Travels with Twinkles: Yellowstone NP, Wyoming and Gardiner, Montana

August 7, 2019:

I decided to head for Gardiner, Montana, it's a long barren stretch so I fuel up at Walmart where the gas prices seem especially good. Thankfully they keep getting lower the further I get from the west coast. I take route 20 north to West Yellowstone, Wyoming which as usual is bustling with tourists, RV’s everywhere, I’ve seen it before and once was enough. I stop at several small towns along the route to check the sights.

There once was an IOOF (International Order Of Odd fellows
in every town, I wonder if they still exist ?

Bars have never gone out of favor

Doesn't look like a St Anthony Wyoming event

Ashton is definitely a farming town

Quite a large barn construction in Ashton, Wyoming

Good idea, save your customers

An off highway rest stop in the Targee National Forest

The whole family was jumping off the bridge into the water

At West Yellowstone, I have a choice of routes, either route to 191 towards the Old Faithful geyser area (very crowded) or route 89 north along the western border of Yellowstone National Park and the Gardiner entrance. I choose to travel on the northern route to Gardiner. I make a few stops along the way at scenic spots, but the skies are gray, almost raining at times and not good photo conditions. When I arrive at the Mammoth Hot Spring area however the skies clear and I park and do the entire trail up and around the thermal springs.

I'm guessing it's the Yellowstone River

Another river view

Looks to be Queen Ann's Lace

Geyser pool next to the road

Love these Lilly pad lake views

A challenging road construction project

That's what happens to kids who don't listen

The walkway at Mammoth Hot Springs, there are hundreds of uphill steps

The white area on the left is no longer active

A healthy flow area in foreground

An out of this world view

It looks like the walkway is sinking, walk fast !

The colors are incredible, looks fake

I stop at the park visitor center complex and amazingly don't even go in (a first), instead I go to the general store and get an ice cream cone. I was rather hot and thirsty and I have to say, it was one of the best ice cream cones ever ! I had been to this area of the park before, but had never gone beyond, I thought this was the end. I was really surprised how the road dropped steeply downhill following the beautiful fast flowing Yellowstone River. It was very scenic, spectacular actually and I made a few stops along the route.

There weren't many pullouts on the road

Approaching the town of Gardiner, finally I see the famous historic Roosevelt Arch. Everyone traveling the road stops for photos, first at the National Park sign, then the Roosevelt Arch. The arch is super cool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardiner,_Montana

The Roosevelt Arch is a sight

I then rode into Gardiner which was the original entrance station to Yellowstone National Park when it was first opened. Gardiner is larger than I expected and filled with everything a tourist would need like hotels, motels, restaurants, cafes, bars and souvenir shops. It looked like a good place for the night, I didn’t feel like driving another 50 + miles north to Livingston, Montana so late in the day. I somehow ended up at the library, which was closed, on the edge of town where I parked and made something to eat. As I am sitting in the van with the side door open I see something large flash past the van door. I look out the door quickly and there is a female Elk and a almost full grown child just a few feet away. That was a shock !

Almost tame

I wanted to walk around downtown before dark to check out the attractions so I drove back downtown and parked. Like most small towns, everything looks really happening as you ride by in the late afternoon, but by 8 PM they roll up the sidewalks and there is virtually nothing going on. I went into the Iron Horse Bar & Grill which appeared to be the most popular place, but the bar was small, crowded, hot and smelly and the outdoor patio was filled with diners.

Looking across river at the Iron Horse Bar & Grille

I walked in and quickly out, then went a couple of blocks away to Red's Blue Goose Saloon where they were getting ready for Karaoke. It was early, hardly anyone was there, the DJ started some music adding his vocals to it, really bad, I had a cheap PBR and left. I stayed the night in a adjacent quiet, dark parking lot.

The Blue Goose

I walked around town in the early light the following morning, then had a mediocre breakfast at one of the restaurants. As I walked past the Laundromat I saw a sign for showers. I thought that would be a good idea, I’m overripe and it was great. It was a clean room with sink and shower stall, you put $5 in the coin slot and you get 10 minutes of shower time. Ok now I’m clean and ready for the day.