With our spirits and energy renewed after a full 9 hours of sleep, we did a bit more research and headed back into the National Park (for the record, we don't believe the treasure is buried or otherwise in a place that would deface nature, so we aren't using shovels or anything like that).
On our way to Mammoth Hot Springs we saw a bison right on the side of the road! I mean, this guy couldn't have been more than 20 feet away (we were in the car and he didn't care, so we were safe).
Mammoth Hot Springs is beautiful! It's growing significantly each year as scalding water brings minerals to the surface of the ground and then evaporates, leaving an ever-growing natural wonder. That would explain why it looks so differently than it did when I visited Yellowstone nearly 20 years ago!
We ate lunch in the "town" of Mammoth Hot Springs and then continued toward Tower-Roosevelt. For being the less-traveled and less-famous area of Yellowstone, this side of the park is so much prettier and more diverse!
We stopped at the Lamar Ranger Station, where we met the sweetest volunteer ranger, Harold Brown. He told us all about the history of the area, the efforts by the Park to regenerate the wolf population, and how male bison roll around in their own urine to smell good for the ladies (it's currently bison mating season here). He talked to us about our risk of bear and bison encounters as he loaned us a 3rd bottle of bear spray and pointed us up the stream for a backcountry hike towards Druid Peak.
This was during the first 10 minutes of the hike: a.k.a. the only 10 minutes I enjoyed it before being terrified of bear sightings.
The hike was beautiful but I was on high alert for bears after our conversation with the rangers. I'll just say it WOULD have been my favorite hike ever if this wasn't bear country... but, considering the risk of bears, it bottomed out my list of best hikes. I'll stick to the boardwalks and maintained paths from here on out and leave the risk-taking to the boys. ;)
The hike took up the greater part of the afternoon, so as daylight waned we headed back to West Yellowstone for the night, stopping to see one more buffalo along the way (one that came way too close to where the boys were perched on a boulder!). More research tonight and then onward to more adventures (and theories) tomorrow!
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