Yellowstone - Day 7 - Sadly Leaving Slowly

August 30, 2018

Julie was scheduled to fly out at six o'clock Friday morning which necessitated getting to Bozeman where she had a motel reservation. I somehow lost my iPad while packing it up in the Bozeman library, just before I picked Julie up.  I had called but wanted to go back in person to look for it.  (I didn't find it.) So we only cared about getting to Bozeman before the library closed.

We got up, not too early, since we wanted the ice to melt off our tents and them to dry,  packed up our tent stuff, and hung the tents to dry while we ate breakfast and packed up or food and dishes. I think we were finally ready to drive out about nine o'clock. Our plan was to drive up through Towers since we wanted to stop and see some of features there. We had never driven the piece of road between the Tower-Roosevelt corner and Mammoth. And since we could expect up to a half hour of waiting for road repairs, if we went straight north, the choice was easy.

Julie reminded me that she wanted a picture of our camp - this will be the last picture of my tent.
 It was about 20 years old and the rain fly was rotten.  Goodby dear tent.

But first we had to travel a few minutes south to visit Artist's Paint Pot where I love the mud pots and those COLORS. We had last gotten there when it was getting too dark to enjoy it. We were there early enough this day that there was a LOT of fog due to the cold morning.

An overview of Artist Paint Pot

Another wide view

A closer look

I love these color combination

Back on the road, after a stop at the Canyon Corner gas station for coffee,  we pulled out at several of the overlooks, since we could actually see down into the valleys.  We decided to check out Tower Falls.  I went to the end of the boardwalk, while Julie continued on down to the Yellowstone riverside.

A long look at Tower Falls

A closer look

The trail went on down to the river

A look down river

Another long view

Back in the car, we drove to a bit before to the turn to Mammoth, before we saw a lot of cars with people out.  When we saw a ranger car, we knew we had some good wildlife, so we screeched to a halt, grabbed out cameras, and caught up with the crowd.  They were watching a bull moose, an animal we had given up finding.

He refused to pose in good light

Of COURSE we took the Blacktail Plateau Drive with a stop to visit the petrified tree. Traveling this road ends up putting you behind where you have been on the main road.

Petrified Tree

By this time we were both starving and Julie still wanted to see the Upper Part of Mammoth and take another soak in the Boiling River.  So we passed them up, for now,  for sustenance,  and  ran the now pretty short distance to Gardiner and then  to the Tumbleweed Bookstore and Cafe. (This is my favorite place to get wi-fi, drink coffee or tea - be sure to try Evenings in Missoula - and have marvelous lunches.  They offer both outside and inside eating. ) Just as we got there, we saw an elk in the yard by our car, who was standing on the front porch of a home, eating the bushes.  Julie ran to get its picture and then followed it down the street until it jumped into another lawn. Then we had fabulous lunches before heading back to Yellowstone. 

Probably a little too close an encounter with wildlife for this homeowner

Finally we had to make a difficult choice. We would not have time to go all the way back to Mammoth AND visit Boiling River. Boiling River won and we headed back.  We were forced to stop once more for a group of female bighorn sheep.

Julie got this darling lamb

Momma and big child

We finally got to Boiling River and had another enjoyable soak. There were several elk about and a mother and calf crossed the creek just downstream from us. I took pictures before I went in the stream and left my camera on dry land so missed that picture. But there were several cows in the path, including one I had to wave my towel at to clear her off the path as she was holding up traffic.

I got a long shot of Julie enjoying simultaneously freezing and burning.  Her left side is very worm

We had a lot of elk visitors at Boiling River

But all too soon, it was time to leave. In a little over an hour, we were in Bozeman. I still didn't get my iPad back.  We then checked in to the hotel, before deciding on a pizza.  We ended up at a beer tasting place which had wonderful pizzas, but could not serve beer after eight in the evening. So I can tell you nothing about the beer.

Back at the hotel, I edited pictures while Julie visited the hot tub.  Then we both slept fitfully until our alarms went off at four o'clock.  At five, we were exchanging last hugs.  I went back to the hotel for breakfast and edited more pictures.  Then after a stop for groceries, I was on my way home. It took most of  my three day weekend to get my energy back.

I'll  be within driving distance of both Julie's house and her cabin. I think I'll be spending Thanksgiving with her, if I'm not the designated person to keep the Aquarium open. For sure, I'll spend New Year's with her.  And maybe meet up for a camping paddle. And I hope to visit Rocky Mountain National Park with her next year.

When this blog comes out, I'll be jobless and having adventures in Capitol Reef National Park and looking forward to a meet-up with a pair of friends at Grand Canyon National Park.  I will probably not have much access to wi-fi, so I may miss a few blogs, but I'll catch up when I get to Monte Vista NWR in Colorado.

Oh yes, Brag time - I just got past 11,000  hours. And I've worked at Red Rock Lake National Wildlife Refuge 2,645 hours.