| The next morning we arrived in Missoula and stopped to eat. That morning we drove around the area and visited the University of Montana and Hellgate High School. Who names their school Hellgate? That afternoon we drove over to Helena and then down to Butte to stay the night. After a quick drive around Butte, we realized that it should be spelled without the "e" since the biggest attraction is the open mining pit that is now full of toxic water.
The next morning we left as soon as possible and headed south to Bozeman and down to into Yellowstone. We entered Yellowstone through the North Gate and for the first mile is just an ugly, barren, scrub grass covered landscape but once we came to the Yellowstone River, the countryside gave way to beautiful, lush scenery and fantastic views.
There are waterfalls everywhere cascading out of volcanic rock walls with lush undergrowth everywhere. Even with the hot weather, the water flows were huge in most of the rivers and streams. I hiked all the way down to the base of Tower Falls which is one of the largest waterfalls in the park and it is pretty awesome to view up close. Just down from the falls in Tower Creek, I watch a number of fly fishermen who were burning up time on the water. This is one of those places where catching a fish would be secondary to just having the chance to be one with the creek.
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