Yellowstone National Park, Part Last

The rain has continued throughout this day, so we took the opportunity to get some of those chores done.  This will be our last stop at a town of substantial size until we cross the Canadian border.  We were busy making final preparations.

My list of chores were all along the lines of general housekeeping--menu planning, cooking, light cleaning.  Laundry was on the list, but I didn’t get that one done.  I did, as you can see, get the rest of the Yellowstone photos organized and posted.  I also spent a great deal of time catching up with the blogs I read.

Gene’s list consisted of phone calls mostly.  While in Canada, we plan to use our Capital One card for all charges because it doesn’t have that added foreign transaction fee added.  However, you never know when there may be an emergency and we would need to use one of our other credit cards.  Gene called all the card companies to notify them we would be in Canada for the next few weeks.  I think the credit card companies call it “fraud management”.  We have in the past had a card refused because the transaction was so out of the ordinary for us.  We want to avoid that happening.

He also called Verizon to have Canada added to our cell phone plan.  We’re very dependent on the phone for calling about road conditions and verifying that campgrounds are open.  Then, of course, there are the calls we want to make to family and friends as well as any emergency calls we might need to make or receive.  Adding Canada to our phone plan was a necessity, even if it cost $20/month.

We did not add Canada to our Verizon MiFi plan.  We will be solely dependent on finding WiFi along the road either at campgrounds, libraries, truck stops, or coffee houses.  There may be days I’ll be unable to post due to lack of internet connection.

Gene also had a trip to the bank planned, but finally decided that was not necessary.  He did run down to Radio Shack and pick up some batteries for his electric ear.  We haven’t talked about that much in a while, but he has been wearing it more frequently of late.  For the complete electric ear story click here. (Feb 18, 2010)

After dinner, we mapped out a plan to get us from here in Helena to Kootenay National Park in British Columbia.  The time is close and we’re excited now.

Tomorrow we will tour the Montana State Capitol and maybe the cathedral.  There is still rain in the forecast for tomorrow, but not as high a percentage as today.  Rain or shine, we’re going.

That’s it for today. Thanks for tagging along.

Yellowstone Wildlife Photos

We are in Helena, Montana as I am writing this.  We left our campsite at Mammoth Hot Springs this morning.  It was hard to leave such a majestic place, but we have, as they say, other fish to fry.  It’s just as well, because there is a winter storm coming through tonight and tomorrow and elevations of 6000 feet or higher are expecting to get 1 to 2 feet of snow.  So we left just in time.

We’re going to spend three nights in Helena before moving on.  This will give us a chance to visit the state capitol and get a few chores done before crossing the border into Canada.  We’re staying at Lincoln Road RV Park on the north side of town.  It’s a very nice park, but expensive.  We’re in an electric only site and it’s still $26/night.

Our trip was really uneventful.  We had rain all day and the car and motor home are both incredibly dirty.  There were a couple of sections on highway 287 under construction.  One area was down to the dirt.  Made us think we were already on the Alaska Highway.  The only thing missing was the pilot car.

I’m still wading through that mound of photos from Yellowstone.  I have the wildlife ready for tonight and I’ll go out on a limb here and promise the geysers for tomorrow.

Besides the geysers, I guess the next thing Yellowstone is known for is the wildlife.  We were hoping to see wolves, but no such luck.  We came across three coyotes, but that’s as close to a wolf as we got.  Neither did we see any bear--black or brown--nor goats, sheep, or moose.  What we saw was many, many bison, elk, a couple of cranes, ducks, a marmot, and what seemed like hundreds of mountain bluebirds.  We also saw what we think was a pica; if not, it was a ground squirrel.  Then there was the rabbit.  I suppose it was a jack rabbit, but we wondered if it might be a snowshoe hare.  It was huge and on the move.  I was lucky to get a picture.

So, there you have it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Yellowstone National Park, Part III

After spending countless hours in the car the past couple days, we decided to stay at Mammoth Hot Springs today.  The other day when we wandered around the hot springs, we didn’t do the upper portion of that tour.  Also at Mammoth is the old Fort Yellowstone.  We got those things done today.

Fort Yellowstone

Fort Yellowstone was established as a way to protect the park.  For several years after gaining National Park status, Yellowstone was abused and misused.  Hunters and poachers came for the animals, tourists, wanting souvenirs, defaced the natural features, entrepreneurs set up camps at the hot springs to make money.  When underpaid and over worked superintendents couldn’t stop the damage being done, the U.S. Army was called in.

In 1886 the Army arrived and ended up staying over 30 years.  Thinking the assignment wouldn’t last too long, the soldiers erected temporary buildings.  After just about freezing their butts off for several winters, they finally saw the light and began constructing a permanent fort.  The first buildings were finished in 1891 and construction continued until 1913.

The Army is credited with providing the much needed law and order and, as a result, saved Yellowstone from further destruction.

This was our last day for touring this great park.  We’ve already decided we’ll have to come back; maybe some year in late summer.

That’s all for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is probably most famous for its geysers, especially Old Faithful, and for its wildlife.  The road from Mammoth Hot Springs to Old Faithful in the geyser basin is open.  That was our destination today.  South of Old Faithful the road is still closed.

Like yesterday, we stopped at most of the pull-outs along the way, including some lengthy stops at the geyser basins.  That 100-mile round trip took over eight hours.  We had a very full day.

The landscape in Geyser Basin seems almost other worldly with steam escaping from the earth’s surface, multicolored pools of boiling water, and large areas nearly devoid of plant life.  We walked along the boardwalks to see everything.

