Gym's Ramblings: Fall 2023 - October Meanderings: Yellowstone

Old Faithful

Yellowstone National Park

Hypnotized by the siren song of the snowbirds, Gym was drawn south. On October 4th, 2023, he grabbed his lovely sidekick, gassed up the SUV and moseyed on down to the border at Sweetgrass, Montana. They entered the USA and migrated south along the edge of the Rockies. Initially, they were headed to the town of West Yellowstone, Montana. West Yellowstone is a cool little place, at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Gym is not sure why he has alway's wanted to go to Yellowstone but he thinks that Walt Disney, National Geographic and Yogi Bear all had a role to play in it. Established in 1872, it is the oldest national park in the world, 13 years older than Banff National Park. It is also the second largest national park in the lower 48 states, at 2.2 million acres.

If you watched television during the 1960's, Walt Disney and Yogi Bear would have you believe that Yellowstone (Jellystone to Yogi), was all about bears begging for handouts. That is not the real draw though. Yellowstone is actually a dormant super-volcano and it contains half of the world's active geysers. You go there to see the geysers, mudpots, fumaroles and hot springs. There are also some amazing waterfalls and other beautiful natural scenery, like the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Then, if you see some wildlife, that is the icing on the cake.

Why did our hero not enter the park from the north? Because he had consulted with his dear wife and they had decided that the best way to see the park for the first time, was with a small-group guided tour. That way, both of our adventurers could give Siri a day off and let someone else do the driving. As it turns out, West Yellowstone is the staging area for many guiding outfits and an excellent service was chosen for a full day tour. On October 6, 2023, our dynamic duo and six other very friendly folks, boarded a very comfortable 16 -seat van that had a tall ceiling and large side windows. The company, 'Yellowstone Day Tours', provided that great vehicle, a very good guide named Eddy and a generous picnic lunch. It turned out to be a wonderful introduction to the massive park. Thanks to this great tour, someday in the future, Gym can more confidently negotiate Yellowstone and spend quality time at the sites that deserve more detailed exploration.

On October 7, 2023, our adventurers left West Yellowstone. They drove south on US-20 and eventually joined up with the I-15 again, in Idaho Falls. They would continue on to Provo, Utah and rest there for the night. From Provo, they had a short drive to St. George, Utah which is the subject of the next blog post.

Travel Note: To get to West Yellowstone, you pass through Great Falls and Helena and then you get off the I-15 at Boulder, Montana. On highway MT-69 and then US-287, you travel through some very picturesque country. Ennis, Montana was on the route. It is a very 'western' town that should appeal to fly fisherman. There are at least three fishing tackle stores on Main Street.