We checked out of the West Yellowstone condo around noon and headed to our rental cabin just north of the park in Gardiner, MT. Not too much car traffic but . . .
These guys are still shedding their heavy winter coats so they look pretty shaggy.
We took the narrow, winding upper terrace drive to see some beautiful travertine terraces.
Just before we arrived in Mammoth Hot Springs, we got two timely emails. First was a park service press release describing a cow elk attack on a woman near the Mammoth Hotel. Seems the woman inadvertently got too close to a calf and mom kicked her multiple times requiring that she be LifeFlighted to a hospital in Idaho. When we got into Mammoth we saw many cow elk sitting on the lawns but all was calm.
The other email was from John & Myra Bridges, a couple we volunteered with in Oregon nine years ago. We hadn't seen them since but they get our travel emails. Realizing we were in the area, they invited us to stop to see them at their camp host volunteer site in Mammoth campground. We stopped for a brief visit before meeting our kids at the cabin.
In case you've wondered what all this National Park stuff is about, from a display in the Mammoth Visitor Center, here's a quote from the law that created the Park Service.
Love,
Sandy & Carl
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502