At Midway and Lower Geyser Basins the boardwalks were almost clear of snow; at least enough to make them passible.  Norris Geyser Basin, however, is still pretty snowed in.  We went part way, but had to turn back.

Mud Pot

Old Faithful erupted right on schedule.  We had gray skies today, so it’s hard to see the geyser without some contrasting color behind all that steam.

I’m only giving you a teaser on the photos tonight.  As you can imagine, I took hundreds.  I’ll need several hours to get those organized and ready to post.

Old Faithful

This is it for tonight; trying to save the computer battery.  Thanks for tagging along.

Yellowstone National Park, Part I

Yellowstone National Park is our first national park.  Well, I guess, it’s the first national park in the world, established in 1872.  Yellowstone is massive, covering 3468 sq miles in northwest Wyoming and spilling over a little into Montana and Idaho.  Yellowstone is famous for its geysers and wildlife.  People from around the world come here to stare in awe at both.

For this trip we only have about four days to spend in the park.  We’re staying just inside the north entrance at Mammoth Hot Springs.  There is still plenty of snow in the park so not all roads are open.  That helps to make it easier deciding what to see during our short time here.

Today we drove east from Mammoth Hot Springs toward Cooke City, Montana through Lamar Valley.  The bison are hanging out in Lamar Valley and we saw plenty of them today.  The highlight of today, however, was the scenery--the residual snow in the lower areas, the white-capped mountains, the Yellowstone and Lamar Rivers, and Undine Falls.

There are very few people here compared to what there will be during summer months.  Traffic was light so we could creep along looking for the elusive wolf and grizzly and enjoying the scenery.  I think we stopped at every pull-out along the road.

Mammoth is the only campground open at this time and only its upper loop is open.  Every available site seems to be occupied.  Lucky we got here early.

The sites are large.  All are half-moon pull-thrus and most will accommodate larger rigs.  They all have picnic tables, fire rings, elk and bison.  There are several bathrooms with flush toilets, but no hot water in the sinks.  No showers, of course.

Tomorrow our plan is to drive south to Geyser Basin and Old Faithful.  It’ll be another great day.

Thanks for tagging along.

Yellowstone RV Park

I still felt I was a little behind and wanted to get this posted before we left to go into the park.

We have enjoyed our overnight stay at Yellowstone RV Park.  This is a very small park with about 30-35 sites; most back-ins with some pull-thrus.  Our site is a back-in overlooking the Yellowstone River.  The river is still about 15 feet below us.

The park is very well maintained.  The laundry is clean and has ample washers and dryers for the number of sites.  The interior roads are gravel as well as the parking pads.  A small grassy area separates the sites and each has a picnic table.

There is cable TV and free WiFi.  The WiFi only reaches about half the campsites, however, we are in the unlucky half and are still able to get a signal sufficient to post the blog including photos.

There were plenty of sites open when we came in yesterday morning, but they almost filled up over the course of the afternoon.  When we checked in, the manager mentioned that they would be full this weekend.  Many of the guests are seasonal workers and volunteers at the park and are coming in for the summer.

When we were getting settled in, we noticed a lot of “droppings” around.  Late in the afternoon along came the mule deer.  They started at one end of the park and worked their way to the other grazing at just about every site.

I think I already mentioned the bison which was making himself at home in the grocery parking lot.  That photo is also included today.

We are moving this morning over to Mammoth Hot Springs campground inside Yellowstone.  The weather forecast has been revised and the warmer temperatures are not expected now until tomorrow.  Maybe we won’t freeze tonight with a low of 24 degrees.

Now, I think I’m finally caught up to the present.  Thanks for tagging along.

Mammoth Hot Springs

We enjoyed our night at Canyon Campground in Gallatin National Forest.  No deer, elk, grizzly bears, or rattlesnakes visited our campground that we know of.  We did see a cute little chipmunk and several robins.  So much for a wilderness experience.

This morning we moved down the road 13 miles to Yellowstone RV Park.  We have spent most of the day doing chores and readying ourselves for another three nights without hook-ups.

One of our chores today was to stop by the grocery.  I think there were about five items on my list, but I ended up only getting two because everything was so expensive.  Welcome to a National Park gateway town.

However, our trip to the grocery did turn out to be rather exciting.  As we were getting in the car to leave we noticed a bison walking down the middle of Scott Street (US 89).  I got out of the car to make his picture just as he turned left into the grocery parking lot.  What a hoot.

Yesterday afternoon we drove into the park as far as Mammoth Hot Springs.  We stopped by the visitor center and looked at the exhibits.  We spent most of our time walking along the boardwalk viewing the hot springs.

Mammoth Hot Springs is a hydrothermal area--hot water from underground escapes to the surface.  What is now Yellowstone National Park was the site of a volcano hundreds of thousands of years ago.  The resulting huge caldera is located near the center of the park some 20 miles south of the Mammoth area.  Fissures and fractures inside the earth allow surface water from rain and snowmelt to be heated and is then pushed to the surface as hot springs.

The water in the springs is very hot.  Heat loving microorganisms living in the hot water make the different colors.  Different organisms make different colors.

The surface area all around the hot springs is very fragile.  There are boardwalks erected so visitors can get up close and personal.  We meandered in and out, up and down, and all around.  Here are the photos of what we saw.

I think that catches up to the present.  Tomorrow, we’ll move over to the campground at Mammoth Hot Springs.  I’m not sure whether we’ll have cell service or not.  I may be a day late again with the post.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.