This day started out a bit slow.  Ron woke up early and took photos of the natural hot springs along the road.  Mary started with a dip in the hot springs and then a gourmet breakfast.  I slept in and enjoyed my breakfast-in-bed.  After we were all packed up and ready to go, Dave found that his FJR was missing some coolant and added some more. 

The first stop was in Dillon for gas since we had gone 170 miles since yesterday mid-day, and the bike was merely sipping its fuel at nearly 50mpg.  However, the rainstorm that had been nipping at our heels for the past few days was slowly catching up.  The wind caused a few pucker moments mid-corner as it altered our line and correction was necessary.  After about thirty minutes, we rode out of the rain and soon came into West Yellowstone.  There we were in tourist traffic and watched in disbelief as a Suburban in oncoming traffic went off onto the shoulder at high speed.  The driver then overcorrected into several 360 degree spins and stopped in the center median.  After he parked in the grassy ditch, three people in waders stepped out and took a peek around.

At the Yellowstone gas station a few miles later, we all wondered if they had missed a turn or fell asleep.  No one was hurt, so it ended well. We parted ways with Ron who had to go back home to Idaho while we continued eastward.  Entering Yellowstone, Dave was chased by a bison who did not want its photo taken.  Luckily, there were other more genial bison who simply strolled along the shoulder for gawkers to stare and take pictures.  He headed north to get to Red Lodge via Beartooth Pass as an afternoon ride one day and a morning ride the next day.  We headed south to see the Fountain Paint Pots, Spouter Geyser, and Old Faithful.  One couple we met in the parking lot there was kind enough to tell us that the next Old Faithful geyser would be at 4:37pm, so we had just enough time to unpack the camera and head to the site.  They were an older retired couple who spent their time traveling on their Harley and fit all of their clothes into one sissybag for the two of them.  What a grand retirement!

Old Faithful sputtered and then spewed to life for more than four minutes.  It was an amazing sight to imagine the water pressure necessary for water to shoot so high up in the air for such a length of time.  As we left, a fight broke out between a couple, their kid in a stroller, and a grandpa versus a British tourist who cut off the mom with the stroller.  Much entertainment ensued.

The next stop?  Every possible scenic vista!  Each section of Yellowstone varied so much.  The western entrance had been severely burned recently, so there were mostly charred tree remains.  The southwestern corner showed many bubbling paint pots and geysers.  The southeastern route runs along Yellowstone Lake which was gorgeous against the mountains further east.  Further north, the Sulfur Cauldron had boiled away several feet of mud.  Bison, elk, and deer all were easily viewed from the back of the bike.  This beautiful loop around Yellowstone had taken almost five hours, and we were not going to make it to Red Lodge to meet up with Dave.  Beartooth Pass at night was not an inviting prospect with so many forest rats nearby.  Roosevelt Lodge had no openings and the only openings in Yellowstone were 45 minutes away.  The GPS showed a Grizzly Lodge just outside of the northeast entrance and after a call ensured that there was an opening there, we made our way past more deer and bison before calling it a night in a small but very warm room.  Even better, the Log Cabin Café next door had wonderful gourmet food, owned and run by the staff.  Highly recommended!  I also tried Moose Drool (ale) for the first time and found it rather palatable.