Idaho Falls to Yellowstone National Park

We woke up to a great day in Idaho Falls and had a big breakfast as usual. We're getting used to these big breakfasts while traveling. It still amazes me how much Ethan can eat! The drive today is only a short drive so we should get the whole day in Yellowstone once arriving. With a minor wrong turn out of the hotel we were on our way! The road took us through a lot of green farmland and then into the southeast corner of Montana. Unfortunately the sign was dirty, but we took the picture anyway.


Well, Yellowstone did not let us down. Within minutes from entering the West Entrance, we were experiencing animals. At first we could not figure out how we would spot them, but then quickly realized that it took no skill at all. Just look for clumps of cars along the roadways as you drive, and you can be sure that you will see animals! We first came across a bald-eagle, followed by a nice deer along the side of the road.


Quickly after that we saw our first bison. They are truly amazing animals and although the pictures don't show it, they are very close to you. Some people, even though they tell you not to, get out of their car, walk as close as they can, just to get a picture. However, these animals can run 30 miles per hour. I would not want to be chased by one!

OK, since we didn't know, we're guessing that you may not also. Are they buffalo or bison? Well, they are bison since buffalo seem to be native to Asia and Africa only.



We decided to do a small part of the park today and were incredibly hungry by now as it was close to 2:30. We stopped so much along the road in the park that time just flew by. Since we were close to the Old Faithful Inn, we decided to stop in for lunch. The inside of this hotel is really neat. No picture can show it fully, but it's all wood and has many floors that you can walk up and look down upon a huge lobby with a grand fireplace. Very neat.

Lunch was also good, and not outrageously priced like we would have guessed given the fact that the hotel is grand and the location is literally on top of Old Faithful. In addition to some normal dishes, we sampled some bison chili. I liked it, Ethan thought it was fair, and Ellen didn't take a bite!


After lunch we walked outside to see Old Faithful. We had to wait about 15 minutes, but wow, was it worth it. I didn't think I'd be too impressed with this geyser, but it was really cool to watch. It is amazing how high it blasts!



After viewing the geyser we took to the road in the park and stopped at some thermal basins. These thermal basins contain algae, bacteria, and fungi that don't exist anywhere else in the world and 75% of the geysers in the world are located here. It's really an amazing place to see this type of scenery. Although the kids did not like the smell that was omitted in these areas, for some reason it did not bother me at all. The warmth that came from the ground was great considering that the weather in the park today was the high 50's. I bent down to touch the water coming out of these basins, and it was almost boiling!


After a day in the park, we headed over to our "ranch" to check-in. It was just outside of the West entrance, and we knew where it was as we passed it on the way in. Turning down the long driveway, we were faced with tons of cows across the road. Quite frankly we didn't know how to deal with this, but we just inched our way up to them and they parted ways. Upon arrival, we asked Cory how he deals with them and he said "I usually just honk at them and they move. Cows are not too smart." So now you will know what to do when faced with a road full of cows!


After a quick shower, we headed downtown for some dinner. It was already 7:30 by this time, and the downtown area offered a variety of BBQ places to choose from. There were tourists from all over the country here, and we had a good dinner and a quick drive back to the hotel, again to face the road full of cows!


We lounged around a bit tonight, relaxed, and watched Pink Panther 2. Tomorrow we're planning on spending another day in the park and getting in some hiking along the way.

Hotel: Bar-N-Ranch - We were expecting much more from this hotel than what it delivered. First, the pro's - great breakfast, great ambiance, great staff. Con's - Room was smaller than expected. Bathroom is not as modern as expected (small leak in sink, no water pressure in shower, changing water temperatures in shower, plus very small and low shower). Restaurant is for high-end diners, yet there are a lot of kids who stay there. Almost no TV stations (I think we got one), though they had a large selection of DVD's. Distance from park is as advertised (6 miles to west entrance), but most of the sites that first-time tourists want to see in Yellowstone are about 40 minutes inside the entrance. We would have opted to stay at the Old Faithful Inn and would do so next time.