We arrived at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bozeman West by IHG (Room #314) around 10:30 PM. The hotel was having network issues and thus their Wi-Fi was no longer working. This was not a major problem for us since we were tired after a long day of travel and sightseeing. Besides, we would only be at the hotel for a few hours. My original intent was to spend the next day exploring Bozeman - American Computer & Robotics Museum, Museum of the Rockies, etc...; however, about two weeks before this trip I changed my mind. With Bozeman located about 1.5 hours from Yellowstone National Park, I decided that we would probably have a much more memorable experience if we visited the park instead of the museums. Furthermore, I did not know when I would ever be this close to the famous park again. We would only have one day to visit the park given the aggressive sightseeing itinerary that I had created for our Montana trip. I really did not want to drive there, drive around the park all day, and then drive back and beyond Bozeman to our next destination. That would have been way too much driving for me - not to mention all the cool sights I would potentially miss because I was concentrating on the road. Therefore, I booked the Best of Yellowstone NORTH - Public Tour with the Yellowstone Safari Company about a week and a half before our trip. I chose them because their tour picks you up and returns you to Bozeman. I had to get over the sticker shock of $350 per person, but I am happy to report that this was one of the best tours I have ever done.
We were up super early the next morning. We needed to be at Cafe M by 6 AM for our Yellowstone National Park tour pickup. Google Maps indicated an 8-minute drive between our hotel and Cafe M. I was hoping to leave the hotel by 5:45 AM to give us a cushion but we were a tad bit behind schedule. We experienced a further delay when we realized that the breakfast buffet at the Holiday Inn was already open when we checked out. We grabbed some breakfast items to take with us because the tour description had only indicated lunch. We ended up leaving the hotel at 5:52 AM - so much for the cushion. We got into panic mode when we left the hotel and saw all the road closures due to road work that was in full swing that morning. We got detoured through the city instead of the expressway. We watched our estimated arrival time get pushed back each time we encountered a traffic line or a flag person directing cars around the construction. As we approached Cafe M, we received a phone call from the tour guide asking if we were still doing the tour. Traci let the guide know that we were and that we were just pulling into the parking lot of Cafe M. We were 5 minutes late. We felt embarrassed as we entered the tour van with our breakfast while the other tourists were waiting.
There were seven of us tourists in the van. The guide was also the driver. He asked everyone to introduce themself and to state what they are looking forward to seeing at Yellowstone. Everyone mentioned a particular animal. As for me, I really wanted to see buffalo (a.k.a bison) and elk because I had never seen them in the wild. After listening to our introductions, our guide said he would tailor our tour to maximizing the chances of seeing the animals we mentioned.
The drive to the north entrance of Yellowstone was about 1.5 hours. Our guide narrated during the drive. The van was stocked with snacks (chips, granola bars, candy, ...) and non-alcoholic beverages. There was no need for us to worry about being hungry. We had a restroom break along the way. Our guide made sure he included many restroom stops that day.
The north entrance of Yellowstone is located in an interesting town called Gardiner where there are restaurants, lodging, outfitters, etc... It looked like a great place to spend a day or two. The line of vehicles entering the park was not too bad when we arrived. We were told that the west entrance tends to be busier. Every party in the van needed to show that they had purchased a park pass. Otherwise, we needed to have a payment method to pay on the spot. The entrance fee is not included in the tour.
After taking care of the administrative stuff, we were on our way for an exciting day. We would spend almost all of our time in Wyoming. Over 95% of Yellowstone lies within the state of Wyoming. Montana contains a small portion of the park and Idaho contains even less. I never saw any signs indicating we had crossed state lines. Like in Butte, our guide let us know anytime we crossed the Continental Divide.
Our day at Yellowstone was awesome! Not long after entering the park, we had our first bison sighting. There were two of them relaxing in a beautiful meadow. Our guide invited everyone to step outside the van to have a look. As part of the tour, each person was loaned nice binoculars for the day. Our guide reminded everyone that we needed to stay at least 30 yards from bison. They can run faster than the fastest human despite their huge size. Two people had been gored by bison in the park within the last two weeks.
