Day 17 – Last full day in Yellowstone

Day 17 - Our Last Day in Yellowstone

The discussion at our ‘parent meeting’ last night went in circles a little bit. Nobody really knew exactly what they wanted to do for the last day, but we did know that we wanted to spend it together. We tossed around ideas like hiking out to a lake, canoeing or driving to Mammoth Hot Springs. Nobody was too committal so we decided to sleep on it a bit.

When we got up this morning Stewart and Summer had already left to do a very difficult hike up one of the mountains. The hike would take them above the tree lines and give them a spectacular view of the Grand Tetons. Due to the amount of time required to drive to this hike and then the time required to actually hike the trail, we determined that they wouldn’t be back before noon. So, Ben and I decided to take advantage of the down time and go find some internet access. We had to drive 30 minutes before finding a spot that worked. While we were gone the remaining adults were tasked with coming up with a ‘plan’ for the day.

I know, why am I looking for internet access while on vacation?!?! But the truth of the matter is that I had time to kill, might as well get something done (can’t sit still). I was able to get my bills paid and start planning the trip home. It’s hard to believe that starting tomorrow we will be on the road back to Massachusetts, via a few national parks.

When we returned the group was ready to roll. We decided that it was best to try to finish up touring Yellowstone since that is ultimately why we are here. After making lunches for the road we took off for Mammoth Hot Springs. Along the way we stopped to see some smaller, but equally as beautiful landscapes. This place is so amazingly gorgeous. The views keep changing as we drive along. Today we are driving up in the mountainous areas. The roads are very narrow with absolutely no shoulders for pulling off to look. The drop off is steep and scary at times, but the mountains are absolutely captivating. It’s hard to take pictures though since we really can’t stop. As you stare at the vast landscape the reality hits that this is the only time I will see so much sprawling land undeveloped.

By the way, the reason we chose to drive and not hike to a lake was because the morning temps still were not above 60 when we left the campsite at 12:30. It takes the days a while to warm up around here. When we arrived at Mammoth Springs it was finally up into the 70’s, too late to change our minds. Some of the kids were not too happy about seeing another “hot spring”. But, like the waterfalls this one was different. It had the appearance of water cascading down over ice. The stone was so white that it almost looked frozen. The colors at these springs were so significantly different than the bright colors around the geysers. Also, we were high up on a mountain side so not only were the springs great to look at, but the waterfall had the appearance of an infinity pool. The water ran off the side of the cliff and in the background was a mountain range with a resort village in the valley. Even the kids appreciated this different view.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot the best part of the day…we saw a Grizzly Bear!!! We were driving along, on our way to the Hot Springs and a bunch of cars were pulled over on both sides of the road, which by the way had absolutely no shoulder. The strangest part about this sighting is that you had to climb a hill that was about 15 feet high with a very serious grade. I’m not sure how these people knew to stop here, but we got lucky. When we all got to the top of the hill we saw our first Grizzly Bear in the wild. It was roughly 200 yards away (safe distance) just grazing. This was the first time that I was really thankful to have bought the new camera lens. With the lens I was able to get a decent shot of the bear when he looked up from eating. He was young and small, but a Grizzly none the less. We watched him eat for a few minutes and then suddenly his head popped up and he was at attention. Something spooked him and he started taking off in the opposite direction from us. There, moving through the woods, was a gigantic Bison. He came out of the woods and began to graze right where the Grizzly was eating. Apparently, Bison have a hoof up on the bears; who would have thought?!

Well, 5 o’clock came up fast. It was time to find a picnic sight to start cooking. Tonight’s cuisine is penne & meatballs with some red sauce. We found a small picnic area called Wraith Falls. It had only 4 picnic tables, but it was right on a river. This was a perfect place for the kids to play while the adults cooked. The stream was loaded with Rainbow trout so Ben moved down stream and fished while we prepared. Everyone was happy. Soon dinner was ready and just like every other night the kids were ravenous and everyone helped themselves to 2 or more helpings. The night is absolutely beautiful and dinner came at a perfect time. We are going to spend our last evening searching for all the wild animals that have eluded us these past five nights. At the picnic sight we were visited by little prairie dog like creatures known as a Peeka. These little guys are definitely used to people. They went right up to the kids and Asher actually reached out and touched one of them. This was not recommended, but he didn’t realize his mistake ahead of time. Thankfully the little guy only ran away, a little disappointed that he didn’t get any treats. The rest of dinner was uneventful, no Bison or Elk to join us today. On a side note, we told the kids that as far as we’re concerned, they have eaten out every night this week so they shouldn’t be asking for a night out. Our dinners have been plenty yummy and entertaining!

Our last stop on today’s loop is a place called Lamar Valley. This location has been well known for the revival of the wolves in Yellowstone. We’re hoping for the best, but there is never a guarantee. On our way to the valley we got to see some young deer scampering around right off the road in a valley. We pulled over and watched for a while and they didn’t seem to mind our presence. Five of them were just babies so it was fun to watch them romping and playing. We continued our trek through the valley, but have not been lucky enough to see any wolves. We did get to see a really fat beaver. It was just hanging out in the water eating something from the bottom of the river. He would dive down into the water, pick up something off the bottom and then use his front paws like hands to eat the delicious find. When he was all finished he turned his back on us and swam up stream.

The sun was now setting in the West. The silhouette of the mountains was mesmerizing. As we wound our way down through the mountains we got to enjoy the beauty from all different views. We did come up on a number of traffic jams caused by the animals, mostly Bison and deer. But, our final traffic stop, right after the sun was almost fully set, was caused by a gigantic grizzly bear. I saw him in the distance, but it was way to dark to make out his features or get a good picture. I could just tell it was a grizzly by the way he lumbered as he walked. Once again, it was surprising at how many people were out of their cars trying to get a picture. They were much closer to him than the recommended 75 yards.

The rest of the drive back was uneventful. We arrived back at the campsite at 10:30 and everyone was wiped out. All the kids were eager to get to bed tonight. It was a wonderful final day together.