Yellowstone National Park (Part III)

I have SO many amazing pictures from Yellowstone.  I just have to share a few more and talk one final time about how special this National Park is....I mean....

I know you saw the video this week about the bison tossing the 9-year old girl after the tourists were all standing too close...this photo was taken by my mom from the car as we drove by this guy laying by the road.  We are very cognizant of the rules having completed so many Junior Ranger books - we don't approach the wildlife, but it is all around in Yellowstone.

Another amazing spot is Artist Point on the south rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  When at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West I saw two outstanding paintings that I took pictures of, only to later realize that they were inspired by this spot.  First my best picture...

Then two paintings inspired by this awesome view...

On our final day in Yellowstone we set out to try to see a wolf - we heard the best chance of seeing them was driving to Lamar Valley.  Our plan was to drive through Lamar Valley and exit the park through the Northeast entrance and proceed via the Beartooth highway back to Cody.  This was a phenomenal drive.  We had quite an adventure.  Along the way we randomly stopped at a pull off, walked up a set of steps and were treated to this view that was completely obscured by the forest while driving!  I wish I could say exactly where this was...all I know is that a man in the parking lot told us when we pulled up that if we would have been there five minutes earlier, there was a wolf across the road!  We had just missed it.

Here is another classic Yellowstone scene - traffic was stopped and it was impossible to see what was going on up ahead.  As usual, there were a bunch of people getting out of their cars and walking along the road to try and get a glimpse.  When our vehicle finally inched forward enough to see what was going on we saw this:

Along the side of the road a woman who was walking along the road was asking the NPS law enforcement personnel, "Is there a bear?" The law enforcement personnel were visibly agitated by this woman and said, "no ma'am, we need you to get back in your car!" "But is there a bear?" she asked again clearly not getting the fact that she was out of line.  "Ma'am, everyone needs to be in their vehicle.  Please return to your vehicle!" they said with emphasis.  Disappointed that she was not getting the answer she wanted to hear, she kept walking towards the officer instead of back to her car.  The officers said, "you must return to your vehicle now!"  So she slowly started walking back but continued to crane her neck around to try and see a bear that didn't exist.  There was a bison in the road and the officers were trying to get people to drive around it, but everyone wanted to take a picture first.  Since the bison was only blocking one lane of traffic, he was trying to get the other lane to move forward.  It was a bit of a chaotic scene, but thankfully in this instance, while we were witnesses, no one was injured. 

This was not the only time we were stopped by bison in the road that day.  Later, when approaching Lamar Valley there was a huge herd complete with calves blocking traffic.  In this case people stayed in their cars, there was less traffic and we all were able to take our pictures and then drive through the herd.  Here are some of the cute calves:

Unfortunately we did not see a wolf BUT we did see a red fox!  We were able to observe it for a while from the car.  It was amazing that my mom spotted it as I was driving - she also took some amazing pictures.

But that was not all we saw on our amazing drive...we saw another black bear!  Our pictures didn't do it justice as it was moving and browsing....here is the best one, albeit out of focus.

We drove the Beartooth highway back to Cody at sunset and it was so beautiful.  At the top we pulled off and I took this picture that shows both the switchbacks in the road as well as the amazing sunset.

Yes, Yellowstone is crowded and huge and if I went back I would focus on the areas of the park that are less visited.  I also felt that we didn't get to do enough hiking as we were driving too much.  In the future I hope to camp in the park or near a different entrance so that I can explore other parts of this great wilderness.  I am glad we drove the Beartooth highway, but I would NOT want to drive this road with my trailer in tow!  Wyoming is amazing.  I think I need to go there every summer.

Yellowstone National Park (Part II)

A trip to Yellowstone is not complete without seeing Old Faithful!  We also targeted this area because Brother read about the Young Scientist program and this is one of the locations that offered that special youth experience.  The gist of the experience was that he checked out an explorer book bag with some scientific tools including an infrared thermometer.  The book walked him through a study of the geysers and hot springs.  This was above and beyond the Junior Ranger book and Sister was very disappointed that she could not participate as she was too young.  As it turned out she ended up being the "research assistant" and carried the book bag through the boardwalks and was ready to give a tool to Brother whenever he asked for it.  It was really quite cute.  She also insisted on walking right behind him so that she would be close and could help him make observations.  It took some time, but he did a great job and earned his Young Scientist patch which I sewed onto his vest!

The hike behind the Old Faithful Visitor Center was quite amazing.  There were many hot springs and smaller geysers - one of them unexpectedly erupted when mom was photographing it and she had to move back to avoid the hot water! It started out small and ended up shooting water 10+ feet high!

