The drive today was approximately 300 miles. We left Great Falls about 8:30 AM, after having a breakfast at the hotel (complimentary). We tried for about half an hour to find the Great Falls in Great Falls, but failed, so we just headed out.
We stopped for gas and a snack somewhere in Montana. We also stopped and did a quick tour in Helena. Saw the Capitol building, the Governor’s Mansion, and a few other fun things. We also saw some actual wildlife in town. Seems we’re only seeing wildlife in towns these days.
We got into West Yellowstone about 2:00 PM. We stopped at the local grocery store and picked up a few things as we know we won’t be going out in the severe cold. Probably be house-bound for a few days. We drove to the park before we got to our new home and discovered the West gate is closed. Bummer. I think we’ll look into some type of tour that we can see in the park.
We got to our new “home” around 3:00 PM. Check-in was quick and easy. It’s a beautiful resort. Our room is on the second floor and overlooks the parking lot and some wild land. The unit is beautiful. Really liking our Worldmark as the quality is very good. The unit is very large, about three times the size of the one in Banff. Also, it has my favorite – washer and dryer. Yahoo.
As we were leaving and heading to our room after checking-in, we were told by a very nice couple that today the Discovery Center (across the street) was free. It’s the one day of the year that it’s free (normally about $10.00 a person). After we unloaded everything, we drove across the street to the Discovery Center. What an amazing place where you can see up close and personal the wolves and bears. These are animals that would have normally been killed but they keep them in a nice enclosure and take care of them. They are still bored but alive. They also do things like hide the food and put different scents around for the animals. Nice. The bears were so beautiful, as were the wolves. They also have eagles, owls, and other raptors.
We left the Discovery Center and looked for food. We didn’t want to cook tonight but finding a place was hard. We ended up at a local hotel that had The Slippery Otter restaurant associated with it. We got a pizza and hamburger. The hamburger was amazing. We still prefer Paddington Pizza in Salem to any other (so far).
We are tired. Our bottoms hurt from being in the car for two days. We’re ready to just relax for awhile.