Day 21–Saddle and Paddle

The original plan was for three nights in Yellowstone – arrival and then two days exploring the park.  When we got behind schedule, I changed that to one night, then drive the southern loop and stay on the other side before continuing to South Dakota. 

So we stayed in Belgrade, MT last night, a little west of Bozeman.  I think Bozeman, because along I90 there’s Butte, Belgrade, Bozeman, and Billings … far too many Bs for me to keep straight – never mind with Big Sky and Big Timber in the mix.

In the brochure rack at the hotel yesterday, though, I came across one from Yellowstone Raft Co. offering a combo deal – two hours of horseback riding in the morning and then an 8-mile raft down the Yellowstone River in the afternoon.  $90 a person, so plans changed.

We made the 1.5 hour drive from Belgrade to Gardiner, right at the north entrance to the park.  The horses were up a winding, gravel road out of town. 

Aryn picked Frank because he looked at her at the corral – she thought that meant he wanted to go, what he really meant was “I’m tired, please don’t pick me because I don’t like to walk fast.”  The wrangler tried to warn her that he was a plodder, but she stuck with him and lagged behind a lot.

I wound up with Boomer, an ex-draft horse with hooves the size of my head.  Apparently I weigh as much as a Budweiser wagon now, and need a horse of that size.

We were the only two on the ride, which was really nice.  The trail started up into the hills, through desert – sagebrush and cacti.  I kept pointing out bones to Aryn.  First a vertebrate the size of my fist, then a large leg bone, and finally, from a recent kill, a foreleg and hoof from a small elk with the hide still on it.  This is not tame country.

We stopped at a halfway point along a creek with a grove of aspens, then made the return trip.

I asked about grizzly, because the guide had made a comment about Boomer being just down from the mountains and taking a break from things wanting to eat him.  They do multi-day trips up into the mountains too.  Then she told me the anecdote about hunting trips and how the grizzly now come running when they hear a gunshot, because they know there’ll be a gutpile.

On the way back we passed through a meadow with indents still in the grass from where a herd of elk had laid up over night.

After riding, we had time for a quick lunch before rafting.  When I come back here, I’ll be staying in either Gardiner or West Yellowstone, despite the expense, they’re both nice little towns and right at the entrances.  Probably Gardiner, as it’s more authentic.

No pictures from rafting until I can get to a CD drive – I didn’t take any during the trip, but the outfitter has someone take them from shore.

The rafting was good though, with several stretches of Class II/III rapids and freezing water – exactly what makes a good whitewater trip.  We pulled ashore at a small stop where there’s a thermal hotspring coming out of the river bank and found hot water streaming down the bank into the river.

After rafting, we entered Yellowstone and drove the west side of the loop from the north entrance to the west entrance.  Shortly after getting into the park, we saw some bighorn sheep on the ridge beside the road.

Then stopped at the Mammoth Hot Springs, where there was a sign showing parents what to suggest their kids do warning people about the dangers of walking off the paths.

Down the road from Mammoth, we came across a herd of elk.

The elk in the meadow and those in the forest were calling to each other – sounds like someone screaming. 

We passed a lone bison right beside the road.

The last stop of the day was at the Paintpots.

We exited the park into West Yellowstone and as we passed multiple hotels on our way to a 1.5-hour drive to Bozeman, I broke down and checked into a Best Western.  It’s pricey, but saves us driving tonight and then right back here in the morning.