  He got the booklet and immediately started work on it while I cooked chicken and rice for dinner. 

Jayden started out working at the picnic table, but he had to move to the truck because the wind was blowing so hard.  Most kids take days to complete this, but not Jayden.  He already knew the answers to most of the questions anyway - he has been reading up on Yellowstone and the animals of Yellowstone for weeks.

Jayden had a blast watching a little ground squirrel around our campsite and taking pictures. :)

After dinner we made hot  chocolate and watched ghost busters 2. By then it was time for the ranger led program on coyotes which didn't start until 9:30 pm.   The ampetheater is at this really cool spot not far from the Madison River.  There was a small herd of bison bedding down for the night.  It was such a beautiful site - watching the sun go down with the silhouettes of the bison. This was probably the most beautiful view of the trip and I didn't have my camera!  Oh well, I don't think a picture could capture the beauty and the feel of the time anyway....

This campsite has flush toilets, but no showers, so we went to bed dirty again tonight.   Note: Either Jayden growled like a bear during the night or it was a real bear, but it scared me to death!

Old faithful lodge

We have arrived. It has been a totally awesome day! By the time we got off the river from our float trip,  it was after 4 and we still had to get to the hotel.

On the trip north, still in GTNP, we came upon a group of people and knew there must be something worth looking at.  When Phillip stopped the car, Jayden jumped out and ran up to the FRONT of the group asking what they were seeing...  

It was a GRIZZLY bear with her 3 cubs feasting on an elk carcass.  They were about 125 yards from the road, but we made use of our binoculars to get a look.  There was also a coyote about 25 yards from the bears waiting for a piece of the action.  At one point Jayden saw the mom stand up and growl at the coyote so that he would leave them alone.  

Jayden had a conversation with the ranger while observing the bears.  Jayden is not afraid to get right up in the thick of things and people seem to enjoy helping him spot the animals.  That Jayden!  He is liked by Rangers and Strangers J  ...They always want to help himJ see the animals.  

Just down the road from the Bear, we saw another group of people pulling off the road.  We got out of the car and headed into a field towards a stream and saw a Bull Moose resting on the shore.  We were within 30 yards of the moose.  

It was a beautiful drive north to get to the Old Faithful Lodge (which is right next to the Old Faithful Inn).

We saw a Bull Elk with a huge rack just before getting to the Old Faithful area

We are staying at the Old faithful Lodge, which is a cool, log and rock structure and we had a small cabin in the rear.  These were only $66 per night.. Our cabin had a sink and a double bed and a single bed. Period.  No TV.  The restrooms were in another building and the showers in still another building.  It wasn’t like staying in a fancy hotel, but we enjoy it.  I was excited that we were able to get a room - most people make reservations years in advance.  We were hungry so we had a quick dinner at the cafeteria, then waited for Old Faithful’s eruption. 

After watching the eruption, we walked around the area to view the other thermal features.  Jayden spotted bear tracks in the thermal zone area…and a moose or elk (Phillip and Jadyen don’t agree and I didn’t see it) among the trees.  It was almost dark by the time we got to the cabin and took a shower.  It didn’t take Jayden 3 seconds to fall asleep.  We are all tuckered and ready for tomorrow's adventures! BTW....this was the best day of wildlife sightings EVER!

Lunch in a teepee...

Lunch in a teepee is SO COOL!

Sunday. Cold, windy, and sunny today.  We had srambled eggs and bacon cooked over the little burner and headed out.  As we were leaving the campground, Pop was saying “Now ya’ll don’t forget to look for animals….” And at that moment a Moose and her calf ran across the road!  We were scrambling for our cameras and binoculars and didn’t get a picture.  But after that we were constantly ready!  It is a beautiful drive and Jayden is loving this...and so are we! BTW we did not see/hear a bear last night.

 We headed to Moose and looked around in the visitor’s center...

.... and then ate lunch at an outdoor establishment that had teepees to shield us from the wind.  It is very windy today! 

Our rafting trip on the Snake River left from the visitor’s center at Moose.  We had 10 people including us in the raft.  Jayden was a little nervous about this, but you couldn't tell by the way he acted. The boy is up for trying new things and he had a great time. We had a head wind that was so strong, our guide had to work to keep us going in the right direction.  The float is an easy one and Jayden enjoyed it.  Along the route we saw a bald eagle, geese, goslings, a sandpiper, an ospray and several beaver lodges. The float lasted about two and a half hours.  As soon as it was over we headed to Yellowstone so that we could make our reservations at the Old Faithful Lodge.