Yellowstone Day three (28 May) and Teton National Park (29 May)

28 May - Yellowstone - Day three

Happy Birthday to me (and what a great one it was)

     After wearing ourselves out yesterday we declared an easy day and planned to be back to camp around 5:00 P.M., well at least that was the plan and at least we had a plan.

     We set out this morning to go to the town of West Yellowstone.....just out the west gate of the park to have a look around and explore the roads/attractions between here and there (in the park) that we hadn't done yet. After that short day we would stop by Old Faithful if time allowed and we could still get home early.

     We stopped at a beautiful waterfall (Gibbons Falls) that required minimal hiking and took photos of that. We stopped in the Madison area and inquired about a day hike in that area but the ranger suggested better hikes were in the other areas.

     So we promptly moved on to the West entrance and headed out to the town of West Yellowstone. The time was probably nearing noon by then but we had packed a lunch so we're good. As we head out the gate we notice an unbelievable line of traffic waiting to get in. It was backed up bumper to bumper from the gate into the town (maybe a mile or two) and actually blocked streets in the town also. We knew we had made a mistake leaving the park and were not ready to wait in that line to return.

     Plan B - Our neighbors and good friends Tom and Kay Lindgren (he's from Montana) had mentioned that we may want to ride up to Big Sky Montana through the Gallatin Canyon if we had free time and guess what, that was north of West Yellowstone.... so away we went. A nice drive to a beautiful community with the Big Sky ski resort on the nearby mountains. We had a good look around and found a nice pub to have lunch....after all it's my birthday. You guessed it, the picnic lunch was now our dinner tonight.

     By the time we returned there was no line to get in the park and we drove traffic free to Old Faithful which was on the way home. It is now nearing 5:45 and she is not set to perform again until 6:27 +/- 10 minutes. Yep, she performed for us at about 6:45 and it was pretty impressive. Still quite a ways from Fishing Bridge we headed home and arrived at 8:30 and enjoyed hot dogs that had been kept hot in a thermos all day.

     We have now hit the highlights of "most" of Yellowstone....with one area remaining. We've decided to take a break from Yellowstone and drive down to the Grand Teton National Park and spend the day tomorrow and pick back up on Yellowstone the next day.

29 May - Day Trip to Grand Teton National Park

     We set out on what we expected to be a pretty long day...gonna drive to Grand Teton, the town of Jackson Hole and see what we could in a day and return. Jackson Hole was 100 miles away and the park was closer but included a lot of territory between park entrance and Jackson Hole.

     Yellowstone is beautiful, but Grand Teton is also beautiful in a different way. The mountains here looked different....they had the rough looking peaks that were majestic (see the photos). We had seen many more animals in Yellowstone than we did in Teton but both parks were very impressive.

     We toured the park and stopped at many/most of the attractions. We went all the way to the south side of the park and into the town of Jackson Hole.....that has been on my bucket list for some time and I was not disappointed. We had a snack and a cool beverage at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Would like to have been there for the evening entertainment but was not to be on this trip.

     We walked around the town square and had a good look at the town. Some entertainers were setting up to perform on the square. We thought it was going to be a native American performance...but on closer inspection of the costumes we were not sure. When the music started we were really not sure.....it was definitely not native American, I thought it was some kinda Cajun Mardi Gras thing but not sure and it didn't seem to fit to us.

     After looking at the town we found the "Mormon Row" settlement area to take photos of the famous barn with the mountain peaks in the background. One of the park rangers said this is the most photographed building in the world. Light wasn't real good but we gave it our best shot then hit the road back to camp.

     Turned out to be our earliest night since we've been here :-)
     Some photos from the two days posted below.

Yellowstone - Gibbons Falls

Yellowstone - Old Faithfull

Yellowstone - Bull Elk Smiling

Yellowstone - Elk

Yellowstone - Elk

Teton Tourist - Taking Selfies (they're everywhere)

Teton - Jackson lake

Grand Teton

Teton - Jackson Lake

Teton - Jackson Lake

Teton - Chapel of the Sacred Heart

Teton

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole - Street Performers

Teton - Old barn at Mormon Row

Yellowstone - Full Days one and two (May 26 & 27)

     Miles driven so far on this trip = 2,724 and that includes a good bit of driving in Yellowstone for the past two days.

