Ohh what dreams, the smell of that dark roast brewing, counting the eggs out for some soft scrambled while making sure to leave enough for the brownies requested for tonight’s dinner dessert. Then the sudden urge to potty at 3 a.m. ruins everything. No coffee, no soft scrambled eggs! Just the realization that there were no brownies at all!

Today we got an early start and headed out from our Bozeman location to an IHOP down the street. Breakfast was great 👍. But for some reason neither Heather nor I had more than one cup of joe. We ate the pic two special and went on our way. Our next hotel is in the town of Gardiner Montana. We unloaded the car and eagerly drove to the North Gate of Yellowstone National Park. I used my America the Beautiful National Park Pass and the Park Ranger gave us a map. First stop was Mammoth Springs.

Most of Yellowstone is preparing to close by mid October. The park employees were out setting up the road markers to guide their snowplows and winter machines. The conversion to winter mode was evident. Many roads and campgrounds were already closed. Traffic was moderate for the end of the season.

The weather was absolutely perfect. We wished we had worn shorts today. We will definitely change for tomorrow. We used many pull outs and climbed a lot of stairs. Yellowstone will definitely wear you out and/or get you into shape. Heather and I have been on the move for a while and we know the stair master is at a much slower pace for us.

We stopped at Canyon Junction for lunch. Heather had the nachos and I had a Bison Burger. Very nice waiter-chef. He took our order and fried me some bison 🦬. He was glad the season was coming to an end next Sunday. He said the crowds this year overwhelmed the parks staffing.

We met two older women who are best friends for life. One lives in Iowa and the other now lives in Montana. They were bridesmaids at each other weddings many years ago. They planned this trip together at Yellowstone. Our conversation started when I was asked about my bison 🦬 burger. She was tempted to order one but decided on the regular burger instead. Of course Heather had to exchange grandchildren stories. The two women said their grandchildren were teenagers and to busy with their own lives.

We continued our drive of about 70 miles completing the upper loop. We stopped at a few waterfalls, many lookouts, and witnessed many bison 🦬 throughout the drive. We were in constant lookout for bears and moose 🫎. None were spotted today but we have three more wonderful days ahead. Tomorrow we go to the lower loop before finding our hotel at the west entrance of the park. Old Faithful is in our sights.

Tonight’s dinner was via microwave. We wasn’t very hungry and decided to pick up some picnic food for the next couple of days. Peanut butter, spam, crackers, and bread and chips. We got some ice coffee that Heather likes and I’m gonna give it a try. Now if I start smelling that dark roast again and wake up at 3 a.m. I might take it as a sign either I get me some good coffee or pick up a pair of Depends! Just sayin’…

A sheepdog returned to his farm and said “I got you 60 sheep in the north pen.” The farmer says “I only have 57 sheep.” “How did that happen?” The sheepdog replied “I rounded them up!”

With that dad joke I close out our day and hope you had a great World Communion Day. Mom sent us a picture from First Christian Church in Amarillo. Thank you Jerry for all that wonderful bread you make every year!