Escape to the Wild (Day 8 – Breathtaking)

We packed up today and moved down to West Yellowstone, MT, so that we could be closer to Yellowstone National Park.  The town of West Yellowstone is small, but neat.  It’s sole purpose seems to be to cater to the constant stream of tourists going into the park which is literally a three-minute drive from anywhere in the town.

We went to lunch at the Slippery Otter Pub.  The food was good, but nothing special.  The bartender slash waiter, Bo, was very nice.  He even sat down at our table with a map of the area and marked out some places of interest for us.  He seemed to really love sharing his passion of the area with us. (Funny Story: My wife ordered a Caesar salad for lunch. While we were waiting for our order, she started to curl her nose in disgust. I asked her what was wrong, and she said that she smelled rotten vegetables. She went on to add that if that was how they cooked the food here, then maybe she should rethink the salad. I couldn’t help but snicker, because the rotten vegetable smell was actually me and my dissatisfied stomach.)

We decided to take a short jaunt into Yellowstone just to check things out, and we’re totally glad we did!  On the short drive from the entrance to the Fountain Paint Pots, we had an up-close encounter with several species of wildlife.  On one bend of the road, we saw several people pulled over on the side of the road taking pictures of something.  We pulled over too, and saw a bald eagle sitting in a tree across the river…majestic and fierce with the afternoon sun glinting off his white and brown feathers.  He appeared to be looking for fish in the river, as well as watching all of the people taking pictures of him.  I have never seen a bald eagle in person, and it was one of the coolest experiences of my life. 

A little further on, we ran into another large group of cars pulled over on the side of the road and realized that an American Bison herd was crossing the road, stopping traffic.  We got out of the car (even though we weren’t supposed to) and took pictures.  We were maybe 50 feet away from them, but they didn’t seem to care.  In addition to the various bulls and cows, adorned in all sizes and shades of brown, there were several calves in the herd too.  One bull was bellowing at all of the people, warning them to keep their distance.  This was the first time that my wife had ever seen a bison, so she was positively giddy.  I think this one experience made her whole vacation.

We went a little further to the Fountain Paint Pots, a geyser area so named for the various colors of the mud.  We enjoyed the geysers, but it was maddeningly cold, made colder by the arctic wind whipping across the plains.  The walkways were also hard to navigate as they were covered in a treacherous layer of ice.  Also, both of our cell phones decided to die at the same time, so we decided to head back to the hotel.

On the way, we spotted some elk eating by the river; their large, shaggy bodies silhouetted in the setting sun.  They were some distance off, but still close enough to clearly see their tan bodies, whitish backsides, and chocolate brown heads.  They moved slowly and gracefully along the riverbank, as they grazed on the golden grasses.  It was so peaceful to watch them.

Tonight, we went to The Buffalo Bar for dinner.  It was packed, so obviously it’s a happening place.  Everyone was there to watch the various sports games going on around the country.  We managed to find a little table in the corner, and we had a waitress named Amanda.  She was awesome; very outgoing and spunky.  My wife got a nachos appetizer, and I kid you not, this thing was a foot and a half long.  It was piled high with chips, cheese, chicken, olives, tomatoes, and sour cream.  She only made it through half before she waved the white flag.  I got a chicken fried steak with double mashed potatoes and garlic bread.  It was a fun night.