One thing I noted was that the boardwalk needs some repair or to be replaced in sections.  Every park we have visited (that was in operation in the 1930s) credits the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) for infrastructure improvements - it is obvious to me that we need another national CCC program to help our national parks keep their infrastructure functioning.  When you consider the CCC's work was completed in the 1930's is seems due time to invest in our natural national treasures.  At Yellowstone the boardwalks are crowded and they are creaky, which is not a great feeling when you are standing over hot springs with water temps in the 140+ degrees F.

The springs are beautiful with the microbial mats in multicolors surrounding them. 

The next stop, after predicting Old Faithful's next eruption (Brother and I were 100% in line with the NPS prediction), was the Grand Prismatic Spring and surrounding area.  Here the boardwalk it in better condition and they have thankfully made the walk one way (because it gets really crowded and hard to pass each other when everyone is trying to get the perfect selfie or picture).   

On the day we were there the wind was blowing.  As we walked the steam from Excelsior Geyser would surround us for a few seconds giving the illusion we were in a sauna before it would blow away and we could feel the ambient air.  The geyer is very large and a beautiful shade of blue.  The wind was so strong that many people lost their hats and the were stranded too far from the boardwalk for retrieval.  I wondered if the park rangers had a long tool to pick up the lost items from the fragile ground.  It is clear that walking off the path would be a terrible idea for fear of falling through the microbial mat into near boiling water. 

The Grand Prismatic Spring is so much larger than I imagined.  It is larger than a football field, and is generally photographed from above so one can see it in its entirety.  From our vantage point on the boardwalk (maybe 6 inches above the surface) it was massive and impossible to capture in a picture.  As we are walking toward it, you can see other onlookers trying to get a good shot!

Again, Yellowstone appears to offer landscapes that are otherworldly - here the "ground" appears to  be a colorful spongy mat floating upon and under a layer of hot spring water which is constantly washing over it.  The surface glistens.  In some places where the water rushes over it there are places that seem beach-like.

The other two amazing features on this walk, that would be astonishing on their own, but when compared to the other two seem to fall short are the opal pool...

...and the turquoise pool...

The water feature of the geyers basins are really amazing.  Yes, you are standing on an active volcano - but wow does a volcano make some beautiful landscapes. 

Yellowstone National Park (Part I)

Yellowstone National Park, the first National Park designated in these United States (1872), has places that are unlike any other landscape.  It's upon a volcano.  The magma, which is close to the surface (as close as 2 miles in some places), is doing strange things to the terrain.  The results can be stinky, steamy, or colorful but it is continually awe inspiring.  Yellowstone is huge and though we visited for a week we saw only a small fraction.  I know I will return to this place again.  I was already swept away by Wyoming, but now I feel that any summer trip is incomplete without visiting Wyoming and the alien places in Yellowstone.

The kids and I did day one together while Husband was working in Cody.  The first odd thing we saw after entering the park via the East was this steaming, smelly vapor coming out of the hillside.  We stopped to take pictures because we had no idea just how weird it was going to get!  Our destination for day 1 was the mud volcano area.  I found out later this destination is not for everyone because the sulfur smelling gas affects people differently.  I found it unpleasant, but not overwhelming.  It was more like an annoyance.  After being around it for an hour or so on the hike I was ready to leave the area.  I guess some people get nauseous or otherwise feel poorly when around the smell.  The whole experience was a curiosity to me and I enjoyed it (even with the smell) because it was so unique.

One of the first features you see is the Dragon Mouth Spring.  This cave churns, and breathes as the noxious gas bellows out.  The spring's frequency ebbs and wanes and the sounds are enough to make you think there really is something living in there! I could have sat and watched this crazy site for a good long time, but alas my little people are always on to the next thing - they didn't fully understand how singular this is, though I think by the end of the week they had a much better idea.  I was able to record a bit of it, unfortunately the sound of the cave was not captured adequately.

Have you ever seen the ground boil?  Well if you said no, that is because you haven't visited Yellowstone.  Technically it is not boiling - it is churning as the heat and gasses escape from deep in the earth, but it is very hot.

There are so many churning pools, some less active than the Churning Cauldron above, but there is a lot of activity everywhere you look.  It is clear that there are things going on here that are of import and we are just seeing the surface rumblings of the greater beast.  The 2/3 mile path is mostly a boardwalk because the ground is unstable.  In some places only a thin crust exists.  Mama has to watch her littlest bird here!  Though I have to say that Sister was a very good listener.

But what about the wildlife you ask?  Oh yes, wildlife - we saw a few critters on our first day!

We saw two elk right by the side of the road.  They were between all of the cars of onlookers, but here is one decent picture:

We saw a LOT of buffalo on multiple occasions.  Between mom and I we have quite a few good pictures.  Here is a favorite taken by mom.

On the first day we saw FOUR black bears!  First we saw a mama and her two cubs.  They crossed the street in front of me when I was driving out of the park.  I had to pull over and grab my phone and by the time I took the picture out of the passenger side window they were well into the wood.  Here is the best picture.  Mama is behind the tree, the cubs are more visible.  I marked them each with red arrows...sorry my editing skills are not very good.

