Where My Troll Goes: Yellowstone

Lil Dude Troll was here June 1st and it was still
very cold and there was still deep snow cover, but the
road was cleared.

If you head north of the Canyon Area you will enter the high country. This is normally one of the last roads to be opened each season as there is usually deep snow cover into May and even June. It is also one of the most beautiful areas in the park. Plan to stop, stretch your legs and explore a bit at Dunraven Pass.

Further north you will come to Mammoth Hot Springs Junction. Like all the other area's within the park, there are many very interesting natural sites to see and explore here, but it is also the site of an old army post where soldiers lived when they guarded the park. It now is a small village with a visitor center, stores, and park offices. It is also the site of Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge. The lodge is one of the oldest buildings in the park, but it is well

maintained and a comfortable and convenient place to spend a few nights if you make reservations far enough ahead to get a room. Most of the guest rooms do not have a private bathroom (and the ones that do cost $40 more per night), but the large common bathrooms are kept very clean and sharing is not really a problem with doors and curtains enabling privacy. Moose and other animals do not seem to be afraid of humans and are seen wondering around the grounds at all hours. Just down the road is a cemetery containing many old graves and there are numerous ghost stories about the place (you can read several of them here and here and here), but Lil Dude Troll didn't encounter anything not explainable while staying there for 4 nights.

Heading into the town of Gardiner.

For a nice break one day, continue north past Mammoth Hot Springs to the park's north entrance and into the small town of Gardiner, Montana. Here you will find full services from gas stations and auto repair shops to grocery stores, restaurants, a book store and souvenir shops. On the way, you will pass the 45th parallel marking the half-way point between the equator and the north pole.

The Troll Family really enjoyed their visit to Yellowstone National Park and gives it their highest recommendation - it would be 2 thumbs up but trolls don't have thumbs so it's 2 little arms up!