Finding Wildlife, Fish and Fun

After talking to some people about the drive from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Gardiner, Montana, we  altered our route.  We had planned to take the 162 mile route through Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, but heard  the road was winding and that people often blocked the road looking at wildlife, so we took a route around that was about twice as many miles, but an easier run.

We arrived early evening on July 20th at Yellowstone RV Park.  We had a beautiful spot overlooking the Yellowstone River.  The weather here was breezy and cool and felt wonderful.  We took care of some necessities and played some games with the kids, making it any early night because we had to be up and out the door at 6:15 AM for a private Yellowstone safari.

We were picked up by our guide, Lynn, from Safari Yellowstone and headed out.  Lynn was very knowledgeable and terrific with the kids.  We combed the park looking for wildlife.  He had a pair of high powered binoculars for each of us and two copes for long range spotting. 

We saw mule deer, bison (buffalo), elk and mountain goats along the route.  Lynn stopped and we hiked out to Trout Lake to see a river otter’s den.  There were three  otters swimming and playing, and we watched one munch on a fish. 

We continued our safari and saw a bald eagle soaring – it was a beautiful sight.  We were especially lucky on this trip and saw both a grizzly and a black bear.   We finished our day off by stopping to get a close look at an osprey’s nest. 

Yellowstone is such an amazing park and seeing all the wildlife was incredible.  Because we were up so early and were exhausted, we ate and played games at the campground to finish our day.

We planned to spend Friday seeing Old Faithful and picnicking at Firehole Swimming Lake in Yellowstone. When we got about 15 minutes into our drive, we had to pull over because Colin wasn’t feeling well.  He got sick and we turned around.  We spent most of the afternoon playing games with the girls and keeping an eye on Colin.  By dinnertime he felt better and we decided to see what the little town of Gardiner had to offer. 

We had dinner at the Cowboy’s Lodge & Grille.  Jeff’s meal was good but the portion was small.  My steak was very fatty and Colin actually ordered a second grilled cheese because he was still hungry.  Overall, not our favorite restaurant stop. 

Saturday Colin was in tip top shape and ready for a fun day with Dad.  Jeff had booked a fly fishing trip with Parks’ Fly Shop for the two of them.  They set out with  their guide, Wilson, and learned the art of fly fishing.  Wilson was very knowledgeable and patient with Colin and in no time they were pulling in fish. 

Both Colin and Jeff caught 12 – 15 fish each.  Because they were beginners, Wilson took them to a spot that had smaller fish that would be easier to catch and  to learn the technique.  Colin loved it and Jeff said he found some fishing he could really enjoy.

After dropping the boys at Parks’ Fly Shop, the girls and I set out for Chico, Montana to swim in their hot springs pool.  Chico has a resort the has two pools fed with water from a local hot spring.  The water was a balmy 97 degrees.  Because  the air temperature was in the high 70’s this was a wonderful treat.  We blew up our tubes, ordered our drinks, (shirley temples for the girls and a frozen margarita for me) and relaxed in the pool.  We had a delicious lunch at the poolside grill and headed back around 6:00 PM to pick up the boys.

We decided to head out that night so we could get a few hundred miles under our belts as the kids slept. 

While we were disappointed to have missed Old Faithful, we had a great time in Gardiner, Montana.  Now on to the Mount Rushmore – only one week left of our adventure.