ROS AND JOHN RV LIFE: Chico Hot Springs & Mammoth Hot Springs

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Chico Hot Springs & Mammoth Hot Springs

Wednesday 20th September 2023

We had another hot spring session but it was not as hot as our first foray into hot springs or as luxurious as our second. I think it would be great to map out and tour hot springs!

Chico Hot Springs was established in 1900 and began as a boarding house for local miners.

https://www.chicohotsprings.com/chico-history/

It is now a great tourist spot with a spa, hotel and wedding facilities. The pool looked more like a traditional swimming pool with one end separated that was meant to be hotter and no children were allowed in that section. The temperature was posted as being 106F but we did not think it was that hot. You paid for the day and got a wrist band so you could come and go. There was a bar, restaurant and a cafe so this would make for a pleasant day or afternoon. There were some lounge chairs but they all had towels on - must have been lots of Germans!

The bar with lots of caps!

Wagons used for glamping

Thursday 21st September

We drove back to Yellowstone to walk around Mammoth Springs. It was a cloudy cold day but there was still big crowds. Here is a extract from Wikipedia to tell you what it is...

Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District.^[3] It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution)

At first glance it looks like either the moon surface or the snow ploughs have pushed lots of snow into hills and it is all dirty and smelly.

There were boardwalks circling around the area which make a safe walk though some areas got quite congested and in places it was quite a steep climb.

After walking around here we drove back to Gardiner on the way seeing the elk again.

There was not a lot at Gardiner, a few tourist shops, an expensive small grocery store and eating places.