Update from Missoula, Montana continued

We finally made it to Yellowstone and were able to secure a spot in the Mammoth campground. Due to being early in the season this is the only campsite open and it was on a first come, first serve bases. We were surprised at the number of campers there, most of them being tent campers. The weather forecast was iffy but we were determined to try and tough it out. The next morning the temp was in the high 20's and the wind was howling. We also had a dusting of snow on the camper and the snow was still coming down. After breakfast we took off to see what we could in the park. there were only a few roads open but the road down to Old Faithful was one of them. We stopped at the thermal Mammoth Hot Spring area to see the thermal pools. Then the plan was to continue 70 miles on through the park to reach that area. Along the way we saw more buffalo and elk. We were looking for some bears as we had been told that they had been spotted in the area. We got about 25 miles in along a tortuous winding, rising narrow road. The snow was really starting to fall as we were at an elevation of over 7000 feet. As we rounded a curve and were starting into a long descent through a pass in the mountains we were stopped by a park ranger who told us that 4 cars had skidded off the road and the road was temporarily closed as they were waiting for a wrecker to come in from Gardner which was about 40 miles away. the choices were to wait it out, which would be several hours, or to turn back. Did I mention that it was still snowing? Almost white out conditions at times. If we were driving the Subaru we might have toughed it out, but the camper was not meant to travel in snow and ice. So we made the prudent decision to turn around and leave the park. The prediction was for snow the next 2 days. Garry never got to see Old faithful. Another time maybe.

As we left the park and headed back north I mentioned to Garry that I had read about a hot springs we could visit called the Chico Hot Springs. At first Garry wasn't very interested as we had seen the thermal hot springs earlier in the day in Yellowstone. When I told him this was the kind we could soak in he was all for it. The drive in the park in the snow that morning had been very tense and stressful for both us. What a treat this was. When we arrived at the resort we went into the front desk to get the info. There was a $6.50 charge per person to use the pool. I whined a bit and told the lady at the desk about our aborted trip into Yellowstone , the projected weather forecast, our shot nerves, etc. and she gave me two FREE passes to use the pools. Great! We had lunch (I got a normal hamburger and Garry tried a buffalo,elk burger) and then off to the pool. The main pool was heated to 98 degrees. It was the first time we had been so completely warm in 2 days. It was still snowing as we soaked and soaked. ( 2 hours !!!) There was a smaller pool adjacent that was about 102 degrees. We moved into that one for a few minutes before we had to get out and dash into the dressing rooms to change back into our clothes.