Wednesday, June 20

We slept late this morning and had breakfast at the little café on the road facing the park (Phillip and I usually have breakfast here when we are in Gardiner).  We then went back into the park to see Mammoth Hot Springs which was a bit of a disappointment.  It was very dry compared to our other visits.  We don’t know if this is a seasonal change or a change in the underlying plumbing. 

We were looking at a branch that fell into the water and is now coated with something.....

....and Jayden dropped his monocular into the water...the water was hot and contained who knows what kind of bacteria, acid, chemicals....yuk!  But Pop stretched out on the walkway and reached his hand in and saved Jayden's monocular....Our HERO!

We drove over to Tower Falls so that we could get a campsite (this is one of the camping areas that doesn't take reservations).  As we were nearing the campgrounds, we saw a group gathered by Roosevelt Lodge so we stopped.  They were looking at a big black bear.  Jayden and I both got a good look at the bear, but no pictures...

We got the last  campsite at Tower Falls, settled in and had a picnic lunch.  Our spot is next to a creek so we went out for a little exploring.   We saw a few otters on the rocks across the creek from where we were standing.  We then decided to do a little more exploring before dark, so we left some items to hold our spot, and headed to Lamar valley.  At this point in our trip, we still have not seen a wolf.  As usual, there are a lot of bison in the valley – huge herds on both sides of the road.  I was hoping the bison would be on the road again, but they weren’t.  However, Jayden spotted an elk!  He was huge, but really hard to see because he blended in with the trees.  That Jayden is such a good spotter!

Lamar Valley is so pretty....and so alive with wildlife...

I love these two pictures of Jayden with his equipment.  First of all because he has all of the binoculars/spotting scopes that we brought on him, and second because of that little smirky smile on his face.  I love that smirky smile :)

We had originally planned to drive into Red Lodge, but decided that was too much driving and turned around right before getting to Cooke City.  On the way back we saw a man and woman with big spotting scopes and decided to stop and see if they had spotted a wolf.  They had not, but as we suspected, they were also looking for wolves.  A truck pulled into the parking area and the guy asked if we were looking for wolves and said that he had gotten some cool pictures just down the road.  Of course he offered to show the pictures to Jayden – that boy is loved by rangers and strangers J  We were all excited and headed back to the spot that he described.  Sure enough, we found a small group at a pullout just down the road.  They had the wolf in their sights, but he was very hard to spot.  Finally I spotted him while using the new Nikon Binoculars, so Jayden set them up on the tripod.  It was really cool watching him.  The wolf  was watching 5 pronghorns.  We had learned in the ranger program that the wolf will find the adults and then zig-zag back and forth in the area around them, looking for the babies in the grass.   This is exactly what this wolf was doing.  It was so interesting to watch him in action!  Then a couple of the adult pronghorns started running off and the wolf went after them, but they were too fast.

Back at the campsite I cooked fried canned ham (yuk, actually Jayden said it was good) and barbeque beens. We had a good fire going, so we were able to have roasted marshmellows for dessert. It is pretty chilly out, so we made hot chocolate and then went to the amphitheater for a program on bears. Afterwards we got in the truck, watched ghost busters again and then slept. This is the coldest night so far - down to 30 degrees.  Jayden was really tired, so we let him sleep in the next morning while we enjoyed a cup or two of coffee....

BTW:  The weather has been wonderful the entire trip.  Highs from the mid 50's to the low 60's and Lows in the mid 30's.  It has been sunny the entire time and we had a couple of pretty windy days.

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!