The Rahns Do the Wild West - Part 2 - Yellowstone National Park and West Yellowstone, Montana

     So the Wild West adventure continues...On June 30 - Katie's 13th birthday we leave the Tetons and head into Yellowstone. Having been to Yellowstone twice before and having done both the upper and lower loops of the park, we decided on our favorite places to revisit and not spend the whole day in the park.

Day 4 - Continuing on to Yellowstone National Park

We left the Tetons around 6:00 a.m. and drove straight to Old Faithful - we knew we would stop and eat breakfast at a great General Store right next to Old Faithful that makes a great homemade breakfast. We arrive there at about 8:30.

We ate breakfast, and then perfect timing...headed over to Old Faithful and within 10 minutes she erupted! The geyser only erupts once every 90 minutes, so we were happy that we got there at the right time.

We then went in the Old Faithful Inn for some souvenir shopping - we stayed there during our last visit for one night, so we didn't need to spend a lot of time here.

We then went on to the Grand Prismatic Spring. This is a beautiful spring, but we've always just seen it at ground level and admired the colors. We had seen pictures from above, and were determined this time to find those spots...

Well, through TripAdvisor and asking some questions, we found the trailhead that lead to an overlook. We walked the trailhead, and Don and the girls headed UP - I had sprained my ankle 2 weeks before and didn't want to push my luck, so I stayed down below. They climbed up and were able to get the "above" shot that we were hoping for. So the pictures above are of the same spring that the pictures below show. :)

 We then all headed back to the car and moved on....first stopping to pose with a piece of petrified wood.....

We then moved to the Mud Pots....I've always been intrigued by the bubbling mud at Yellowstone. So we had to visit again this time....and we found a lone bison sitting inside the area, just minding his own business.

First stop on the boardwalk was Dragons Mouth Spring.

 

Then the Mud Volcano....Love the bubbling mud!!!

Then the Mud Cauldron....

After those sights we went on to the Canyon side, ate lunch and continue around the lower loop and out the west entrance to West Yellowstone. Our goal was to be checked in to the hotel by around 5:00 p.m. - we had a big evening planned in West Yellowstone and Katie couldn't wait!!
 
 Day 4 - Evening - West Yellowstone, Montana

After our fun day in Yellowstone, we exited out the West entrance and entered into West Yellowstone, Montana. We found our hotel - the Gray Wolf Inn and Suites and got ready for our big event of the day. To continue Katie's birthday celebration we were going to go to Big Gun Fun. I had found this place through a mailing I got from our hotel listing other sights in West Yellowstone.

I was hesitant, but called them and chatted, and also looked at the reviews on TripAdvisor. It was legit and reviewed by lots of families with boys and girls our girls' ages. What fun we had!!
We were greeted upon arrival by a great guy and he discussed our choices and options. The three girls chose pistols and don chose a Colt 45. Katie - the birthday girls - was getting a second choice also, so she chose a machine gun. We were taken into the range and given instructions and then we each got our turn with our own guns and targets. It was definitely a new adventure for us, and a great way to spend an hour on vacation!! :)

We then did some shopping and wandering around the cute town of West Yellowstone. Upon the suggestions of the hotel staff, we headed back to the hotel to relax and had dinner delivered from a great pizzeria in town. It was nice to just hang out in the room and not have to go sit in another restaurant tonight. The hotel was beautiful and spacious, so we enjoyed the rest of the quiet evening.

Day 5 - Long Road trip to Kalispell, Montana

This was probably the longest, most boring day of the trip...it was our relocation day. We had to get from Yellowstone to Glacier National Park and it was a full day's drive to do so. After searching the maps for the shortest route, and any fun stops we could make along the way...we settled on 5 hours of highway driving and a stop at the National Bison Range. We were excited for that, and all set for a short diversion as we drove through the range looking at all of the wildlife that the website talked about....nope...nothing....well, one lonely buffalo and a bunch way off in the distance. Yes, we did see a deer also. Big disappointment, but we did see some beautiful country...

We continued our drive another hour past the Bison Range and arrived at Flathead Lake. It is a beautiful, very large lake.  I had found a nice steakhouse restaurant around the lake, so we stopped, ate dinner there and then drove the 30 minutes left to get to our hotel.




Day 5 - Evening - arriving in Kalispell, Montana - preparing for Glacier National Park

We arrived at our Hampton Inn in Kalispell, got settled and made a quick trip to the McDonald's next door for an after dinner snack. Then we had an early bedtime to prepare for our day in Glacier National Park tomorrow. We would start with a 5:45 a.m. wakeup call to be on the Going to the Sun Road by 6:30ish...

Stay tuned to Glacier National Park with the Rahns!!