     Weather in Yellowstone - it changes very often here but basically the nights have been in the high 20's or low 30's - below freezing each night. The daytime highs have been in the high 40's and low 50's. We have seen alot of rain, some sleet since arriving here but all in all the weather is acceptable. It rains frequently but not for long. It is not uncommon to have two or three rain showers a day followed by sunny beautiful weather. We packed for the weather and in addition to that,  so far all of our souvenir tee shirts have been long sleeve or sweatshirts :-)

     Yellowstone - I'd describe it as beautiful, huge, crowded, and at times you feel like you are on a different planet! You can travel around the park and experience so many different looking environments, all within a relatively short drive....and we've only scratched the surface on the first half of the park.

     We have basically divided the park up into quadrants and have focused our efforts on the top two, northeast and northwest quadrants so far. We are staying at Fishing Bridge campground. The North East portion includes Fishing Bridge, Canyon village, Tower Falls, and Roosevelt lodge. The North West includes the Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs and the town of Gardner, Montana which is outside Yellowstone Park.

     May 26th (Day One) - I got up pretty early and headed out with my camera for the some shots of animals in the park in early morning light. After getting back to camp and having breakfast we both headed out with cameras, bear spray, maps and hiking gear. We visited the highlights of the northeast corridor and did some hiking.

     Animals we saw were Buffalo (they are everywhere), Black bear with cub, pronghorn (antelope), grizzly bear, and elk.

     Day one lunch was at the Canyon Village restaurant....we arrived early (11:30) and it took over an hour to get seated and served.....but when we left there were many more people waiting. Lesson learned - pack a lunch to avoid losing time in the food lines.

     We came rolling in late and tired after a long day of exploring the park.

     May 27th (Day two) - We had a little maintenance issue with the water pump that I worked on and also had to refill the propane tank - heat is important here.  After that, we headed out for our daily adventures around 9:00.

     We focused on the Northwest corridor of the park and by 2:00 or so we had visited the Norris Geyser basin and hiked it (only two miles) and toured the Mammoth Hot Springs - the springs and the museum and had lunch. We then left the park on the north entrance road and had a look around the town of Gardner, Montana....beautiful setting and kinda touristy as you would expect. Once back in the park we discussed our next move over a well deserved ice cream.

     We decided to head back to the north east entrance and head outside the park again (since we didn't have time the day before) and take a look at the Bear Tooth Highway that our neighbors Tom and Kay Lindgren told us about. Wow - this was a beautiful drive. It is a winding road with many switchbacks and it climbs to over 11,000 feet. There were some beautiful views on this ride. When Kathy wasn't busy snapping photos she was holding on white knuckled telling me to slow down. The higher we climbed on the beartooth, the thicker the snow was....at some points it was taller than our vehicle on both sides of the road where it had been plowed all winter. Temp at the top on 27 May was 36 degrees. We also saw a guy wind-skiing, like they do at the beach (wind surfing with a kite) only he was on snow with skiis. I told Kathy I'd be worried a gust of wind would drop me off a cliff.
That was a VERY long day with alot of driving....we arrived back at camp at nearing 8:00 starving to death but what a great day.

     Oh, and after each day I get to work through the photos and hopefully come up with a few that might interest be of interest to those of you reading the blog.....assuming we have good enough internet connectivity to post them.

Some photos over the two days below:

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Yellowstone Grizzly

Bear Tooth Highway Panorama 

Bear Tooth Lake

Bear tooth view

Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone

Elk at Mammoth Hot Springs Village

Yellowstone Stage Coach

Wind Skiing

Cold photographer

Yellowstone bull elk

Mammoth Hot Springs

Big Horn Sheep

Bison and babies

Mount Washburn view, Yellowstone

Rapid City, South Dakota to Yellowstone, Wyoming (23-25 May)

     As you know if you're reading the posts to this blog - Ed and Kay had to abort the trip due to health issues. Kathy and I regret that but we are too far in now to turn back. Ed and Kay gave us the inspiration to do this.....I remember telling Ed that our big trip this year was gonna be to Yellowstone and he said "heck, why stop there, let's go to Alaska". From that conversation on I have been planning it.

We really miss them and hope that Kay's health improves quickly....and we are thankful that it didn't happen far from home.

May 23 (Rest and maintenance)

Another day of temps mild overnight 50's & beautiful sunny daytime high around 75

     After the Harney Peak hike we were so late getting in and so tired that we declared a rest day along with laundry and other maintenance related items  around the camp. We spent the day in the campground (Rapid City RV Park) except for a run to Walmart to replenish supplies....an overdue visit. We've been running wide open to this point.

