May 29, 2010 by LadyCC.

We start the day by going to Devil’s Tower which is right next to the KOA we are staying in. On the drive in are 3 pullouts where you can stop and watch prairie dogs. They were adorable and there were signs everywhere telling you not to feed them. It was funny watching them pop up and down their burrows. We even saw some babies playing with each other. You had to watch the road closely because they would scamper across it so quickly. We continue on the road and took pictures of the tower which was covered in clouds this morning. We arrive at the visitor center and park and get ready to walk the circle trail around the tower. We saw some climbers getting their gear ready to go up the tower. The visitor center doesn’t open until 9 am so we decided last night to walk first then do the Jr Ranger and displays in the visitor area afterwards.

The walk was only about 1 mile in length but a lot of it was uphill since it was near the base of the tower. On the way in we saw a deer in the woods and as we rounded a bend around the tower we saw another one. We took pictures of the valley and of the tower with the sun rising behind it. It is considered a sacred place by the local Indian tribes and the tower is closed to climbing in the month of June. The walk around was peaceful and you could hear the wind whistling through the cracks in the columns. Signs told us that there are 4,5,6, and 7 sided columns that have fallen. There is still a set of wooden ladders in some cracks that were left there by the first climbers. We could see them with binoculars they had on the path. There were lots of birds flying around the top. They must have nests up there. We were enjoying the walk and reading the signs for information when we walked around the bend and heard this strange noise. It was a group of young people who were working on the path that wound around the tower. They had these mechanical wheelbarrrows that pulled their loads of asphalt uphill.

We finished the walk in about an hour and headed back to the visitor center. CC got his postcard and pin and PTCC started working on her Jr Ranger badge. We all looked around the visitor displays in the original log house. After answering all the questions she was awarded her badge. We then headed back to prairie dog town and took some more pictures and then back to the KOA to get ready to leave.

We head out back to Moorcroft to get gas and catch US 16 to Hill City, SD. This was our worst experience gassing up so far. There was a gas truck filling the pumps and the way the station was arranged it had to go between all the pumps making it hard to get in or out. Compounding our problem to fuel was a stupid old man on a motorcycle who acted like he had never put gas in it before. He had to go in and then came out of the store and then put about 3 gallons in and then had to go back inside again instead of moving his bike out of the way. Then when he does come back he just stands around waiting on something. Finally an old lady walks out to him and then they stand there talking forever. We waited 20 minutes to get to a gas pump here because of him and his rudeness. Unfortunately when we did get to a pump we had to block the guy filling the tanks from getting out. He was cool about it he said as long as we didn’t have to go inside to pay. CC assured him he wouldn’t. The guy said he hated delivering to this station because it was always a mess to get in.

After that hassle we get back on US 16 to head to South Dakota. We’ve decided to stop at Jewel Cave on the way to Hill City to see if we can get in on a cave tour. We make pretty good time and get there within 2 hours so we are good for the 1:35 pm tour which is a short one of about 20 minutes instead of the 1.5 hour long one. I don’t think I can take the cold that long again after Timpangonos. PTCC gets her Jr Ranger book and CC goes back to the RV because I can’t take my purse in with me, so I had to empty everything I wanted to keep with me to my jacket pockets and he took it back because we forgot to lock the car. So PTCC starts working on her booklet while we wait for our tour and has it almost finished by the time it starts. They have a block outside the visitor center to demonstrate how small a space you have to crawl through if you take the Wild Cave tour. So PTCC has to try it and it is a tight fit even for her. We get the luck of the draw with rangers for our program. I think we got the guy who Overdosed on caffeine today, he was so peppy. On the Discovery tour they take you down in an elevator and you spend 20 minutes in one room only on a platform while the ranger tells you about different areas of the cave. It was enough for us for today. We go back up and PTCC finishes her book and gets her badge and we move on to find the Rafter J.

We go about 20 miles down the road and we find it so we register and drive to our site. It looks like a nice place. There is some up and down to the sites and it is centered on a bowl meadow. After leveling, our front right tire isn’t touching the ground anymore. Wi-Fi stinks here but we do have very basic cable in our area. Best of all they have a hot tub and it is open as well as a heated pool. PTCC hits the new playground while we set up and then we pick her up to go to Mount Rushmore since we have time and it is open late.

