Livingston and Yellowstone

We arrived at the Livingston KOA 10 miles south of the town in the midst of a storm. As we were waiting to check in, a lady came in and said there was a big tree down by her site, and it had pulled an electrical wire with it. Another couple came in and said their trailer roof was badly dented from a big limb falling on the top of the trailer. The electric company was called, and then we were able to check in. We got to our site and soon the electricity was off so the power company could get the tree off the wire and repair the damage. Never a dull moment!

The picture on the right shows the view from our trailer on a SUNNY day! It's beautiful.

On Sunday we left the camp at 7:45 to head for Yellowstone National Park. We were only 40 miles from the park, and the scenery was beautiful on our way. We stopped at the gate and took a picture of us by a Yellowstone sign. We enjoyed seeing the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces and the various geyser basins, but the biggest thrill was being at Old Faithful when it erupted. The park has bleachers set up around the perimeter, but by the time we got to the site it was standing room only. We had a great place to stand, and took a lot of pictures of the geyser. It was awesome and that alone was worth the trip! We did some shopping (I collect magnets, Jack pins) and then continued past Yellowstone Lake and stopped at the Upper Falls and Canyon Village to have ice cream and to see an educational film on Yellowstone. It seemed almost everywhere we went, we were climbing up -- either a long ramp, steps, or paved path. By the time we reached our last stop -- Tower Falls, I was sore and so tired I wasn't sure I'd make it up to the viewing spot. Found out after we came back down that Jack was just as tired as I was! As we were making our way back to the North Entrance (about 40 miles) we encountered several traffic stops -- for buffalo, a black bear, and a few antelope. To that point we'd only seen buffalo, but got to see the bear, the antelope, and more buffalo. When we came into the Mammoth Hot Springs Village, we were treated to the sight of about 30 elk grazing on the manicured grass of the village. One last stop at the North Gate to get a picture of us by the arch as we left. By then it was after 7, and we were tired and hungry.

There was a small bar/cafe/hotel in Gardiner right outside the park gate so we stopped and got something to eat before we headed back to the camp. There were three bikers sitting at the table across from us, and they ordered sweet tea-- a dead giveaway. I asked them where they were from and they said, "Salisbury, NC." I grinned and said we were from Raleigh, and they surmised that their order for sweet tea gave them away. We had a nice chat waiting for our meal. Small world!

Today we drove into Livingston and rinsed the Yellowstone mud off the truck and toured the Yellowstone Gateway Museum. It was a nice museum-- three floors of the old elementary school and an outbuilding containing wagons, firetrucks, a sheep wagon and an old cabin.

We leave in the morning for Bozeman (about 25 miles west on I-90) where there is a museum that interests us.

Oh yes, the left picture is of us at the Upper Falls in Yellowstone.