Day 17 July 26: Glacier to Yellowstone

As much as we hated to leave Glacier, we were anxious to get to Yellowstone. We set out on US-2 with some backward glances. We hadn't gone far when we saw some Blackfeet cowboys on their horses working a herd of cattle. They appeared to be separating the calves from the rest of the herd. It was such a classic scene with the mountains in the background, that we turned around so we could get some pictures.

We drove through a portion of the Blackfeet Reservation including Browning which is the Blackfeet capital. It was interesting to see the mix of some of the old traditions as evidenced by sweat cloths hanging in trees with the more modern. Browning was not a large town, and was obviously not real prosperous, but it didn't appear desolate or poverty stricken either.

We made our way over to I-15 and headed south toward Yellowstone. When we realized we would go right by Helena, we all agreed we should take a drive around the city. We quickly found the Capitol building and took a walk around the front of it. We opted to not go in due to the time constraints. Then we visited St. Patrick's Cathedral which was built in the Gothic style in 1908. It is a beautiful building with lots of stained glass (from Germany) and marble (from Italy) in the interior. After a quick stop at McDonald's (not for food) we headed back on to I-15 south.

While the trip over to I-15 from Glacier had been through mostly rolling hills and plains, the landscape became more mountainous again as we went south. Soon we were in some pretty tight curves and steep hills where the normal posted speed of 75 mph was a bit too fast. Some of the curves were posted at 45 mph (remember this is Montana interstate) and they were exciting. Along the way we passed a truck while doing about 70 and got a rock to the windshield. It hit on the edge of the windshield about half way up on the passenger side. It took a divot out of the glass and a crack quickly formed and began growing toward the driver's side. By the end of the day the crack was about 10 inches long. We are hoping it will not grow too much more and we will be able to get home before we have to take care of it.

We arrived in West Yellowstone about 6:15 pm and checked into our hotel (Comfort Inn). We immediately headed out to the park to drive around and check into tours. We stopped at a point along the Madison River where we saw an elk herd grazing. Our first large mammals in Yellowstone! We continued on to the Old Faithful Inn where we wanted to inquire about Yellow Bus Tours (like the Red Bus in Glacier). We also wanted to see the place since we had heard so much about it, and it is number one on the list of "Great Lodges of the National Parks". The place is awesome. It does not have the large diameter, soaring logs supporting it like Glacier Park Lodge, but is essentially all log construction. Two levels of mezzanines overlook the lobby which has a huge, four sided fire place in the very middle. By the way, the lodge sits at about 7000 feet elevation, and the temperatures were cool (low 60s). We decided to see if we could get into the restaurant for a light (yeah, right) dinner. The restaurants in these lodges are fantastic, and so is the food. After checking on the bus tours we had decided to do it ourselves, so after dinner and some shopping, we headed back to the hotel (about 40 miles) to end the day.

Pictures coming soon.