July 26: Yellowstone National Park

Yumi at Caltardy Rapids.

For the first night on the trip it got cold at night. i‘m not sure how cold it got but it was cold enough for me to have to put on a fleece and zip on my pants legs. Figure in the mid-30’s for lows, mid-40’s at 6 AM.

Another breakfast of donuts and we were on our way north to Mammoth Hot Springs stopping at Caltardy Rapids, Upper Falls and eventually to the Slough Creek campground where we got the LAST open site just two minutes before another party came trough looking for a site. This made me very happy as I really wanted to camp here for the night.

Once we got the tent set up we stopped at Undine Falls where we had lunch and I almost slipped and fell into the river. Not a big deal but it practically induced a heart attack for Yumi. Our next stop was to Mammoth Hot Springs. I hadn’t been here in my previous 3 visits to the park and came away very impressed with not only the hot springs but the architecture and layout of the entire area. Not only that, but the landscape was far different than anything I had seen in Yellowstone as well.

Tower Falls.

Undine Falls.

After viewing the springs we trudged down to the townsite for ice cream and a look at the menu at the restaurant---scouting for dinner. Noting the priciness of the fare we decided to scout in Gardiner, MT just a few miles north. Noting a rustic-looking italian joint we bolted town and started back to Yellowstone around 3 PM. Neither of us had seen the Norris Geyser Basin so it was a no-brainer to head that way.

En route we were treated to a glimpse of a small black bear not far off the road---Yumi's first blackie. Norris Basin was more interesting and scenic than Mammoth Hot Springs IMO and we spent about 45 minutes hiking around the perimeter of the area on the boardwalk.

We could see rain was in our futures so we left the basin and began heading north to Gardiner for the second time that afternoon and dinner at Pedalino's. It didn't rain on us, but it must have really come down at the campgorund judging by the puddles and mud splashed on the tent on our return.

Norris Geyser Basin

Dinner was a little pricey, but good. After we gorged ourselves on pasta and Moose Drool, we began the drive back to

Slough Creek. Our neighbor was a young guy named Alex. Alex had just graduated from Fresno State and was slowly making his way to Dayton, OH, to begin his job. He'd previously spent time in the Tetons and was on his way to Glcier next. "Glacier?" We talked for a couple of hours about his Glacier trip, good routes, things to see, etc. until well after dark. Lucky guy.

I went to bed knowing we'd have to be up and moving early in the morning if we wanted to get back to Manitowoc by noon. Naturally, I didn't want to go back, but figured the kids might need us at some point in their lives.