DayTripping in the Yellowstone Area- West Yellowstone, Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, Lunch and an Old Fashioned Soda

My fiance and i took a quick Daytrip to Yellowstone National park last week, and i wanted to spend some time in West Yellowstone ( Even though i have lived in Montana my entire life, i don't recall having ever visited West Yellowstone). It took us just over a few hours to arrive from the Bozeman area , and after paying our 20.00 vehicle entry fee at the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park, we were on our way!

We began in the Yellowstone Bear and Wolf Discovery Center . This was probably my favorite thing that we did in West Yellowstone, and was really affordable too! Admission was 13.00 each, but was valid for two days ( the "valid for two days" thing seems to be a trend around Yellowstone ) 

The facility is home to 6 different bears, and three packs of wolves, which rotate out through the outdoor habitats throughout the day. We were able to see 2 of the 3 wolf packs, and one fo the bears. All of the animals at the facility are rescue animals/ cannot survive in the wild on their own. 

In addition to the awesome Grizzly and Wolf Exhibits and Habitats, the center was also housed a raptor exhibit area with eagles, hawks, and owls, and a really adorable and open ground squirrels exhibit .  We would lkove to visit again when they add the new river otter habitat . We enjoyed all of the mounts , as well as the live exhibits, and it was well worth the cost of admission. 

Following the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, we spent some time perusing West Yellowstone, walking through the town and the gift shops.We walked through the Yellowstone Historic center, which is a museum in the park that focuses on the heritage and development of transportation with the parks growth. The depot itself was constructed in 1908 by Union Pacific, and is beautiful, spacious, and artistic. While the building is undergoing rennovation, the original elegance and class shines through, and one can't help but be transported to the past, standing at the original ticket booth in the station. The rails still are visible through the back of the building, where thousands of travellers from all over the world used to ride the train to see the wonders of the park. They had some stunning old stagecoaches, vintage busses,   and tons of interesting information about the past :) 

We had lunch at an adorable chinese restaraunt that was "off the strip" called the Red Lotus. The food was decent, and reasonably priced, but what we really liked the most about it was the fact that it was pretty quiet. The only complaint i would have about lunch, was that the gratuity was added on to our bill, which i  find a little bit tacky, as a waitress myself.

At this point, it was afternoon, and we ventured to the Old Fashioned Soda Fountain at Eagle's Store. The backbar of the soda fountain here was accquired in 1910, though the original construction date is unknown. The bar itself was added in 1930 ,and the vintage feel was really cute and fun. The Soda was pretty tasty , and we got one to share to go and headed out to see the famous Geysers of Yellowstone National Park!  

Thanks so much for reading my blog!!Follow me to see all of the cool photos from our Yellowstone Adventure!!!

Namaste!!! SO MUCH LOVE!!

Evening Star