A short drive later, we spotted elk in the distance. I was elated that I had already reached my animal sighting goal. I decided to push my luck and ask our guide about the chances of seeing a bear. It was not long after that that we came upon a traffic jam. There were people standing outside their vehicles pointing at and photographing a hill. We joined the crowd and saw a bear and her two cubs walking along a hilltop. Our guide quickly set up three scopes so that we could get a better view of the wildlife. We watched the mother bear claw a log while one of her cubs climbed a tree. This tour was off to an amazing start. We decided to push our luck again by asking our guide if we could see some wolves. He took us to a region of the park where a pack had been spotted a few days ago but our wildlife mojo had run out. We did not see any wolves. This was by no means the end of our wildlife encounters. Our guide was fascinated by birds. He was sure to point out many species that day: osprey, swans, hawks, egrets, etc...
bison
Our guide quickly set up these scopes when bears were spotted.
bear
elk
We experienced much more than wildlife in Yellowstone that day. We saw the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone with its powerful waterfall. We saw Yellowstone Lake which is the largest alpine lake in the U.S.. We saw scenic mountains, scenic valleys, and, of course, the park's geothermal phenomena: geysers, boiling mud pits, and steam vents. Yellowstone is huge. Sometimes we needed to travel 50 miles inside the park to get to the next major attraction. Despite the distances, the ride did not seem long because we were constantly getting out of the van to see something interesting or for a restroom break. Our guide had so much knowledge of the geology, flora, and fauna. He was able to impart this information to us in a manner that was intriguing and not boring.
Some of my favorite stops we did that day were the boiling mud pits and steam vents. A strong stench of sulfur (smells like rotten eggs) hit us as soon as we opened the van door. The steam vents really had me fascinated not only for the steam but also for the bubbling and breathing sounds that they make. I also liked Black Sand Basin. This is a field of colorful boiling pools and rising steam. The vibrant colors had us taking photo after photo.
steam vent
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Black Sand Basin
Black Sand Basin
boiling mud
Yellowstone Lake
Of course, we made a visit to Yellowstone's most popular attraction - Old Faithful. Old Faithful is a geyser that erupts every 90 minutes or so. Our tour was dictated by the Old Faithful eruption times. Our guide kept an eye on the National Park Services website and an app that publishes the predicted eruption times. We arrived at the Old Faithful Inn about 30 minutes before the next scheduled eruption. As we were arriving, our guide became very excited at the sight of Grand Geyser. It was spewing steam and water high into the air. Our guide told us that its eruptions are less frequent than nearby Old Faithful.
Our guide parked in the Old Faithful Inn parking lot. We had time to use the restrooms and then get in place to watch the geyser do its thing. There was a large crowd of people waiting for the event. Our guide told us where to stand to get an excellent view without so many people around. Old Faithful was almost 30 minutes behind schedule that day. It teased us a few times by spouting water. The water is normally an indication that the geyser is about to blow but we found out that this is not always the case. The geyser spouted water and steam several times before finally erupting into a spectacular 100-ft+ plume of steam and water.
Old Faithful
Our group had lunch on the balcony of the Old Faithful Inn. The lunch was supplied by the Yellowstone Safari Company. It consisted of a cold cut sandwich, chips, and a brownie. I do not care for cold cuts sandwiches, so I did not eat mine. However, I enjoyed the chips and brownie. We were given some time to check out the Old Faithful Inn. This impressive building was crowded with tourists. We had a quick peek in the busy gift shop but did not linger. We needed to get back to the tour van.
Our guide made a few other interesting stops in the park after lunch before hitting the road back to Bozeman. We arrived in Bozeman a little before 5 PM. This 11-hour tour seemed to have whizzed by. It was one of the best tours I have ever done.
Bozeman looked like an interesting city to explore but Traci and I decided to get on the road since we had a drive of approximately an hour and 45 minutes to get to the next city in our itinerary - Helena. Continue...
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