Day 8 - Tue. 9/30

Sstayed in Bozeman overnight. In the AM to the museum
at the university which features all the dinosaur finds.

To Livingston where Clark found the Missouri River. Visited several sites
and had lunch in town.

In the evening, visited downtown Billings.

Overnight in Billings.

Day 9 - Weds. 10/1

To Pompey's Pillar, a major Lewis& Clark site. The place was closed (NPS
says "open through September," but its last day was 9/27, but visitors can
park on the road and walk in.

To Little Big Horn Battlefield National Park. Much to see at and around Custer's
Last Stand. We had a couple of hours, could have used more before it closed.

To Red Lodge, MT.

Day 10 - Thurs. 10/2

Up and over the Beartooth Scenic Byway.

This was closed Wednesday because of snow and was closed the day after because
of ice, so we got lucky! This is rightfully, one of the most scenic routes
in America. The pass is just short of 11,000 feet, so it's way above Donner
and the other "summits" we usually know.

Visited Cooke City - which relies exclusively on skimobile enthusiasts during the winter.

Into Yellowstone National Park, across the southern east to west route. Stopped
at a few sites, waterfalls, etc. headed to Gardiner.

Gardiner is the location of the Roosevelt Arch, so it's quite
prominent on the way in. The town is tiny, but there are a good
number of motels and restaurants.

Day 11 - Fri. 10/3 -

Headed to Old Faithful area in the park.

Spent the whole day on the trails and boardwalks in the Old Faithful area.

We had the lunch at the Old Faithful Inn -- the buffet included trout, so
that was excellent.

In the afternoon, we took the tour of the Inn.

Back to Gardiner. Note that there is road construction between Morris and
Mammoth, so this is slow.

Day 12 - Sat. 10/4

Saw the sights starting at Mammoth Hot Springs, down to Norris and
Madison and almost to Old Faithful.

Another day of many hours of hiking.

NPS has done a good job of providing enough boardwalks and trails that
we didn't see anyone venturing off the paths.

The couple of side roads into a canyon and other and other geothermal
areas were very worthwhile.

Out to West Yellowstone for the evening.

West Yellowstone is the "hopping community" of the area. There are
a couple of dozen hotels, a museum, gift shops that stay open LATE,
and more.

Day 13 - Sunday 10/5

We visited the museum in the old train depot - quite good. The
stories of the early tourists were great. Those taking the Grand Tour
by scheduled horse-drawn coach were called "Dudes." Those of us doing
our own travels had other names -- which I'll need to look up.

The large dining facility from the railroad days has been refurbished
a couple of times (most recently after an earthquake), and we were
able to get in -- quite a place.

Then, back into the Park.

We did locate the headwaters of the Madison River - where two
rivers join near the road junction called "Madison," of course. Since
we had seen where the Madison ends, forming part of the Missouri River
at Three Forks, we found this interesting.

Off to the Canyon area and the numerous sites around the Grand
Canyon of The Yellowstone. The Visitor Center has a huge map
of the park with LEDs showing features such as the two calderras,
fault lines and thermal areas.

Back to West Yellowstone for the night. (Most lodging in the Park
has already closed for the winter and there are NO availabilities!)

While at Yellowstone, we heard about the third drone operator being

fined $1,000. The signs are quite clear that this is not allowed in the

Park!

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