     So, our original plans for the 23rd  (Badlands National Park and the Minuteman Missile Site) were cancelled and will have to see them on another day. Really regret not making it to the Badlands but since we have a reservation in Yellowstone beginning the 25th we didn't have the luxury of extending a day in Rapid City.

May 24 (on the road to Yellowstone)
     We departed Rapid City heading west with tentative plans to stop somewhere in the vicinity of the town of Buffalo, Wyoming or the Big Horn National Forest in one of their campgrounds. Since we prefer the State and Federal parks we were hoping for the National Forest and my google engineer/co-pilot worked on that as we traveled.

     As we entered Wyoming on I-90 we stopped at their welcome center which was nice and the lady working there was very helpful. We got directions from her on getting to the Devils Tower National Monument Park. We detoured off I-90 for a visit there and were happy to be able to use our Annual National Park pass for admission. We went in the visitor's center and walked some of the paths up to the tower but did not do the hike around it because of time constraints. Interesting spot and nice break from the highway.

     The helpful lady at the welcome center also provided us with information about camping in Big Horn National Forest....she said most of the campgrounds were closed (hadn't opened for the season yet) and she said that was a good thing because you could pull in and camp for free......she recommended the Sitting Bull Campground.

     As we drove into the National Forest we were climbing over a mountain range that still had snow on the ground and plenty of snow visible in the higher elevations. Our phone and internet reception went to zero. As we reached the campground we were undecided about continuing on in the direction of Cody, Wyoming or staying there but it was nearing 4:00 and I was a little tired so we set up camp.

     We were in a campground that was closed and there is only one other camper but no signs of life there so far. There is no water or electric. We are camped right on the edge of the woods next to a beautiful meadow with a snow covered mountain as the back drop. All of that is really nice but soon after getting set up (oh yeah 41 degrees and dropping fast) it started raining and thundering.......then turned to snow (big flakes) mixed with rain. My co-pilot seems excited and a little nervous with the whole arrangement but I think it's cool!

May 25th (Check in at Yellowstone)
     We woke up very early in Big Horn National Forest....another camper or two had joined us in that park for the night. We woke up to find snow on the ground....not much and not completely covered but enough to make it exciting for us.

     We were underway heading for Yellowstone pretty early.....heading down the west side of Big Horn Forest was a big downhill run with great views.
    
     We made it to Cody, Wyoming just before noon and believing that would likely be our last Walmart visit in a week, we stocked up on some additional supplies and headed west for the 77 miles to Fishing Bridge Campground in Yellowstone. We were greeted by more snow (flurries mixed with rain) but got set up okay.

     We were both pretty tired but too excited about being here to rest (yet) so we set out with our iPhone app called "Just Ahead" with the Yellowstone guided tour. We only went a short distance before returning for dinner and hopefully a good night's rest..... but in that short time we saw some spectacular views and sighted some bison, elk, big horn sheep, and a grizzly bear so far away that I had to take someone's word that's what it was. Looking forward to seeing the remainder of the park in the coming days.

A few photos from the last few days below:

Wyoming scenery

Heading into Big Horn National Forest

Devils Tower (Wyoming)

Devils Tower (Wyoming)

Big Horn National Forest from the distance

Devils Tower

Campsite view at Sitting Bull Campground (before the snow)

"Ed Says" - Bad News, must abort their trip

Kay and I did not get to leave on May 21 as planned to meet Darrell and Kathy in Yellowstone on our way to Alaska.

Kay developed severe lower back, hip and leg pain.  The doctors informed us today that she has degenerative discs in the lower back.  So we will be taking trips to the orthopedic instead!  We are fortunate this occurred before rather than on the trip. 

It is with great disappointment that we must abort our plans for the trip.

We wish Darrell and Kathy safe travels and will be keeping up with them thru this blog and other communications. 

Ed and Kay

May 22 - Custer State Park (South Dakota part two)

Temps mild overnight 50's & beautiful sunny daytime high around 75

     At the recommendation of our good friends, Ted and Debbie Haguewood who visited here last year, we added Custer State Park to our South Dakota visit and what a great day we had.

