After toying with the idea of a road trip to Yellowstone, Bryan and I made the call. Thursday afternoon we left school right away and hit the road, driving through beautiful fall colors in Idaho and finally stopping in Butte, MT for the night.
A solid 7 hours, but so worth it! The kids loved the hotel room so much, we reserved it for our return trip on Sunday.
Friday morning, we got up and finished the drive, passing some incredible beauty along the Yellowstone River and finally entering the park via the Roosevelt Arch in Gardiner, MT.
At last! We were so excited to be in Yellowstone! There was a herd of elk grazing near the arch to welcome us.
Our first stop was Mammoth Hot Springs.
We hiked through the Hot Springs, awed by the belching gases and terraces.
The view from the top was lovely - perfect weather!
We were pleased with the sparse crowds and donned our masks when near others.
After Mammoth, we drove on to Norris Geyser Basin.
The kids loved standing in the steam of the fumaroles!
Shan sported her wolf shirt to try and bring us some wildlife good luck.
The visitors' center was closed, but we enjoyed walking along the boardwalks and admiring the colors and geysers.
Our kids were great about following safety rules. One young child did fall into a geyser pool in the park this day, providing a sad reminder of why the rules were created in the first place.
Down the road we passed Gibbon Falls, the first of many beautiful waterfalls on our park tour.
Continuing to drive down the lower loop, we headed toward Old Faithful to cap the day.
Pretty pools and smaller geysers kept us occupied as we awaiting the main event. Unfortunately the main lodge was closed.
Still, it was a beautiful day and the views outdoors made up for the lack of indoor tours.
The only crowds to be found in the park, really, were awaiting Old Faithful. Still, we got a front row seat for the show.
Old Faithful shot off right on time.
It was a fun capstone to the first day in the park. A bison sent us out on our way and we headed for the hotel in West Yellowstone.
Yogi provided dinner and we hit the sack, ready for another fun day!
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