Adventures in Yellowstone are coming to an end for me as my summer job comes to a close. I decided to return to the North Entrance to Yellowstone at Gardiner as I was only there once in May and early June. The weather was perfect and felt like fall, with sunny skies and puffy clouds. I wanted to see the Elk that have been hanging out in the Mammoth area and also explore the right of way that the Northern Pacific Railroad took coming into Gardiner.
When I arrived into Mammoth Hot Springs area it was busy with tourists. The Park has not slowed down much even after Labor Day as the weather has been very calm and clear. I did not see any Elk when I arrived and since I had already seen the hotel and the Fort I decided to head down the hill for Gardiner and have lunch. I remembered that there is the old stage road running from Mammoth to Gardiner and that it is one way, down hill. The old road winds its way steeply down the hills toward the North Entrance.
It is amazing that the stage coaches used to take passengers from the depot up to the Mammoth Hotel. Not always did you make it as stagecoaches were known to flip over.
I would recommend the dirt road during the summer to anyone with a good clearance car or truck but no small cars. On the way down the road I found a nice looking Pronghorn Deer grazing in the grass and stopped to watch as it crossed right in front of me.
Once I got into town I parked the car and decided to walk around town and find a place that was not on “Main” street to have lunch. Gardiner Mt. is small town nestled between the Yellowstone River and the Park. Gardiner is famous for being the first entrance to the park and having the Roosevelt Arch, dedicated in 1916 by Teddy Roosevelt himself.
I found lunch down at the end of town against the Yellowstone River at a place called the Iron Horse Bar and Grill. The place had a great feel to it with all the cool vintage signs hanging on the outside and inside of the place. They had the simple tavern food and I decided to have an Elk Burger, not bad different than a bison burger.
After having a filling lunch I headed out down the old Gardiner road which is part old dirt road town before new highway and part old Northern Pacific Main line into Gardiner. The rail ran out to Gardiner area starting in 1883 and terminated at a place called Cinnabar which is only three miles north west from Gardiner. The reason for the line ending here was due to a miner not wanting to give up his rights to the land for the railroad which kept the line from going all the way into Gardiner for 19 years. Today nothing remains of the train or the town of Cinnabar Mt.
About ten miles north of town the dirt road that had been following the old NP right of way merges with the with the right of way and you are driving where the tracks used to be. The valley comes together into a tight canyon where both sides of the mountains have been carved out by the Yellowstone River. The area is called Yankee Jim Canyon and the road ends here and no cars can proceed any further. I decided to walk the remainder of the way along the old right of way.
While exploring this area I noticed right above the railroad ROW was rock walls like from an old road. I discovered that the old road to Gardiner was just about the size of a stage road and found old cans and broken glass along the edge of the road, a unique find.
I headed back in town as the sun was beginning to set and since Mammoth Hotel was just up the hill from town I drove back and had dinner at the dinning hall. Since it was now evening the Elk had come down to graze in the grassy areas around the buildings. Dinner was nice in the dining room and even though it is in the fancy dining room every meal I had out this trip all cost the same it didnt matter if I was in town or in Yellowstone.
I spent the night down in Gardiner and the next morning I woke up early as it was down right freezing in the car. I was able to catch the sunrise at the Roosevelt Arch and have breakfast. I had a special tour of the garage building where all the historic stagecoaches and buses that once traveled through the park. The tour was given by an employee of the Yellowstone Park Archive building. The archives has the history from day one of the park. The garage has a great collection and will have to do a post about the vehicles that I saw. That afternoon I headed back home and had lunch up at the Mammoth Cafe and got to see more Elk grazing the area. Overall the weekend was a nice get away with great September weather. Ill miss being able to go around the park on my days off.