     Besides the beautiful weather we knew it was gonna be a good day when we arrived at the park prepared to pay the $20 daily admission and they said it was open house week-end and the entry to the park was free. We spent enough time talking to the young man at the gate to get tips on how to spend our day....wildlife viewing, taking photos, and hiking. The only downside (if there was one) is that the park may have been more crowded than usual....Sunday AND free - but as a result, we also met and talked to alot of nice folks from different parts of the country including another couple headed to Alaska in a RV who were from Florida.

     First up was a drive through the wildlife loop road. When I say loop - think big, as this is a huge park. The loop road was paved and nice but they also had numerous dirt roads that we could take off in different directions (and we did). While we didn't see as much wildlife as we hoped, we did see a lot -  bison, pronghorns, prairie dogs, burros, and many birds including what we think was an eagle who had captured a prairie dog in his talons and was flying away with him.....taking him out for lunch I think.

     Later, still in the loop road, we stopped in a very nice area called Blue Bell Lodge for a picnic lunch. This area also had cabins, horseback riding, a restaurant and a general store.

     From there, at the recommendation of the gate agent we took an off the path road to the Mount Coolidge Fire tower and Overlook. Obviously the views from there were awesome but the ride up and down were a story too. This road (dirt) barely wide enough for two cars to pass had no guard rails and huge drop offs on the downhill side. Oh, and we are in an F-250 truck with big ears (mirrors). I had a nervous passenger on my hands by the time we made the top.

     We then continued to a drive up the Scenic Needles Highway.....another very narrow (but paved) road that ascends to a beautiful lake area (Sylvan Lake). The views on this road were magnificent but the road was windy and narrow with tunnels that a single vehicle (especially with big ears) could barely get through. Two vehicles ahead of us a tour bus inched his way through so I felt more confident that we might make it then.

     You will notice from the photos that a lot of the forest areas are destroyed ...leaving only piles of dead trees and pretty bare looking hills. This is evident in many places throughout this region we've seen. We learned from a local gentleman that this is caused by pine beetles....they destroy entire areas of trees. Pine beetles are also a problem in areas back home but the difference is most of the forests in Georgia are a mix of pine and hardwoods so it doesn't leave the hillside completely bare. 

     Sylvan Lake at the top end of the Needles Highway is a beautiful lake and day use area that is very popular with the locals. Many families kayaking, hiking and fishing. We enjoyed a one mile hike around the lake and a soft serve ice cream cone at the lodge there while we decided on whether to hike the Harney Peak trail.

     Harney Peak Trail - So, the last thing on our list for Custer State Park was the recommended climb to Harney Peak which is the highest peak in the Black Hills. The gate agent said if you are in reasonable shape and enjoy hiking (we think we are and we do)....it is a 3.3 mile hike up (really UP) and then the 3.3. mile return trip. Our dilemma was that the signs posted and what we learned from talking to others is that this hike could take 4-5 hours and it was now 4:15 in the afternoon....running out of time. I really wanted to give it a try and Kathy was a little less enthusiastic about it.....we decided to grab some water, snacks, and cameras and go at least part way up and if it looks like we can't make the top we would return at a safe time. Oh, and we grabbed a jacket to take with us that turned out to be a really good idea....even though it was warm and sunny when we left.

     We pushed hard in our attempt to reach the top. I figured if we could make the top in two hours or less we'd be okay on the down hill return. We reached it at 6:05 and to our surprise some pretty cold and windy weather (estimate 50+ MPH wind and temps cold and dropping fast). The peak elevation is at 7,244 feet and it looked at that point like some weather was moving in. Thank god we thought to bring the jackets. We spent very little time taking pictures there but the view was incredible.

     On the return trip Kathy led the way and I struggled to keep up with her....she was on a mission to beat the weather and get back to the vehicle before dark. It began to rain lightly soon after we began descending the mountain and felt like it had ice in it. By the time we got to within a half mile of the truck it was raining/sleeting pretty hard and we were happy to see the truck.

What a great ending to great day!

Many photos posted below

Bird eating grasshopper

Bison herd - Wildlife loop

Bison profile shot

Wildlife loop

Wildlife loop

Tunnel - Scenic Needles Highway

Scenic Needles Highway

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake

Harney hike

Harney hike - near peak

Harney hike

Harney peak

Coolidge Fire Tower Lookout

Coolidge Fire Tower Lookout

Sylvan Lake

Prairie Dog - Wildlife loop

Scenic Needles Highway

Sylvan Lake

Bison - wildlife loop

Harney hike

Harney hike

Harney hike