Day 6, Butte to West Yellowstone via Livingston and Yellowstone National Park, 460 miles.

Wow what a day today has been! Today wasn't the day I thought I was going to have.....I anticipated a 2 hour drive to West Yellowstone in the morning but instead went ''chasing the light!''

Chasing the light is a photographers term used when you make plans based on the different light conditions. I looked at the weather and originally was due to have blue skies on Friday and Saturday but when I checked before I set off this morning Saturday had changed to snow. So as today was my only blue sky day, I changed my route slightly.

On the map of Yellowstone below, all roads in Yellowstone are closed from October to Spring (the red ones) apart from the black one that goes from the North entrance to the North East entrance so I decided to drive Yellowstone myself on Friday so that I could make best use of the light.







The plan was to Drive in the north entrance and out the north east entrance which would then take me back to the i90. I would then drive to West Yellowstone where I am stopping for 2 nights.

Getting into the car first thing was an experience, it was so cold. The electricity hook up warms the oil but doesn't warm the heater!!! Brrrr. I had left some lip balm in there overnight and it was frozen solid, so was the water and coke that I had on the passenger seat!! However good old Dez started first time. What a trooper!

The drive from Butte to Livingston along the i90 was easy enough. Their motorways are quiet, straight and free from snow. Nothing like the m6 that was closed today!!!!

On i90 I crossed over the continental divide, I had crossed it before........... That time on a ski lift! From this point on all water ran towards the Atlantic ocean where before I crossed it all water ran to the Pacific.

I turned right at Livingston on to the 89 that would take me the 60 miles to the North entrance. On this road the Yellowstone river runs right beside the road. This one is draining to the Atlantic which will eventually run round Ireland up the Mersey and up the Manchester ship canal.......pooh sticks anyone........... !!!

This is the Yellowstone river....







When I got out, the words cold or even freezing do not do the feeling justice.... It literally took my breath away! The river is quite fast flowing but even so big chunks of ice had formed on top and were floating down to the Atlantic!

This is me wrapped up against the elements.....and I was still cold!!!







I have no idea what temperature it was and I probably don't want to know. t a guess I would say anywhere between -15 and -20oc.

So on it was to Yellowstone...







Yellowstone was the worlds first National Park and is the home to an active volcano, it has erupted many times in the last 2 million years! Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, real lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. (I haven't swallowed the guide book, just copied this from Wiki!!!)

The first sight I saw on entering the park was the boiling river, I'm sure this is not the technical name but I like my version better!








Just after the river I also crossed over the border from Montana into Wyoming, this meant I had driven Montana from top to bottom. Also when crossing the border I was on the 45th parallel which Is exactly halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. Cool eh?

Next up was Mamouth hot springs.














The water travels along a fault line which heats it up, it then spills out here bringing up calcium carbonate with it, which stinks btw!!

as yet the only wildlife I has seen was a rabbit which was too fast for me to get my camera out and photograph! So off I went further into the pa
rk in search of wildlife.......

This is what I found.......

Bison















They are everywhere!

an elk








And I'm not sure what this is, maybe a coyote?









By this time I was nearing the end of the road and ploughed onto Cooke city. This is the most Easterly point i will visit on my trip, all roads lead west from here!

When I got there I was treated with a road closed sign, I turned back thinking I had missed the sign for the turning to i90. On closer inspection of the map I hadn't, that was the correct road but that is also closed for winter. Oops! So back I went through Yellowstone, this time in the dark, so no pictures, back up past Yellowstone river to the i90 then left down to West Yellowstone.

Roads are closed to cars here - so tomorrow I'm off in search of a skidoo!!!