Last Day At Yellowstone

Today was a rare opportunity to sleep in before we start our move again tomorrow. Unfortunately no-one remembered to tell the children! Elliot screamed in the middle of the night from nightmares, Lara moved to our bed also because of nightmares and Jonah woke up as a result. Malcolm cut his losses and went off to order our freshly made sandwiches from the local deli. He came back with a Montana fishing license, a fishing rod and associated fishing gear. Guess what we're doing today!

First we had more of Yellowstone National Park to visit. After a lazy start, we finally drove towards Mammoth Hot Springs. Whilst the Terrace Springs were fascinating, it was quite warm. We abandoned the rest of the trail, even though it was short, and sought a shady spot for lunch. We managed to find one near the charming Post Office building. Our biggest challenge of the day turned out to be avoiding elk poo. They were everywhere! Our hearty sandwiches which only cost $5.99 each ended up being enough for lunch AND dinner. They were huge and the fillings were very generous.

The very different landscape at Mammoth Hot Springs

Rock formations in action

Big contrast to the blues and greens of the trees and rivers

Another quaint and charming place. This is the post office at Mammoth Springs

Even the visitor center is cute

Elk poo everywhere

Ice-cream stop

We headed back towards the West Entrance following the Gibbon and Madison Rivers once more. We took the opportunity to stop and walk along the River. The children had a blast trying to catch grasshoppers. We loved how there was no one else around us. We continued along our way to find our fishing spot. Unfortunately, the Montana fishing license did not allow us to fish in Yellowstone but will allow us to fish anywhere else in Montana including Glacier National Park. At the suggestion of the man at the fishing shop, we looked for Lake Hebgen just outside Yellowstone. Malcolm and the children fished, I took photos, Opa napped and listened to Elvis, and Oma ordered everyone else around. Everyone had a good time. We finished off our leftover sandwiches and went back to our lodge.

Wandering down the Madison River

Daddy and Oma looking for fish in the river

The children busy trying to catch grasshoppers

This went on for a while...

One last look before leaving the Yellowstone

Our fishing spot

Malcolm showing Jonah the ropes

The children learnt very quickly

As soon as one went in...

...more were sure to follow

As I type, Opa and Oma have gone off to buy some chow mein, Malcolm has just returned after hanging out with the locals and the children have just fallen asleep. It is time to pack up and start the next leg of our journey.