Then after we exited the park and were driving towards Cody through the Buffalo Bill State Park we saw a single black bear browsing along the road.  We were one of the first cars to pull over and we got to sit and watch it for a while before he crossed the road, jumped the barrier and disappeared from view.

Because the coloring of this bear was lighter we thought we saw a grizzly, but the next day when we attended a ranger talk about bears we learned how to tell the difference.  We then showed the pictures to the ranger and using the information we had just learned (ears, hump, rump) we confirmed it was a black bear. This was the most close and sustained encounter we had with a bear, though it was not the last!

My parents, however did see a grizzly on their first day into the park (the day after our first visit).  I had to work until the afternoon and couldn't go with them to Yellowstone; instead I took the kids to the museum in Cody.

My folks also saw the one animal the rest of of us never saw...a big horn sheep!

Everywhere you look seems like a postcard view.  I have SO many pictures!

The best view of day one was the last scenic view we checked out before we left the park.  These are the upper falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  There is such a massive amount of water rushing loudly over the rocks.

Of course I have more to say, but I have to break up this massive park into sections.  We did a ton of driving at Yellowstone.  Each day we had an hour round trip from the RV to the park entrance and then hours of driving through the park to the various sites.  I cannot stress enough how huge Yellowstone is.  If you are planning a visit stay close to the park or in the park to minimize your drive time during the day.  Also, there was construction on the east entrance road and a good portion of the road was dirt while the work is being done.  At times there were one lane roads with flaggers, which slowed us down as well.  Regardless of the hassles we saw a lot and enjoyed the park very much!  More on other sites next time....

Absaroka Bay RV, Cody, WY

Absaroka Bay is a full-hook up RV park in Cody, WY.  Cody is 50 miles from the east entrance to Yellowstone.  I didn't think this would be a problem, but I had no idea how huge Yellowstone is so the driving became a bit tiresome during the week we were there.  I think this might be the biggest drawback, but we chose this RV park because it was in a city and Verizon claimed there was 4G coverage, which turned out to be true.  Husband was able to work from Cody.

Coming from Gros Ventre Campground in Grand Teton where the sites were so spacious it was a bit of a disappointment when we arrived here.  Though the sites were all pull-through there were trucks parked behind the trailers (like ours) and this made the turn too sharp to get a good angle on the spot.  We ended up having to back it in to get it centered in the spot and not park on the grass, which was explicitly prohibited.  We arrived before my parents and had two days to explore as they arrive at dinner time on the second day.  The park was very busy RVs coming and going every day.

I felt the price was reasonable, we paid a weekly rate of $257.83 which is $36.83 per night.  This is another RV park that did not take any additional discount for the Good Sam membership when we were already getting the weekly rate.  This is a pet peeve of mine - I think if they say they give a Good Sam discount it should be above and beyond their published rates.  Oh well, I am not going to win this argument with anyone - but it annoys me.

The park had nice public restrooms and showers as well as a very clean, but small laundry room.  It was small for the number of sites they have (81) and when I did my laundry I went into town to a laundromat so that I didn't take up every single washer.  It was time to wash all the blankets and bedding so I had a number of extra loads above my weekly three load average. 

The RV park did not have any kid-friendly activities - no playground, no pool, and the little grassy area by the trailer was rather inadequate for getting all their wiggles out.  There was a strip of grass along the road that was considered the dog area - it was a pretty sad little dog area without any fencing so the dogs still had to be on a leash the whole time.  My parents have a dog so we walked with them and observed. 

The town of Cody is busy and has a cute downtown.  We weren't very excited about the restaurants we ate at.  I am not sure there is a great place to eat there.  There is a continuous rodeo going every night, but we didn't attend.  The one attraction we did see was the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.  This is a huge facility with diverse galleries/museums.  First we visited the Draper Natural History Museum. Here Sister and I learned what it was that crossed our path on the trail at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton - we saw a yellow-bellied marmot up close!  A sign in the facility said that most of the specimens in the museum were donated after being hit by a car or injured and unable to be saved.  They had an amazing collection and the specimens were arranged in terms of their habitats/ecosystems/climate zones.  In each zone there was a stamp that the kids could collect in a little booklet provided at the beginning so it kept their interest all the way through. 

In the middle of this visit there was a loudspeaker announcement that a U.S. forest ranger was giving a talk about bears so we took a break from the museum and stopped to attend.  There we learned the difference between a black bear and grizzly bear.  We also saw a number of examples of these bears in the museum.  We also got to get close to a moose!

Next we visited the Buffalo Bill Museum...I did not know how far and wide the show traveled.  This is a strange piece of American history.

