SUNDAY IN YELLOWSTONE
The day dawned with a brilliant sun and not a cloud in the sky. We went to the Fairy Falls trailhead and hiked back in to the Grand Prismatic Spring. I climbed a little way up the hill to get a picture and Luanne scrambled all the way!
Our biggest challenge this trip is keeping Luanne exercised!!!!
We spent the afternoon on the hike to the Artist Paint Pots, those amazing holes in the ground with bubbling, burping viscous ooze.
After we stopped on the Gallatin River to do a little fishing. A bit of advice for anyone who travels with Luanne....don’t follow her!!!!! I did and ended up in mud up to my knees **#***# ***** ##** *#*#*#* !!!!!!!! Such a mess, I ended up taking off my tennis shoes to wash them in the river and waded and fished in my socks! We didn’t have much luck with our fishing but we were in spectacular spots on a crystal clear, flowing river.
On to Butte Montana Monday, I really loved being back in Yellowstone.
SATURDAY IN YELLOWSTONE
We had another terrific day today, the weather continues to be picture perfect. We headed into West Yellowstone to buy some flies and do a little souvenir shopping. It was fun for me to go back and find the places I enjoyed when we spent time here.
The book store/coffee shop is still thriving, the drinks were good and I purchased a new set of Ivan Doig books about Montana.
The dogs are not allowed off leash in the campground or anywhere in the Park, so after poking around town we headed out to Hebgen Lake. My family spent several summers at a house we rented on the Lake so I knew the area well. The Lake is lovely with mountain peaks in the distance. A few boats and a pretty little sailboat were enjoying the warm summer sun. The dogs were in and out of the water chasing balls. Teddy gets absolutely filthy, his coat is like velcro to dust so I was glad to get him washed off.
From there we continued downstream along the Madison River to Beaver Creek Road.
This narrow gravel road runs along the swift flowing creek and we planned on a picnic there. Unfortunately, all the pull out places were taken by campers. We went to the end of the road and the trailhead for Beaver Creek where we decided to hike for a while.
This is really a wilderness area and the wildflowers were beautiful as we climbed accompanied by the sound of the rushing water.
A couple on horseback were coming into the parking area as we returned. They each had a pack mule and their dogs and had ridden into the forest for a couple of nights of camping. Hardy folks!!!
Our drive out was a bit hairy when Diane in her big van met a car on a narrow part of the road. We were literally hanging by a tire tread to the side of a long drop off and had inches on the other side as the cars passed. Poor Diane!!!
We passed “our” house and it looked ready for us to come back, and it now has a hot tub!!
Our day out ended with some Huckleberry ice cream as we passed through West Yellowstone on our way back into the park.
Luanne and I went down and fished for a while and I’ll just say it was beautiful!!!
Another great day in Yellowstone!!!
Sounds like you're having a wonderful time! I'm traveling (mentally) along with you.
ReplyDeleteExcept for the road over by the Tetons/Elk Preserve, I found Yellowstone restrictive regarding dogs, probably for good reason.
I love Montana--didn't do a whole lot there when I was by myself because I thought I was going back this year. Rich and I spent lots of time there--favorite town was Bozeman. Scenery incredible.
I think you're going to really enjoy Idaho--I know I sound like a broken record, but you won't find the crowds, and you'll find more places for the pups to swim. I wish I could post a picture for you that I have. It looks like fish are sitting on a stone road--can't even see that water is there. I took it over by Redfish. They have restricted access to the beach for dogs, but I'll bet you'll be able to get away with letting them swim. Do you know where you're camping, yet? If the weather is clear you'll love camping there or Stanley. Just be aware that the roads are dirt going in--hard packed--but I don't know if you'd have trouble getting Saffire out.
If you don't catch lots of fish in Montana and Idaho, turn in your rods. ;-) Tell Diane and Wilson I said hi, and keep having a great time.