We drive about 10 miles and we are there. The whole experience here to me feels so commercial. Not at all like a national park. There are parking decks to park in and a boulevard of flags to walk through to see the heads on a mountain. This stop is mostly for CC since he was adamant that we stop here on our trip. PTCC gets a JR Ranger book here as well. Actually she did 2, one for her age range and one for older kids. The heads were impressive and we walked the path all the way around the park, stopping to read about how they came to be. We watched the movie and visited the exhibit hall for answers to PTCC’s books. The artists studio was closed when we got there but the walk was OK. There are a lot of stairs so beware if that’s not your thing. Unfortunately the late afternoon sun made it harder to take pictures without getting the sun in most of them. We make it back and go to the bookstore. Inside they had one of the original workers who was signing his book appearing today. I get a stuffed prairie dog to add to my collection and CC gets his pin. They don’t seem to have the WPA postcards here that he has been buying. We go back to the visitor center and PTCC gets her Jr Ranger badge and we take off. There is a lighting ceremony with veterans honored at 9 pm but we don’t want to stay that late so we leave.

After we get back we cook out and hit the pool and hot tub. It is fun talking to others who are traveling too. We like to ask where they’ve been and where they are going next. We are camped next to a couple from Inverness, FL and met a couple in the hot tub from Weeki Wachee, FL. Small world isn’t it?

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May 27, 2010 by LadyCC.

CC went to check us out early from Fishing Bridge so we could be on our way to South Dakota. He came back and we hooked up the car and left out the east entrance to Yellowstone. On the way we passed Steamboat Springs, a frozen Mary Bay, some bison near the fumeroles, an avalanche area near Sylvan Pass with a cool recoilless rifled cannon for shooting snow cornices so they don’t cause avalanches and more bison once we got to the park boundary at Pahaska Teepee. The road wasn’t nearly as bad as people told us it would be. There was only about 20 minutes where the RV felt like it was on the edge of the canyon. At Pahaska Teepee we encounter the never ending road work that goes on in Wyoming in the summer. We were stopped at a bridge construction but it was only for about 3 minutes. The problem was the light would only let 1 car through at a time.

There were unique cliff formations as we drove along. I was able to get many pictures as the speed limit was pretty low in some passes. We neared Cody and went through 3 tunnel passes near the Buffalo Bill dam. We wished we had more time because there was a visitor center there. Everyone always talks about the Buffalo Bill museum which we didn’t have interest in but we would have made time for the dam if we had known it was there. Something for the next trip I guess.

We make a short stop at Walmart in Cody for supplies and gas and get back on the road. The temperature is more like home in FL right now. It was up in the high 80’s. It felt so good after freezing for so long. PTCC even changed into shorts and a T shirt. After stopping in Cody so did CC and I as well.

We can see the Big Horn Mountains in the distance and it seems forever to get to them. We go through another rough road with construction between Cody and Greybull. Then we turn south towards Worland and get ready for a climb towards the peak. The actual road was nice with many turnouts to view the North Fork Powder River. The mountains still had a lot of snow on them with the high elevation. We finally came to the top of the road at 9666 elev and passed the Powder river pass in Ten Sleep Canyon. We saw plenty of mule deer and pronghorn deer up in the canyons. No antelope though. Almost as soon as we passed the summit we get stopped by road construction again. This time the flagger was very talkative and told us what was ahead. I guess it gets lonely with vehicles passing you all day long.

Right as you see the “Welcome to Buffalo, WY” sign the asphalt turns red. I wonder what they have in it that makes that causes that?

Yesterday CC asked what if we pushed on to Devil’s Tower instead of staying in Ten Sleep or Buffalo? I said I was OK with that as long as he wasn’t too tired driving through the passes we had to go through to get there. So we decided if he didn’t feel too bad we would try. So when we got to Buffalo and it was still early enough to make Devil’s Tower, we calledl the KOA there to see if they will have room since we are coming up on a holiday weekend. They say they did, so we reset the GPS to go there. We take the turn off to the tower and you can see it in the distance. It takes about 45 minutes to actually get there though. We pass some steers with huge horns grazing  near the road as we turned onto the park road. We see the KOA ahead and turn in to register. We pick a nice sight and start dinner, eat and then PTCC goes out to the playground to let off some steam. CC and I walk around and take pictures of the grounds and the Devil’s Tower sign as the national park is right next to the KOA. We get PTCC and go across the street for ice cream and just make it before the store closes for the evening. As we talked to the lady working there we asked if some strange weather phenomenon was going on as we had seen these interesting weather trucks from all over passing us today. She told us there was a tornado in Wyoming which hardly ever happens and the trucks had been coming by all day. Several of them went into the park, probably to camp for the night.

