Y E L L O W S T O N E   -   D A Y   # 2

Friday, August 6, 2004

There seems to be a lot of bison in this part of the park. This is just one of many encounters along the way.

I have arrived.

Click here for more detail (and pictures) on my tour of the Mud Volcano Trail.

Returning from the trail I find myself all pooped out. I have seen 4 of the day's 5 planned sights which isn't bad considering doing more than 3 is a lot. I wonder what the average is? With family in tow, it's probably only 2. The nice thing about traveling solo is you don't get bogged down by the collective interests of the group. I spend time on what I'm interested in when touring a sight and whisk by the rest.

I decide to end the day's sightseeing and travel out of the park back to Gardiner, MT, located on the front doorstep of the park's North Entrance. I don't feel like paying $14 to sleep in my van again, plus my two hikes the next day are in the Mammoth Hot Springs Area which is a stone's throw from the North Entrance.

Once in Gardiner, I have a hard time finding a suitable car-camping spot. Most of the side-roads in town are dirt roads and don't look very inviting. So I decide to hide-in-plain-sight and park right on the main thoroughfare.

I fix dinner and retire early. Tomorrow I'll have a busy day of hiking two trails (Sepulcher Mountain and Bunsen Peak) and sightseeing the 7th and last Yellowstone sight, the Canyon Area.

Laying my head down to rest, little did I know at the time that my sleep would be rudely interrupted in the wee hours of the morning by a visitor who was both welcome and unwelcome.