Day 9 - Yellowstone Lake Lodge
While we were sad to leave Under Canvas, we were excited about the animals and other amazing sights we would see inside Yellowstone. We hit traffic immediately at the gate, but the staff moved everyone quickly along. Thanks to Mackay still being considered in the 4th grade until the end of August (and Obama for putting this program in place), the kid finally saved us money instead of costing us! Free admission for 4th graders and their families to any national park. Yay! You do need to register and print your pass before you show up though.
One we clear the gate, we drive fairly smoothly from the West entrance of the park, headed to Lake Yellowstone to find our cabin. We had only one tactical error. Knowing we had a few hours to kill before check in, we saw a sign for Norris Geyser basin, and thought 'let's go check it out.' Note: it's about 1pm, and we're here the 4th of July week. We pull into the 1-way section that leads to the parking lot, and it's absolute gridlock. After sitting for about 10 minutes, Bill gets out to scout ahead, coming back to report that the traffic continues as far as he can see. We consider having him and the kids get out and go check out the geysers, but we have no cell service, so reconnecting could be tricky. In the end, Bill stops traffic so I can back up (we're only about 50 feet from entrance), and we - and the 5 other cars that took our lead - haul ass out of that place. Whew. Lesson learned.
We make our way uneventfully to the Lodge, which was only about 65 miles from Under Canvas. The lake is stunning and huge!
We putter around for a bit until our cabin is ready. The cabin is rustic but clean, and perfectly adequate for our home base. Bill sets up our portable hammocks in one of the nearby trees, and the kids settle in. As I'm getting things organized inside, Bill says (with an odd sense of urgency) 'Michele, get out here.' I poke my head outside the door to see this:
(Sorry - for the life of me I can't get this to rotate!) Here's the still photo version:
This bison walked up the street without Mackay even noticing! Remarkable Bison encounter number 1 in the books. Spoiler: there are more to come.
I checked in with the front desk to see about our options for activities. Unfortunately, since we didn't call a few days ahead, the bus-oriented tours (that would save us from having to use our partially-charged car) were already booked. However, Bill spent a few minutes chatting with a guy who turned out to be the manager of both the Lodge and the Lake Yellowstone hotel (Gary - you rock!), and he gave us the inside scoop that there was a 50 amp charger located behind the Hotel that we were free to use. He even gave Bill a ride over in his golf cart to show him where it was - and the short but pretty trail to return to our cabin while we charged the car. Housekeeping also loaned us an extension cord (which we meant to bring but forgot) so we could plug in through a window into our room. This freed us up considerably to check out the park on our own.
Since we had not had a chance to use our oven (the one downside of Under Canvas is that they don't allow any food in the tents), Bill set up our Coleman stove and oven in our room. This is probably also not permitted/wise, but we made sure there was plenty of circulation. What do you know? We made a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting in our cabin. Happy Birthday, Bill!
Given our congestion lesson, along with advice from folks we talked to that the wildlife was much easier to find early in the morning, we decided we would get up early the next day and make the drive to Old Faithful. Stay tuned for our next adventure!
One we clear the gate, we drive fairly smoothly from the West entrance of the park, headed to Lake Yellowstone to find our cabin. We had only one tactical error. Knowing we had a few hours to kill before check in, we saw a sign for Norris Geyser basin, and thought 'let's go check it out.' Note: it's about 1pm, and we're here the 4th of July week. We pull into the 1-way section that leads to the parking lot, and it's absolute gridlock. After sitting for about 10 minutes, Bill gets out to scout ahead, coming back to report that the traffic continues as far as he can see. We consider having him and the kids get out and go check out the geysers, but we have no cell service, so reconnecting could be tricky. In the end, Bill stops traffic so I can back up (we're only about 50 feet from entrance), and we - and the 5 other cars that took our lead - haul ass out of that place. Whew. Lesson learned.
We make our way uneventfully to the Lodge, which was only about 65 miles from Under Canvas. The lake is stunning and huge!
 |
| Lake Yellowstone at Sunrise |
We putter around for a bit until our cabin is ready. The cabin is rustic but clean, and perfectly adequate for our home base. Bill sets up our portable hammocks in one of the nearby trees, and the kids settle in. As I'm getting things organized inside, Bill says (with an odd sense of urgency) 'Michele, get out here.' I poke my head outside the door to see this:
(Sorry - for the life of me I can't get this to rotate!) Here's the still photo version:
 |
| Mackay had to move when the bison decided the grass was sweeter on her side of the street. |
This bison walked up the street without Mackay even noticing! Remarkable Bison encounter number 1 in the books. Spoiler: there are more to come.
I checked in with the front desk to see about our options for activities. Unfortunately, since we didn't call a few days ahead, the bus-oriented tours (that would save us from having to use our partially-charged car) were already booked. However, Bill spent a few minutes chatting with a guy who turned out to be the manager of both the Lodge and the Lake Yellowstone hotel (Gary - you rock!), and he gave us the inside scoop that there was a 50 amp charger located behind the Hotel that we were free to use. He even gave Bill a ride over in his golf cart to show him where it was - and the short but pretty trail to return to our cabin while we charged the car. Housekeeping also loaned us an extension cord (which we meant to bring but forgot) so we could plug in through a window into our room. This freed us up considerably to check out the park on our own.
 |
| The trail between the Lake Yellowstone Hotel and the Lodge |
Since we had not had a chance to use our oven (the one downside of Under Canvas is that they don't allow any food in the tents), Bill set up our Coleman stove and oven in our room. This is probably also not permitted/wise, but we made sure there was plenty of circulation. What do you know? We made a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting in our cabin. Happy Birthday, Bill!