Tomorrow we will tour the park and then head for South Dakota.

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May 27, 2010 by LadyCC.

Last night was not as cold as the others. In fact there was NO SNOW on the ground or cars. So today we are going to do our best to get to the Tetons. First we are stopping at Fishing Bridge for my park stamps since the visitor center opens today and then we are going up to West Thumb and Grant Village for more park stamps. On the way to Grant Village we see some elk out grazing next to the road. We then get on the road going south and pass another Continental Divide sign elev. 7988. We keep going until we get to Lewis Lake which has a waterfall you can see from the road. So we stop and take photos of it and then continue on to Moose Falls on the Lewis River. This one was very nice because it was a short fall about 30 ft high with the path right next to it leading down. It also had a rock bridge spanning the river. There was a nice path down to the falls, not too hard to walk and not too many steps.

We continue driving and soon come to the park boundary. We were so happy this morning when we called to see if there were any road closures and found out everything except the road construction area was open finally. We get to Flagg Ranch and find out this area will be closed until tomorrow, so we continue on to Colter Bay. We run into the road construction here. They are scrapping the roads and adding new asphalt so we have to wait about 10 minutes. The holds can be up to 30 minutes at a time here. It is a large area they are working on. We notice the temperature is rising as we drop in elevation, it is 52 degrees here. Almost balmy to us. In fact no one wore a jacket all day because we thought it was so warm. We make it out of the mess and get moving to Colter Bay.

We see lots of people stopped up ahead and ask what they are looking at and find out there is a black bear feeding in the woods. So we get out and look. You could see him clearly with the binoculars but not so much with the camera. It looked like he was eating a moose or elk from the size of the carcass. We keep driving and are seeing beautiful views of the Grand Tetons. Today is very nice with clear skies that are bright blue as a backdrop for them.

We stop at the visitor center so PTCC can work on her Jr Ranger badge. They don’t have any ranger programs right now so they give her a scavenger hunt to do in the Indian museum here. And the auditorium doesn’t have the movie right now since they are training their summer hires in there. So we wander around the museum looking at displays and answering questions and she finishes and gets her badge. We look around the gift shop for CC’s pin and a stuffed moose for LCC.

Right after we leave the visitor center we see more cars and the people tell us a moose is in the woods. So we look and right in a stand of aspen trees near the water is a lone moose eating. So we try to get some pictures and then move on. We are now heading towards Moran Junction where the road turns south. We stop at one of the pullouts with the mountain range behind us and get someone to take our family picture.

We tried to see the Cunningham Cabin but there was more construction in the area so we passed it by. We did stop at the Craig Thomas Discovery Visitor Center to look around. It looked like it was just built and very nice inside. It had lines on the floor that you could stand on and look to see which mountain it coordinated with outside the large windows so you knew which one you were taking pictures of. We then left to go up to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center and before we got to it we saw another moose eating near the river. This one we were able to get really good pictures of as well as video. It was only about 20 feet away but on the other side of a sandbar in the river.

After looking around the visitor area and getting our stamps we continued on. The Grand Tetons are so different from Yellowstone because they are so flat on the interior. There are mountains ringing the area but on the inside it is very level with not much change in elevation. So it is easy to see wildlife if it is out here. In the grassy area we saw some pronghorn sheep eating in the fields. We of course stopped to get their picture. I think this is the first sighting we’ve had of them. Meanwhile we are still in awe of the Tetons and are taking lots of pictures of them as well.

We now get moving north as it is getting late so we pass Signal Mountain, but find out the road was closed anyway. We get to Jackson Lake Dam and find out there is construction here too. So we wait awhile till they let us pass. We take some pictures of the work they are doing and some of the dam as well. We get going only to stop in the same place as we did on arriving where they are working on the road. CC gets out to stretch since the signal lady told him it was about 20 minutes to go. He strikes up a conversation with her but I and PTCC just lay on the seats and try to nap. It has been a long day of driving. In Yellowstone you drive about 20 minutes and then get out to view something or walk a trail. Here in Grand Tetons there is much more driving and not as much to see or do right now because of the season. Also there is a lot more road work going on with longer waits.

