This was a Big Drive day, as our lodging for the final two nights is in Gardiner, outside the north entrance of Yellowstone. Thankfully there was no need to hurry, and no one segment of car time felt too long.
We enjoyed one last delicious breakfast and made the short drive over to Mormon Row. It was a pretty place to take a few barn photos and stretch our legs before embarking on the long drive. Stewards of the area plan to make it a bigger interpretive center in the future.
After a brief stop at the Grant Visitor Center to learn about park fires, we continued northeast to Yellowstone Lake. The Storm Point Loop trail covered multi-varied terrain and we saw a beautiful full-antlered deer and a bison near the end. A good chunk of the hike was near the lake. I was surprised by all of the sand, even a ways back from the shoreline.
The interior of the Lake Yellowstone Hotel was nice enough that we received a little side-eye while enjoying our post-hike bagged lunch in the sunroom. We were quiet and neat though, so I think our lack of nicer attire could be forgiven. (There is no actual dress code, but the grand piano, flower arrangements, and country club vibe are clearly for a different clientele.)
Continuing south, we stopped to walk the Mud Volcano Loop. This was similar to the boardwalk geothermal areas we visited on the earlier portion of the trip, with the addition of a bison blocking the walkway. A couple of unthinking people couldn’t be bothered to wait and walked right next to it.
Shortly after three we arrived at “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone”. It is stunning. We walked the two hour Clear Lake Artist Point Loop, which had a good mix of meadow, a little lake, views into the canyon, and an unexpectedly large geothermal area. I assume this area lacked boardwalks because it’s out of the way. It was a little eerie being in an unpopulated geothermal area without boardwalks!
Leaving at six wasn’t ideal, but we made it to our hotel with a little light left. It was a long day and I wish we had something we could just eat in the room. At least in Gardiner there are food options, even if we did end up just going to the closest restaurant. Tomorrow we’re going to Lamar Valley so we’re planning on an early start.
23 333 steps
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