St. Mary is a small community located at the east entrance of Glacier National Park in Montana. It is a great location to explore the east side of Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada.
St. Mary, MT & Waterton NP Alberta
Choteau, Montana-Teton County
Choteau (show-toe) is a small city, with less than 2,000 people living here. Located in northwest central Montana, it is known for grain and cattle. Wheat, barley, chickpeas and lentils are grown here.
Red Lodge, Montana Beartooth Highway
Red Lodge is in central southern Montana almost at the Wyoming border. Coal mining got a start here in 1884. Over the years, tourists replaced miners because of the very scenic Beartooth highway that links Red Lodge with the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
Flooded Yellowstone National Park
A flooded and closed Yellowstone is not what we expected for the 150-year anniversary. Spring snow melt followed by a couple of snow storms and a whole lot of rain led to record high water levels.
Grand Loop Road, Yellowstone National Park
The Grand Loop Road is a 140-mile system that was built in 1915 to connect all the major features of Yellowstone National Park. To try and drive it in one day can take 4-7 hours depending on the wildlife on the road and traffic. From Fishing Bridge, it was about a 1.5 hour drive to West Yellowstone. We were last here in the fall of 2020.
Fishing Bridge, Yellowstone National Park
Fishing Bridge is an area just north of Yellowstone Lake and east of the Yellowstone River, in Yellowstone National Park. It got its name in 1902 when a wooden bridge was built over the outlet of the Yellowstone River. Native cutthroat trout spawn here and it became a popular fishing spot. The bridge has since been rebuilt, but in 1973, the bridge was closed to fishing.
Yellowstone, National Park
Just amazing. The world’s first National Park was established on March 1, 1872 and encompasses 2.2 million acres. It’s our favorite because of the combination of hydrothermal, geologic and animal diversity. Nothing else compares in the world.
Fishing Bridge, Yellowstone Lake
At an elevation of 7,734 feet, Yellowstone Lake is one the largest high-altitude lakes and contains the largest population of cutthroat trout in the world. It measures 20 miles long and 14 miles wide. The lake freezes over during the winter and a good part of it was still frozen.
However, after a couple of weeks, the ice was completely melted. There is evidence of human use in the area since the last ice age. Visitor services were established in the early 1900s in the Fishing Bridge area. Cabins, camping, a gas station, supplies, and a museum were added. Eventually these fell in disrepair and were either remodeled or removed. A master plan was developed, with considerable difficulty because of the threat of grizzly bear extinction in 1975 and opposing desires for use of the park. Nevertheless, Fishing Bridge has remained the only full hook up RV park in Yellowstone National Park.
Fishing Bridge RV Park
We had a pull through site. 50-amp electric, good water pressure, and sewer. There was no WIFI. We had a Verizon signal, but it was limited and download speeds decreased each evening. It was about a 2 hour drive from Cody, Wyoming to Fishing Bridge RV park.
Even though we had a partly cloudy day the first day we arrived, the weather wasn’t the best during our stay. Nighttime temperatures were in the twenties and we had about 8 inches of snow one night. The sun did not come out again during our week stay. This was amazing considering it was June.
A great gray owl near Fishing Bridge, was looking for its next meal.
The Yellowstone river flows through Hayden Valley. It’s a great place to see bison and elk.
After a couple days of light snow, the Hayden Valley landscape took on a winter look.
The animals continued to be active despite the rain, sleet, snow and freezing temperatures.
The bison seemed to be comfortable in the snow, as they still had part of their winter coat.
There were many Canadian geese, who didn’t mind the snow either.
Mud Volcano puts out a lot of steam and sulfur that smells like rotten eggs. The bison seemed to love the area.
Yellowstone Falls
There is an upper and lower falls. They are the largest volume waterfall in the Rocky Mountains and not a far drive from Fishing Bridge.
Grand Loop Road to Tower Junction to Lamar Valley
The last time we were in Yellowstone this route was closed. It was very early spring, so the mountains still had snow and the wildflowers were not yet in bloom.
We saw a couple of black bears. This female decided to nurse her two cubs right next to the road.
Near the east entrance of Lamar Valley, we saw a grizzly bear.
This fox was on the hunt.
Mammoth Hot Springs/Gardiner, MT
There are always elk in the Mammoth area, especially around the buildings, possibly because of the good grazing and protection from predators. This time of the year many of the females were pregnant.
The boys were nearby too with antlers covered in velvet.
We came across about 20 elk grazing on the high school sports field.
Almost daily, the bison would change locations for more favorable grazing, resulting in traffic jams. One day we were delayed an hour and a half, but the sight is so amazing that you just have to go with the flow.
It was wonderful to see so many newborn calves. The herd appears to be very healthy.
Gardiner is a fun town and we will be staying here later. We enjoyed lunch at Cowboy Lodge and Grill although we were a good drive away from Fishing Bridge.
We came across a large flock of western tanagers.
Birding around Fishing Bridge was amazing.
This pronghorn was out in the Lamar Valley. Time to change locations.