Finally we are allowed to precede and we are now heading back to Yellowstone. As we climb it starts getting colder again. Our high in the Tetons was 62 degrees, when we got back the car read 53 degrees. This was our longest day out yet. We left this morning at 9 am and didn’t get back until 5:30 pm. We usually stop by 3 pm but didn’t have a choice today since we decided to leave early tomorrow so we will have more time in South Dakota.

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May 27, 2010 by LadyCC.

We get up and find out it has snowed all night. It is 30 degrees outside and still snowing. The car is covered and so is everything else. It is melting off the roads so we are hopeful that the roads aren’t closed where we want to go today. We’re going to try to make it to the Tetons which are south of where we are but we need to climb in elevation because we will go over the Continental Divide once more at 7988 ft. So we get everything together and jump in the car. We stop at the camp office to check the roads and the workers tell CC that the roads are open except Dunraven Pass which has been closed since we got here. We then head south passing through Lake Village, Bridge Bay and West Thumb. The plan goes awry when we get to Grant Village and see flashing signs and the barricades up across the road. So we pull in to the gas station in Grant Village and ask about the conditions there. The clerk said anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours since they were sanding the road. So we decide to do plan B which was to do the lower circle and concentrate on what we haven’t seen yet. So we head back to Old Faithful area to do the Upper Geyser Basin area. We passed a few elk on the sides of the road on the way but didn’t see any other wildlife out yet. Probably just too cold for them. We pass the Continental Divide twice again and stop to view the Kepler Cascades before arriving at Old Faithful. It was scheduled to go off at 12:17 pm, but I think we will miss it because we will be on the boardwalk 1.5 miles north.

We get on the boardwalk and head to the Castle Geyser which is quite tall. It was steaming but not scheduled to go off until late afternoon. There were quite a few bison roaming around the area. The best geyser to view was the Spasmodic Geyser because it was so erratic with its bubbling and spewing. The most colorful was the Chromatic Pool which had all the colors we’ve seen in the geysers all together. I took a video of PTCC in front of the Grotto Geyser in which she leaned backward and looked liked she was spitting water with the geyser shooting up behind her. We then took another look at the stores and bought my stuffed bison but we can’t find a name for it yet. We saw Canada Geese on the lawn of the Old Faithful Inn and took their photo. We got back to the car and ate our lunch then went on towards Norris. On the way we saw a mother bison with her calf next to the Firehole River. The park ranger was waving away the tourists because they were getting too close to them. We saw a few more elk near the river as well. Photos from the Old Faithful area are here.

We get to Madison and know there is construction ahead between Madison and Norris. They are building a new overpass on the Gibbon River. So traffic will be stopped at times up to 30 minutes. We are so lucky though because we come upon the work and get there as they are letting the cars go. Because of the work this means we won’t get to see Gibbons Falls which is one of the tallest in the park since that is where the work is taking place on the road. We do get to stop at the Artist Paintpots but I think we were all a little disappointed here. We thought we would see very colorful geysers and paintpots but they were rather bland. The walk is was nice though. It felt almost like walking through a Christmas forest with all the pine trees on the path and you could smell the pine scent in the air. We did see an interesting sight there though. There was a pine tree that was all twisted like a candy cane looks. Don’t know how it happened, maybe the wind pushed it and twisted it as it grew.

From Norris to Canyon we did not stop because there was nothing that we hadn’t already seen. So we get to Canyon and take the Brink of the Lower Falls road to check out what we could see there. There were some spectacular views of the Lower Falls from this area. We then took the North Rim drive to see more of the Lower Falls. The Fall has a green streak in it which is very unique. We then drive to Lookout Point and Grand View to take more pictures. All of our pictures are beautiful of the Lower Falls. Then we drive to Inspiration Point and see a huge Glacial Boulder and then walk down the steps at Inspiration Point for more photo ops. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone walls were gorgeous in the light. It looked like an artist had painted some beautiful watercolors of oranges, reds, pinks and greens with a lot of yellow added in.

We then drive back to the Brink of the Upper Falls to see what it has to offer. We stop and take lots of photos here as well. There was still much snow on the canyon walls and it was very cold here as well. We drove all the way to the end of the road at Artist Point and walked the overlooks here. A nice young lady offered to take our family picture for us with the waterfall as a back drop. We tried to see Uncle Tom’s Trail but there was a medical emergency and the park rangers had closed off the parking lot to bring a helicopter in to airlift the person out. He said they were hurt in the back country. So unless we have some extra time we won’t be able to get back to this area again.

