Day 3: Back in Gardiner (September 5, 2025)

We visited the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in Gardiner for an up close but safe encounter. One of the grizzlies had been found asleep on the hood of a car near our VRBO after guzzling all the beer in a camper's cooler! In the wild, grizzlies may travel 20-40 miles per day. They stand 8-10 feet tall and can weigh 800-1000 pounds. I have great respect for their 2-4 inch claws! I wish these bears could roam free but I'm guessing they're enclosed because they lost their fear of humans along the way.
 

As dusk approached, this barred owl surveyed the meadow outside our VRBO. I'm guessing rabbits and rodents might be on the menu?

Day 3 at Yellowstone (September 5, 2025)

 The upper falls at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Steep canyon walls surround the falls

Day 2 at the North Gate (September 4, 2025)

Are we still in Texas? The Cowboy's Lodge and Grill was two blocks from our VRBO in Gardiner, Montana, at Yellowstone's North Gate. The wait for barbecue was too long so we walked a half block to the Iron Horse Bar & Grill. P.S. How does the bull balance on its two front legs?

 

I have red cowgirl boots too! But only a size 8.

Local draft beer and free fries at the Iron Horse Bar & Grill. 

Marilyn Monroe is watching over my shoulder.

This was as close as we got to a moose for our entire trip. 

The moose antlers ceiling fan is at the Iron Horse Bar & Grill.

More of Day 2 in Yellowstone (September 4, 2025)

From Yellowstone's northeast entrance, we took the Beartooth Highway, a 68-mile scenic route in Montana and Wyoming. The highway (US 212) reaches 11,000 feet and typically closes by October due to snow. We stopped at the Rock Creek Vista Point at 9,199 feet. See the highway below?  
 

We decided this must be the bear tooth itself. The highway, completed in 1936, was carved through extreme terrain using methods like hand-carved rock embankments and precision blasting through granite.

This sign promises deep snow.

So does this ski lift at Beartooth pass. Parking is at the top of the mountain. So in a backwards gravity definition, what goes down must come up?

Returning to Yellowstone, back through the Beartooth Pass.

The 11,699-foot Pilot Peak, visible from the Beartooth Highway, is the pointiest mountain peak we've ever seen.

A little red fox ran along the road beside us.

Back in Lamar Valley, we saw pronghorns. The photos blurry because we had to set the phone on the 10X setting.

Day 2 at Yellowstone (September 4, 2025)

Several of Yellowstone's 5400 free-ranging bison moseying across the road in Lamar Valley. 
 

Why did they cross the road? To get to the other side! 

You should stay at least 25 yards from bison. They can be aggressive and run up to 30 mph! I can't.

Male bison can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. The primarily eat grasses and sedges. Yep, they're powerful vegans!