By this time the kids had seen enough, but I was not done.  Thankfully, in the Whitney Western Art Museum there were drawing tables encouraging you to try your hand at a sketch.  Both kids loved that and they sat there drawing while I enjoyed the art museum.  Here are just a few of the best pieces in my humble opinion.

First, on two prominent walls there were two huge paintings depicting the Battle of Greasy Grass AKA The Battle of Little Big Horn. Here is a picture to show how they were displayed in the museum.

Each told a different story - one from the Native perspective and one from the American perspective.  There were computers with information to help direct your attention to different parts of the pieces.  It was really informative.  I spent a long time looking at these and considering them.  Here they are up close.  First "Custer's Last Stand" by Edgar S Paxson.

Next "The Battle of Greasy Grass" by Allan Mardon

Other notable works:

With these final oil on paperboard works (details on the right if you zoom in) there is so much detail in each one.  They really tell a story of a time forgotten.  I think they are great.

So there were other museums to explore but at this point we didn't have the attention for anymore.  The ticket gets you in for two days, but we were off to Yellowstone the rest of the time so we didn't go back, but the place is very cool and well worth the admission. 

Summary of Absaroka Bay RV park.

Pros:

• In the city near shopping, laundry, & attractions such as the museum and rodeo
• laundry on site
• clean public restrooms and showers
• decent price
• good Verizon signal

Cons:

• Too far from Yellowstone (would have loved to stay in the state park west of Cody, but no Verizon)
• nothing for kids
• small sites packed together
• busy park lots of coming and going
• tiny dog grass area

Gros Ventre Campground Grand Teton, Kelley, WY

I hardly want to write about this place because it is so amazing.  My small comfort is that my audience is rather small and I know that you will benefit from this information and not let too many people in on this secret!

First thing you need to know - Gros Ventre is a first-come-first serve place (no reservations).  Best chance of getting a spot is at 11 am right after check out.  My parents arrived first and found a spot.  They reserved us a spot.  Both of my parents have the Senior passes and so they used one for their spot and the other for our spot - that save us $15/night.  Usual cost is $30/night.

Here is the view looking behind the trailer.

There are no hook-ups - this is a dry camping or boondocking situation.  There is potable water and there is a dump station.  There are parts of the campground that allow generators and other parts that do not.  This campground has tent sites in one loop and RV sites in other loops.  It is very large.

This was our first time using our solar setup in this rig.  For those of you following us for a while, we had a solar setup in our previous rig and we moved it to this one with some modifications.  This was our first time using it.  Unfortunately one of our solar panels took a crap and since then we are down to one panel (which has served us well - more on this later).  We also had problems with our charge controller properly reading the battery voltage.  We didn't figure out the resolution when we were at Gros Ventre...but we did eventually figure it out (it had to do with the fact that our charge controller is hard wired to the battery and is always on even when the rig is connected to shore or the truck.  To get it to work properly Husband disconnected it from the battery when we were dry camping and it reset the controller.  After that it was able to function properly.)

To give you an idea of the space at this campground check out these two pictures...

The sites on both sides of us are occupied and you can't even see them in the pictures because there is so much space between them. Contrast this to Sand Creek RV park and others I will review later where the RVs are tight together - this is really nice.  I used my outdoor kitchen and made my vegan corn chowder, mom through elk burgers on the grill, and we had us a very nice picnic and fire complete with s'mores.

Here is a picture of my mom and dad's site.

The campground is located immediately outside the National Park boundaries in the National Forest.  It is also very close to Jackson Hole, WY.  I have to share this picture taken in Jackson Hole because it blew me away when I saw it!

Jackson Hole is a touristy town if you are into that sort of thing...we aren't, but we do like a good restaurant and we enjoyed The Merry Piglets Mexican Grill.  It is an unfortunate name in my opinion, but if you want a really good veggie burrito this is your place.  They have really good salsa too. Others in my group were happy with their meaty things as well!

Ok, summary of pros and cons of Gros Ventre Campground.

Pros:

• rural feeling when camping 
• moose visit the campground
• clean public flush toilets
• potable water and dump station
• very reasonable price with senior discount
• campsites spread out
• beautiful
• good dry camping spot
• staff in office are super friendly and helpful
• no reservations (I would normally say no reservations is a con, but I really liked their system and it seemed to work.  I like to be sure about my plans, but I would be willing to attempt to stay here again because it was so wonderful.)

Cons:

• if you need full hook-ups this is not your place
• $30 for dry camping is a little high, but when you consider what full hook-ups in this area cost you realize that this acceptable
• public showers would be nice
• NO Verizon or WiFi 

This last bullet is the big one - we would have stayed here longer and changed our plans, but Husband couldn't work from here.  So...two and a half nights and two full days of exploring were the extent of our visit.  The kids got their Junior Ranger badges and we did some awesome hikes, but I wish we could have stayed a few more days.