Friday, May 2, 2014
The drive between Livingston, Montana and the North Entrance (Gardiner, MT) to Yellowstone National Park is beautiful. It is called Paradise Valley and it basically follows the Yellowstone River into the park.
The views are absolutely amazing and the wildlife is plentiful. Before arriving in Gardiner there was Bison that was in the road. Some folks on horseback were trying to herd it out of the road and back into the park lands.
We followed our new friends, Dave and Sue, as we made our way to Gardiner to the Yellowstone Association headquarters and then entered the park through the legendary Roosevelt Arch. The day was clear and beautiful with a little bit of wind.
We followed the road into the park past Mammoth Hot Springs. Thermal features are one of the things I find the most fascinating about Yellowstone. You are just driving along and the landscape completely changes and you see steam and mud gurgling up from the earth. Even the ground is wild and alive.
We wanted adventure… and that is exactly what we got on the drive in.
After passing Mammoth Hot Springs we began our assent to Canyon Village (elevation 7918 ft. – the highest habitable area of the park) though the winding roads that led to the Norris Geyser Basin. This turned out to be a whole new experience in white-knuckle driving. I had read that the drive from Mammoth to Norris was one of the easiest for folks taking an RV to the upper elevations. I don’t even want to know what a “difficult pass” would look like.
We are definitely flatlanders. The drive to Norris had James with a kung-fu grip on the steering wheel while I had a death-grip on the console and the armrest, as if that would somehow keep us from falling over a cliff. I think we both began to question our sanity about undertaking this adventure…as the words “what have we done?” seemed to escape my lips on few occasions.
But we pressed on…following Dave and Sue to Norris. At Norris we stopped in the picnic area to take a bathroom break. The look on our faces must have been priceless as we looked around and shook the blood back into our arms and hands. Dave and Sue assured us that the worst was over and the drive to Canyon would be fine.
They were right.
We headed into the employee campground at Canyon Village to find our site plowed and with banks of snow that were about 4-8 ft high and began to set up camp.
We had arrived. The journey across our beautiful country was over, and now we had the privilege of calling Yellowstone National Park home for the summer.
Our adventure is just beginning...
The drive between Livingston, Montana and the North Entrance (Gardiner, MT) to Yellowstone National Park is beautiful. It is called Paradise Valley and it basically follows the Yellowstone River into the park.
 |
| Paradise Valley |
 |
| Paradise Valley --Bison in the Road -- being herded back to park lands |
We followed our new friends, Dave and Sue, as we made our way to Gardiner to the Yellowstone Association headquarters and then entered the park through the legendary Roosevelt Arch. The day was clear and beautiful with a little bit of wind.
 |
| "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People" The Roosevelt Arch |
We followed the road into the park past Mammoth Hot Springs. Thermal features are one of the things I find the most fascinating about Yellowstone. You are just driving along and the landscape completely changes and you see steam and mud gurgling up from the earth. Even the ground is wild and alive.
 |
| Mammoth Hot Springs |
We wanted adventure… and that is exactly what we got on the drive in.
After passing Mammoth Hot Springs we began our assent to Canyon Village (elevation 7918 ft. – the highest habitable area of the park) though the winding roads that led to the Norris Geyser Basin. This turned out to be a whole new experience in white-knuckle driving. I had read that the drive from Mammoth to Norris was one of the easiest for folks taking an RV to the upper elevations. I don’t even want to know what a “difficult pass” would look like.
We are definitely flatlanders. The drive to Norris had James with a kung-fu grip on the steering wheel while I had a death-grip on the console and the armrest, as if that would somehow keep us from falling over a cliff. I think we both began to question our sanity about undertaking this adventure…as the words “what have we done?” seemed to escape my lips on few occasions.
But we pressed on…following Dave and Sue to Norris. At Norris we stopped in the picnic area to take a bathroom break. The look on our faces must have been priceless as we looked around and shook the blood back into our arms and hands. Dave and Sue assured us that the worst was over and the drive to Canyon would be fine.
They were right.
We headed into the employee campground at Canyon Village to find our site plowed and with banks of snow that were about 4-8 ft high and began to set up camp.
We had arrived. The journey across our beautiful country was over, and now we had the privilege of calling Yellowstone National Park home for the summer.
Our adventure is just beginning...
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