Day 23 West Yellowstone, MT to Livingston, MT

An unknown lake while waiting for traffic.

We were delayed this morning by complimentary cappuccino in the campground and the necessity of redeeming a couple of coupons in town (hat and chocolate) so it was 10:54 before we headed back into Yellowstone, NP.

Today, we headed North again for Mammoth Hot Springs near the North entrance to the park.  We were warned that the road out of the park was subject to construction delays and they didn’t lie.  We were stopped several times but just took it in stride and enjoyed the scenery where ever we were.  Once we overlooked a lake and another time as we started moving Mary saw a grizzly bear at the edge of the woods.

Our lunch spot

Mammoth was a disappointment for us as there was no parking within 2 miles of the springs and the visitor center wasn’t starting tours until next week so after a short stop, we headed up US 89 but stopped along a cascading river for a picnic lunch before heading for Livingston, MT

Waiting to cross the road

Traveling along 89, we finally saw our first elk of the trip, then several herds (perhaps 50 or so total) and right past a forest service campground we saw two beautiful longhorn mountain goats.

About half way between the park entrance and Livingston, we stopped at a rest stop along the Yellowstone River for a short break before continuing to Osens RV Park for the night.

Yellowstone River rest stop

While having that cappuccino this morning, we met a woman distributing the Phillipsburg, MT News. We are both a little road weary so we decided that a couple of low key days would be just fine and Phillipsburg is going to be the place. I called and booked an RV site for two nights so we’ll be reporting from there tomorrow.

Check the stats below, we passed 3000 miles today!

Odometer: 80224 Miles Today:109  Total: 3005