#40 Boiling River and Boondocking in Gardiner MT

I can’t imagine picking up a hitch hiker but as we pulled out of a waterfall stop I saw two ladies with a thumb out with packs and camping gear. This seemed like a good time to bend the rule. It seemed like a harmless way to flirt and get my jollies without technically doing anything. They just needed a ride for about ten miles to their next camping area. They were completely attractive and visiting for 2 weeks from Switzerland. We all sort of got a thrill out of the international element. They mentioned that we might want to check out a place near the north gate which was a hot spring in a river. This sounded good as we were heading that way anyway. We rode on going past all the Canyon Waterfalls looking at went Mammoth Hot Springs and it was getting close to the end of our day. We went to the North entrance gate and spent some time at the Roosevelt arch. Mr.Theodore is my hero and I loved seeing the arch in person. On the way by we saw 100 cars on the shoulder of the road and such and realized we had found the hot springs the girls had mentioned. It was called the boiling river and it was wonderful. The girls really didn't have bathing suits so they decided to set this one out. I didn’t have anything either so I just stripped down to my boxers and pretended it was okay. I walked by some women with head scarfs who seemed modest and I was obviously not very. They probably thought I was a little out there but I didn’t care as it was so much fun being me. We headed on back to camp and it was about a two hour drive in the dark so we were all pretty tired.

I knew I would need to come here again so on the day we left Yellowstone I planned our trip around leaving out the north entrance. We went to the boiling River again on the way out of town it was so wonderful and the girls joined me this time as they had their bathing suits. It was about 9:30 by the time we got finished up and in the truck and we went Gardiner to try to find a boondock and a bite to eat.

When we got to Gardiner it was about 10 minutes until 10 and we had no idea where we were going to sleep. We could use a bite to eat so he walked into a pizza place mainly because they were about the only storefront with lights on. The sign they were closing at 10 and it was 10:01 but they decided that we were out okay to feed and they made us a nice pizza. I told them we appreciated it and we would eat fast so they could go home. We went back to the RV and the GPS showed a campground about .2 miles away. I decided to give that a try and my luck it was straight up a hill that seemed 45 degrees and as we approached the RV Park, a cattle fence was closed and said No Vacancy. There was nowhere to turn around and it was a narrow dirt road. I just had to keep on going and hope for the best. The road wandered by residential houses and I turned into the first place a place that seemed possible for a 3 point turn in a 60 foot vehicle. It was a challenge to say the least in the dark and the truck is kind of loud and a guy came out with a flashlight and asked if I needed a spotter. I thanked him and apologized for all the noise and he said no worries. I told him I was just about done and the rear view camera system that has infa –red could see in the dark and that’s what made it happen.

I got back on Hwy 89 north and figured I would find something. A few miles out I saw an RV place but they were like $60 and I thought that's a bit much she's to take a nap. I figured the best thing to do is to ride down the road hope for the best. Just outside of town I saw this big gravel area on the shoulder and it looked like a pretty good Boondock. It was also cool to see another RV had already settled in there for the night. We pulled over and slept really quite nicely all night. I noticed some time back that one or both of the gray water dump valves was leaky. This has no consequence because it leaks into a main 3 inch plumbing pipe. The only problem is there is a plumbing fitting that was glued by the previous owner in a jack leg way so it drools when it’s really full of water. It doesn’t leak you’re dumping but only when it’s full to the eyelids with water. I walked outside because I wanted to look at the moon and I had heard the sound of rushing water down below us. The next morning I could see it was a pretty big river. It dawned on me it was the Gardiner River that was boiling the night before. I saw the gray water dripping steadily out. It was about 2 ounces per hour but gray water is gross and I began to think Illegal. When I thought about the possibilities of an EPA fine I knew I was going to leave at daybreak. At dawn I made coffee and we slid in and headed up towards Livingston Montana where the big interstate was.