West Yellowstone

 

It had been a full day packed with sightseeing, and by the end, we were feeling a little worn out. We checked into the Gray Wolf Inn, our home base for the next few days, before strolling down the main street to explore West Yellowstone.

West Yellowstone sits just outside the park’s west entrance and offers far more amenities than the more remote Canyon Village in the park’s interior. The town boasts a wide range of restaurants, numerous souvenir stores, adventure tour kiosks, and fishing outfitters, as well as several quality clothing shops catering to tourists. The souvenir stoes offer everything from fridge magnets and keychains to pocket-knives and quirky coffee mugs.

Harry found an ice cream cone that was bigger than the one from Pike Place, Seattle. Not nearly as tastey though. Very bland and a bit plasticy.

I met one of the locals who wasn't very talkative. He was a bit of a stiff to be honest.

We also spotted some fantastic T-shirts sporting funny Yellowstone slogans and some that were just quality shits and jumpers. I treated myself to a high-quality, super-warm hoodie that I’m sure will remain a favourite for years to come.

cattered throughout the open spaces of the town is a herd of 36 painted bison statues, each one decorated with a unique landscape or scene. Harry has an important public safety message about the bison in the park.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, where guests are treated to a complimentary bag of goodies for making s’mores. Just steps from the entrance, a cozy fire pit waits—perfect for roasting marshmallows to golden perfection before indulging in the gooey, sweet delight.

For those who aren’t familiar, s’mores are a classic North American campfire treat made by sandwiching a large, toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate between two crisp graham crackers. The heat melts the chocolate and softens the marshmallow, creating a sweet, gooey indulgence.

Yellowstone North Entrance and Mammoth Hot Springs

 

We finally made it to Yellowstone! And the sign proves it.

Entering the park through the iconic Roosevelt Arch, a towering stone gateway steeped in history, set the perfect tone for this leg of the trip.

Just beyond the entrance, we were thrilled to spot a small herd of Pronghorns, the only species of antelope native to North America, grazing peacefully in the open fields.

We continued to Fort Yellowstone, only a few kilometres inside the park gate. This site serves as both the historic and present-day administrative center of Yellowstone National Park and features a well-equipped visitor center that offers valuable insights into the park’s history and operations. The layout of Fort Yellowstone is that of a typical western army post.

Nearby lies the natural wonder, Mammoth Hot Springs, known for its striking travertine (calcium carbonate) terraces formed by mineral-laden hot water rising from underground. The photo above captures the Lower Terrace, which is essentially the bottom step of the natural staircase.

Next to the Lower Terrace stands the Liberty Cap (above), a dormant hot spring deposit, formed by travertine deposition over time as hot water cooled and mineral deposits accumulated.

On the Lower Terrace, a group of elk was resting peacefully, while the dominant bull elk roamed the perimeter, bugling loudly to ward off any rival males and protect his harem.

Eventually, the herd wandered off, likely in search of fresh vegetation to graze on.

As the elk herd moved on, so did we, mindful that daylight was fading and we still had about 50 kilometers to cover before reaching Canyon Village.

Along the way, we made an unplanned stop at Tower Junction after spotting our first bison herd, calmly grazing near the roadside.

We also took a brief detour to admire Tower Fall—a stunning 40-metre waterfall framed by tall, narrow rock spires.

We were fortunate to catch sight of a mountain sheep skillfully navigating the steep slopes high above the waterfall. By this time, night was beginning to fall, and we still had around 25 kilometers to cover, including the winding, high-altitude stretch through Dunraven Pass. We reached Canyon Village just as dusk settled in—just in time to check in, get settled, and enjoy a well-earned meal at the Canyon Eatery.

Seattle exit. Success! The path to Yellowstone.

 

With yesterday’s travel fiasco behind us, we packed up in no time—mainly because most of our belongings were already waiting for us in Bozeman. The weather had taken a turn for the worse; it wasn’t just raining—it was downright cold, making it feel like winter was closing in. Determined not to repeat the chaos of yesterday, we arrived at the airport early, giving ourselves more than enough time to breeze through security, which was thankfully much calmer today. We even had time to grab a proper breakfast inside the terminal.

As the plane lifted off toward Bozeman, a wave of relief and excitement washed over us, finally, we were back on track and ready to continue our adventure. Bozeman is one of three main airports providing access to Yellowstone National Park. Compared to the alternatives—Jackson Hole and West Yellowstone—Bozeman is the more practical choice. The other two typically involve two connecting flights and can take up the better part of a day, not to mention they tend to be significantly more expensive.

We touched down in Bozeman just after midday local time, and it felt great to be back in Big Sky Country after more than a decade. I’m not usually one to praise airports, but Bozeman is a clear exception. With its stunning architecture and warm, log cabin-inspired timber design, it creates an immediate sense of welcome. The skies were clear, and we were thrilled to finally be on our way to Yellowstone National Park.

We had a bit of a delay at the airport sorting out our luggage, which had been held overnight since our missed flight. Once we tracked it down, we joined the queue to pick up our rental car—another small wait before we could finally hit the road. Kerri got her first real experience driving on the "right" (or as she joked, the wrong) side of the road, which made for some fun commentary. Before leaving Bozeman, we swung by a supermarket to stock up on essentials and grab some lunch.

Then it was off on the scenic hour-and-a-half drive toward the gateway village of Gardiner and the North Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

Montana earns its nickname “Big Sky Country” for good reason—the vast open plains stretch endlessly beneath a sweeping blue sky. As we headed south, the landscape shifted dramatically, giving way to striking, snow-capped mountain ranges.

After leaving the wide lanes of Interstate 90 at Livingston and merging onto Highway 89, the towering peaks began to close in around us. With late autumn settling in, some trees had already started to turn, their leaves adding bursts of colour under the soft, golden sunlight. 

We finally arrived in Gardiner—24 hours later than originally planned. Our itinerary had us staying in the village the night before, which would have given us the full day to explore the northern reaches of Yellowstone en route to Canyon Village. Unfortunately, with the delay, we are left with just a few hours to squeeze in a couple of quick stops before needing to reach our hotel before nightfall.

Montana & Glacier National Park

This morning, Sandra & Jim headed back to Calgary (and work) while we headed south of the border, this time by road into Montana. The plan was to drive through Glacier National Park and on to Whitefish. The photo above is just a random butt just on the US side of the border.

Glacier National Park

We drove out to Lake Sherbourne along the way. It's in the north east corner of Glacier National Park. There wasn't much to see, because the weather had turned straight out nasty! Apparently the wildlife around this area is prolific, but we were there a bit late in the morning and we weren't overly keen to get out of the car into the freezing wind.

Logan Pass

I did the research before coming down here and was of the understanding that the main park road 'Road to the Sun' would be open for us. Wrong. As per usual, the yanks fed us wrong information and started their roadworks a week early. We'd come all this way and decided to take the Road to the Sun as far as we could, which turned out to be to Logan Pass. At the summit, we could see a waterfall cascading down to opposite hillside.

Unfortunately the weather was so bad that we couldn't see much because everything was surrounded by cloud. The wind was joined by rain, then sleet, followed by snow. We had to drive back to the park gate and then drive all the way around the perimeter of the park adding about 300kms to the trip. Not happy!

Whitefish wasn't anything remarkable, but not a bad place to stay for the night either. It's close to Glacier Nat Park or the ski resorts near by. I can see the potential for Glacier National Park, but we need to visit a bit earlier in the year next time. Unfortunately it was disappointing this time around.
Tomorrow we make the long drive back to Calgary where we have to prepare for our six week South American adventure in a few days.