Road Tripping Across the USA: Part 2, Friends and Dragons

Yes, we have a family photo of this, but this will need to do until I get it loaded off the camera! =)

After settling in at the Mammoth campground, we explored lots of features such as more hot springs and the terrace areas. These are such amazing sights! Of course, not everyday is all fun and adventure. We also have to deal with the usual household chores. The next day, Jared set up the solar panel to charge the batteries which worked very well! We were essentially "dry camping" without any hookups, so with our batteries charged, we only had to worry about refilling our water tank and emptying the grey and black water tanks every few days. Next up is to deal with the pile of dirty laundry that had been accumulating.

Powered by the sun!

There are few facilities in the park where you can do your laundry and we were not near any of them. So, after finding a cell signal, we searched for the closest place. Turns out, there is a town just outside of the park about 5 miles, where many services could be found. So, off to Gardiner, MT we went.
We set off in search of some groceries, quick lunch, laundromat, and wifi.

Lucky for us, we found a laundromat that offered free wifi, so Jared could get some work done while I handled the laundry. As fate would have it, we met this amazing family who are traveling just like we are! They have four boys with similar ages to ours who connected immediately over the video games as the laundry was getting washed and dried. Kristen and I started chatting and then soon discovered we had a lot more in common! They have also decided to 'ditch suburbia' for awhile and go traveling full time with their family. Her husband, Paul, works digitally, just as Jared does, so we really hit it off. How cool to find someone who totally gets what you are all about?! The only difference is we are moving aboard a sailboat to travel while they are staying in their tricked-out camper that Kristen designed! This thing is seriously cool and if you have ever wanted to go camping in style, check out their rig at their instagram: #upintherooftop

Mandatory silly pose! =)

 Turns out they are in the SAME campground as us, so we made plans to stop by for some fireside chitchat and s'mores later on that evening. After exploring a nearby hotspot called "Boiling River" (a thermal spring feeds into the cold water, making it nice and warm, we headed back to camp for the evening. We decided it was time to make a nice big meal, so we set about making our famous spaghetti bolognese and home baked bread! It was so good and nice to have something other than a quick-fix camping meal. After that, we cleaned up and headed over to see our friends. The kids had a blast playing and then later, making s'mores. We were briefly interrupted by the elk herd that walks through the campground on their nightly return to their bedding down area. So cool. We had so much fun and made plans to go exploring the Canyon and Lake areas a couple of days later. Oh, yeah, and they also introduced us to roasted Starbursts. Seriously, try it! You just might favor that over the traditional s'mores!

We headed out to the Canyon portion of the park and ended up going south to Yellowstone Lake with hopes of paddleboarding. Well, that was not to be, as they don't allow it in the rivers or smaller lakes. Only in the marina or outer Yellowstone Lake, which would have been fine if not for the chop and wind. Not safe for the kiddos, so we decided to just have a picnic on the shore and then explore the sights on our way back to camp. It was then we encountered dragons. Yep, dragons.

Heading back towards Canyon we stopped along the road to Dragon's Cauldron. Along the trail are many thermal features, including the Dragon's Black Cauldron which used to spout quite high. In fact, the sign mentioned it was regarded as a black demon in the forest. By far my favorite, possible u there with Morning Glory, is Dragon's Breath. Wow, this cave roars and sputters like I imagine a dragon would and comes complete with the steam erupting in a constant burst from the cave. Make this a must-stop on your list when visiting Yellowstone!

After a full day of exploring, we all ended up back at our campsite for s'mores, roasted Starbursts, and cocoa with great conversation. By 11pm, the kids were sleepy-eyed, so we decided to call it a night. We promised to stop by their campsite the following morning, as we were headed out to Wyoming, to see our friend, Brian. Up next: Montana and Wyoming adventures!