Exploring Yellowstone: Lamar Valley, Old Gardiner Road & Incredible Wildlife

Yellowstone had always been high on our list, and when we finally made it happen, Mother Nature made sure it was memorable from the very start.

The RV Shuffle

Our original plan was to stay at an RV park in West Yellowstone, but a heavy snowfall that year delayed their opening. Instead, they offered us a spot at their sister property in Gardiner, Montana. At first, it felt like a curveball—but it turned out to be absolutely perfect. Our site sat right on the Yellowstone River, with deer wandering through the campground like it was their front yard.

The catch? Getting there. Because the south gate from the Tetons was still closed due to snow, we had to take the long way around. No problem—it just meant more chances to soak in Yellowstone. But the real challenge was the Old Gardiner Road—an “improved” stagecoach route from 1879 and the only way to the RV park at the time. Picture this: Patrick driving the RV inches from cliffs, bison wandering beside us, and me gripping the armrest like my life depended on it. Passenger princess? More like passenger panic attack.

Falling in Love with Lamar Valley

Once we were settled, Yellowstone worked its magic. Lamar Valley stole our hearts. It’s like stepping into another world—wide open grasslands framed by mountains, herds of bison and elk stretching as far as you can see, and the constant sense that something wild is just around the corner.

I didn't realize that Bison were going to be everywhere in Yellowstone, I thought they were in just one section.

And it was. We saw countless bears—both black and grizzly—wolves trotting across meadows, big horn sheep scaling cliffs, and moose tucked in the willows. Every bend in the road felt like a new chapter in a wildlife documentary.

Just one of the many bears we saw in Yellowstone

One especially memorable day became our “3-dog day”—when we saw wolves, coyotes, and foxes all in the same day. For animal nerds like us, that felt like hitting the Yellowstone jackpot. And if that wasn’t enough, we also spotted a badger out in the wild. I never expected to see one in person, but there it was, waddling across the landscape like it owned the place.

We enjoyed hanging out with this guy for a bit of our afternoon!

I never thought in a million years I would see a badger in the wild

Watching Wolves at Slough Creek

One morning, we joined the cluster of scopes and cameras at Slough Creek, where wolf-watchers gather in hushed reverence. To our surprise, standing among them was Rick McIntyre, the legendary former Yellowstone ranger who has written a series of books about the wolves of Yellowstone. McIntyre spent decades as a Wolf Interpreter and educator, observing the reintroduced wolves daily, and documenting their lives in remarkable detail.

While Rick was an important face of wolf interpretation, the original wolf reintroduction project in the 1990s was a massive effort led by the National Park Service, with Douglas W. Smith serving as project biologist and later as head of the Yellowstone Wolf Project. Together, their work not only restored wolves to Yellowstone but reshaped how we think about predators, ecosystems, and balance in the wild.

Standing there, watching wolves through the scope while Rick McIntyre casually chatted nearby, felt like a brush with Yellowstone royalty.

The Classics: Old Faithful & the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Of course, no trip is complete without the classics. Watching Old Faithful blow, with the crowd collectively holding its breath before the eruption, felt iconic. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone was another jaw-dropper—those painted canyon walls with the Lower Falls roaring through them were beyond inspiring. Photos just don’t do it justice.

This is the Lower Falls waterfall at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

The Owl Incident at Mammoth

One afternoon near the Mammoth Visitor Center, we were walking back to the car when I spotted movement overhead. A great horned owl swooped down, clutching a chipmunk in its talons. I had always thought it would be “cool” to see a kill in the wild—it’s the circle of life, right? Wrong. Absolutely not. Hearing that poor chipmunk scream while the owl fed its baby is a sound I will never forget, and never want to hear again.

The only silver lining? We managed to snap a fantastic photo of the owl post-brunch, looking very majestic (and very smug). It’s one of those shots that makes you say “wow” while also thinking, yep, that bird is a savage.

Piper the Protector

Not everything was serene, though. Piper decided she was the park’s unofficial security guard. A few times, when bison came trotting down hillsides near us, she’d bark her little heart out, giving all of us a scare (and giving the bison absolutely no reason to care).

Piper always has our back!

Our New Favorite Toy

One of the best investments of the trip? A spotting scope. We bought it in Yellowstone, and it’s been a game-changer for our travels ever since. From watching wolves in the valley to tracking eagles in the distance, it’s opened up a whole new world of detail we never would’ve seen with the naked eye.

A view from our new scope!

Yellowstone was everything we dreamed it would be and more—wild, tranquil, thrilling, and occasionally brutal in the circle-of-life department—but completely unforgettable. From a 3-dog day to spotting a badger, from Lamar Valley’s peaceful beauty to Old Faithful and one very smug owl, it was the trip of a lifetime. And seeing Rick McIntyre out in the field? That was just the cherry on top of the Yellowstone sundae.