So now that we’ve seen the loop we head back to Fishing Bridge and on the way we see lots of cars stopped ahead and look at what is on the top of a rise. A coyote is up there alone and is scoping out the area. He is probably hoping to jump on a baby bison if the mom is not paying enough attention. We get some good shots of it running along the ridge and then it disappears just like we do when we continue back to the RV.

We get back and turn on the generators and throw all our stuff inside and then head out to the Fishing Bridge store and diner. We are going to eat out tonight and then shop and walk on the old Fishing Bridge and look around. After we eat PTCC wants a jacket like CC and I have from Yosemite but instead says Yellowstone. We have seen many people in these since they probably didn’t expect it to be so cold here and had to buy a jacket once they got here. She also wants some T shirts and I will get another Yellowstone frame. CC just buys milk for breakfast. He already got a shirt earlier at Old Faithful and I guess we do need the milk. We then go walk on the bridge and see the ice flows in the Yellowstone River and take some pictures of the mountains in the distance. It has gotten warmer and is a comfortable 43 degrees outside now. Probably I think because the sun has finally come out of hiding. We walk back along the opposite side and get back in the car to head to the campsite for the night. I think I will call it a day now, it has been a long one. Hopefully we will get to see the Tetons tomorrow.

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May 23, 2010 by steve.

Up early, and there is snow everywhere. I really don’t want to drive the RV in snow. I call the Yellowstone road conditions number and they say that the roads that we want are open, but the road from Old Faithful to West Thumb, which crosses the Continental Divide twice, is “snow tires recommended” and “snow packed.” Oh boy. I start the day off by trying to talk Lady CurbCrusher into staying in West Yellowstone and driving into the park for a couple of days. That just puts a damper on the start of the day for everyone, because, as you all know “if Momma ain’t happy, no one’s happy.”

So we drive the short distance to the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Except for the cold, the driving is not bad. We’ve decided that we’re going take the southern route from Madison to Old Faithful to West Thumb, then up to Fishing Bridge, and that we’re going to stop and see the stuff along the way in the RV as we make the trip. The total distance is about 60 miles, but we take about six hours to make the trip, stopping at most of the sights along the way. This is a bit of a pain, because the motorhome/car combo does not fit in a lot of the “RV” parking spots that are in the various pull outs in Yellowstone.

We reach Craig’s pass (the Continental Divide) area in the afternoon after lunch. It is fine. The weather forecasters have been wrong, and instead of overcast skies, there has been sun for most of the morning. So the road is dry, there is snow on either side of the road above about 7500 feet, but the driving is safe. The worse part is the climbing, but our trusty Workhorse and Allison combo keep up with the speed limit on the climbs with no problem.

This is the deepest into the park that we’ve ever been, as Lady CurbCrusher and I had made a winter visit to the park about 13 years ago and been as far as Old Faithful. At West Thumb, there is another geyser basin, and I think it is more impressive than the ones around Old Faithful. This geyser basin sits on the shore of Lake Yellowstone, which is still frozen, except for the area along the shore where the hot water from the geyser basin empties into the lake. Very cool, and very picturesque with the mountains across the lake.

The final part of the trip is from West Thumb to Fishing Bridge. This is about a 21 mile road that runs along Lake Yellowstone. The road is an easy drive, and you get great views of the lake and mountains all along the road.

Fishing Bridge has the only “full” hook-up RV park in Yellowstone National Park. However, there is not electricity. A lady up a the store told us it was because Xanterra, the company that operates the shopping and campground concession, only has two years left on their contract, and does not want to spend the money upgrading the electric capabilities in the park unless their contract is renewed. Regardless, it means that you get water and sewer and and electric box that you can not plug into. The sites are tight, with enough room for your rig, and a place to park your car next to it. While the place was probably designed and built when a big RV was 25 foot, there are a number of “big” rigs (35ft + ) in area we are camped in. However, since there are not a lot of folks there, they are only using one side of each loop. That makes it feel a bit more roomy, and they are trying leave every other site empty to give the feeling of a larger site. As there is no electricity, and generators are permitted from 8 to 8 each day.

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