We decide to forego the hotel’s breakfast to head out to a local bakery I’d seen some recommendations for online - this turns our to be another breakfast-based disaster as everything we try is shuttered and empty. We try place after place, trying to find anything to eat, before we arrive at She Brews - an all-female owned and operated coffee shop that is currently benefitting hugely from everywhere else being closed so the drive-in is packed. When we make our way to order, we have breves and I have fresh banana bread, whilst my companion orders donut holes - these turn out not to be quite enough, forcing a stop at the Golden Arches for a sausage and egg McMuffin before we head on our way,
The drive continues to offer up extraordinary beauty, with horizon-filling plains swathed in yellow and white that seemingly stretch to the horizon - a sign tells us that we’ve crossed the Continental Divide, which feels like a poignant note as we’re almost half way through our expedition. Eventually we arrive at a small trailhead, which lives (somewhat oddly) just inside a small residential area and should lead us up the Sykes Canyon. As we set out, it’s clear that this is a well travelled local route as we meet people with dogs and power walkers on the lower parts of the track.
The way is pretty icy, but I try to make some good progress as my legs feel like they need to move after a couple of quieter days. It’s a stunning day and the trail is pleasingly testing without being overly arduous, and by the time I reach the first lookout I’m feeling in a great mood. I continue up onto the slightly less beaten path, into more snow and smaller pine trees. There are small birds all along the path, as well as a couple of squirrels, which provide a pleasant distraction as I near the summit. Once I arrive at the peak of the walk, I can see for miles and miles back to the west, with the plains we’d travelled through this morning looking as flat as a billiard table. Once my companion arrives, and with surprisingly strong cell signals, we decide to make a quick call home, after which we descend the slick paths with a sort of hopping run that gets us back to the car in record time.
We drive on and pass though the town of Livingston on our way to Gardiner, which will be our home on the edge of Yellowstone for the next couple of days. Livingstone itself is an interesting looking place, with classic neon signs hanging of of the sides of red brick buildings. We stop and wander around, but everything seems to be closed for the season - something that feels like it’s going to be a recurring feature as we move east. We spot a delightfully evocative cinema on our walk around town - complete with thick black letters over a backlit white sign, just like in the movies - that we note down for future reference.
With not many places open for dinner, we decide to have something easy and swing into Taco John’s - a north western competitor to Taco Bell - for some cheap eats. It’s actually pretty tasty, and remarkably cheap, the two consistent hallmarks of fast food in the States. We pass a supermarket on the way out of town and decide we might get some supplies to cook dinner for the first time on this trip as our next hotel has a small kitchenette.
As we leave Livingstone, and start to head back up into the mountains, the sky suddenly starts to pick out the surrounding peaks in pink and orange, and we are treated to the setting sun as we make our way through the passes. Eventually we arrive at the Absaroka Lodge in Gardiner we’ll after dark, and I decide to have a quick walk up and down Main Street to see what might be open for the following nights. The town is pretty quiet and the temperature is well below freezing, but it looks there are some options available. I head back and we decide to get a quiet night - the best chance of spotting animals in Yellowstone seems to be early in the morning, so we commit to a frighteningly early start.