July 13, 2002 – Yellowstone National Park and Beartooth Mountains
Today we were supposed to leave Gardiner and end up in Billings, MT to visit zoos and a waterpark in Montana and Idaho over the next couple of days. But we were having so much fun and enjoying nature so much in Yellowstone that we decided zoos and a waterpark would be a letdown. As planned, we went through the park to the Northeast Entrance, but in a change of plans we turned around and ended the day back at Gardiner.
We passed through the Lamar Valley on the way to the Northeast Entrance. The mountains surrounding the Lamar Valley are bigger than those surrounding the Hayden Valley, but the wildlife was the same – Bison! The ride was gorgeous. Taller mountains, sharper cliffs, and an area untouched by fire.
As we left Yellowstone we entered the Beartooth Mountains. The road is the Beartooth Scenic Highway and it traverses mostly National Forest Service land. It passes through a couple of small towns in Montana, dips back into Wyoming, then turns north back into Montana.
Along the way we stopped at a fire tower at about 9,800 feet. The view was incredible – peaks all around with snow, including the one we were on. There was a nice volunteer in the tower who talked with us for a while and gave the kids Smoky the Bear posters.
After spending some time in the tower, we walked across the ridge to a patch of snow. Snow in July – how crazy for a bunch of Floridians! The walk across the ridge was beautiful. The wildflowers were incredible. The green of the plants with the sea of yellow and blue flowers was like a painting. Or a cartoon – Delaney and Aaron thought it looked like the scene in Shrek where they walk through the vast meadow, and they were right, it did.
The patch of snow was on the hillside. It was probably 200 yards long and 25 yards wide. At the top it was only inches thick but at the bottom it was several feet. After telling the kids about all the streams we had seen being fed by snowmelt it was nice to show them some melting snow. We played in it for a while, making and throwing snowballs. Being the smart-aleck that I am, I went about 20 yards away and start lobbing snowballs toward Chrissy and the kids. Delaney quickly jumped to “my side” and a minor snowball fight was on. After several misses, I tossed one up in the air and it hit Aaron right in the face. It got snow in his eyes and packed into his ear. Chrissy got the whole thing on video so I can relive that terrible feeling over and over again. He cried for a couple of minutes, then hit me in the face with a snowball, and everything was OK.
One of the sights we saw from the fire tower was Beartooth Lake. When we left the tower we drove to the lake, had lunch in the picnic area, and put our feet in the very cold water.
After our stop at the lake the topography changed. We were out of the forest and into an alpine area. Few trees, a lot of rocks, a lot of wildflowers, and snow all around. At Beartooth Pass we got out and walked around a little and Chrissy took a picture of me and the kids with the sign at elevation 10,900 feet. Beartooth Pass is the highest point on the road and was our turnaround point to head back to Yellowstone and Gardiner.
On the way back we stopped at Tower for our daily ice cream. And in the gorge between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner we saw four mountain sheep.
There was no pizza this night. It was time to do some laundry and we found a nice restaurant next to a laundromat, so we ate while the clothes were getting washed. I had pasta with a spicy alfredo sauce. It was different and very good!
Where Are We Going Now? 