Our Life in Yellowstone - CHICO HOT SPRINGS - MONTANA

It was Geni's Birthday and I decided to treat her to a great weekend! We found out about Chico Hot springs by an employee at Old Faithful Inn. Its an old Rustic Inn and natural hot springs that was built in the early 1900's, its retained its original feel thurout the years. Its 30 miles from the park on HWY 89 north. I booked a room in the original lodge on the third floor along with dinner reservations and a massage for Geni. Friends of ours were also celebrating there 46th wedding anniversary, congrats Clark and Elaine and our friend Dodge ,we all decided to celebrate together! The Hot springs contain two separate pools, one HOT (105 degrees) and one large pool (98 degrees). They have a full lounge with slots and TV's (none in rooms). A formal dinning room (awesome food) and a wonderful lobby with very friendly staff !

Link to History of Lodge http://www.chicohotsprings.com/about-us/history/

Our good friends Clark, Elaine, Dodge

The BEST pork chop I have ever had! 

Dodge

Geni's Birthday cake

The large swimming pool (98 degrees) Very Nice

Hallway to our room

Lobby a local Elk on wall

Lobby with a piano

The famous western artist Charles Russell stayed here in 1908 

The Dinner menu

Guest rules

Our Life in Yellowstone - land of FOSSIL FOREST

Geni and I took a short but very steep hike in the Lamar Valley to view the Fossil Forest. It was a 2.8 mile hike with a elevation gain of 1300 feet!
Around 55 million years ago, Yellowstone entered a volcanically active phase. Ashes, mudflows, and breccia from the vicinity of the Absaroka Range entombed the trees that were thriving in this area.
All types of trees and vegetation are present from huge redwoods to common pine trees. Just another amazing  part of YNP !

Link: https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/yell/knowlton/sec2.htm

A large Redwood tree with a incredible view of the valley below

It was a 1300' straight up very strenuous hike, but well worth it! What a view!

Redwood that is still upright, crystal geo's inside and you can count the rings

Pine trees still standing upright

another Amazing thing in YNP!

Our Life In Yellowstone - LAND OF FIRE GEYSERS, MUDPOTS, HOTSPRINGS

Yellowstone is truly a one of a kind landscape! No where on this earth is the land so beautiful and so in turmoil. It is home to ones of Earths most beautiful freshwater lakes and home to 98% of earths Geysers and sits on top of one of earths largest dormant volcanoes, it always amazes us when we hike of the diversity of the landscape.
Link to history of Yellowstone geysers http://yellowstone.net/history/geysers-mudpots-fumaroles-and-hot-springs-yellowstones-hydrothermal-wonders

Yellowstone Lake is the largest hi elevation lake in North America

 Link: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/yellowstone-lake.htm

20 miles long and 14 miles wide!

A large bull Elk we ran into hiking!

Fire and water coming out of ground

GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING

 Grand Prismatic https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/grand-prismatic-midway-geyser-basin

Most famous Geyser in Yellowstone : "OLD FAITHFUL"

link to live webcam
 http://www.seeyellowstone.com/web-cams/old-faithful-geyser-streaming-webcam/

Our View every night

 GRAND PRISMATIC

Our Life in Yellowstone - Breath Taking Solar Eclipse

In our part of Yellowstone -The North Entrance (Mammoth) we received 98.8% total Eclipse. 80 miles south in Jackson Hole they got a 100% total Eclipse. They had thousands of people down there and we had maybe 20 on top of Bunsen Peak! What a amazing site to watch, the sun slowly getting darker and darker by our moon which passes in front of it. We climbed Bunsen peak (8564') high about 8:30 in the Morning with some friends and reached the top at 10:00 am and it didn't take long after for the sun to start with the eclipse, little by little small pieces of the sun were blocked by the moon and finally it became 15 degrees cooler and the skies turned much darker! All I can say it was a once in a life time view that we will never forget!

Eclipse Just starting to happen

About 50% covered

8564 feet high!

Our Friends we hiked up with

The eclipse looking from a cracker

Our Life in Yellowstone - 100 mile HIKING club

We have a awesome life in Yellowstone National Park . I would recommend this to anyone that is bored with their life, we should have done this years ago! We have met and seen some of the most amazing people in our travels that we will always remember. When we arrived here April 26th, we went to the employee only rec hall and signed up for the 100 mile hiking club! You receive a employee only t-shirt and when you finish hiking your 100 miles you receive a backpack. The employee rec center is a great place to meet your fellow employees and they have a full gym and basket ball court. They also offer trips and educational seminars to employees. One of our early hikes was to sheepeaters cliff in the Mammoth area, it was early spring and the wild flowers were in bloom.

Just born Pronghorn babies