It's been a while since I've updated our blog; no wifi for weeks as we've traveled through the beautiful National Parks. But I'll give it a try by starting back at the beginning of September.
Before getting into Yellowstone itself we spent 2 nights south of West Yellowstone at the Red Rock RV Park in Island Park. I just needed some non-traveling days before going into the park and we were waiting for the Labor Day crowds to leave the park. The setting was lovely, about 5 miles west of Highway 20 on a gravel road to the wide open spaces of northern Idaho. As we drove we saw several Forest Service campground signs that might also work for camping once the summer season ends. The climb up to the park was easy and a good route for entering the park.
Loved this view of the park from a walk we took each evening.
Not much around but the mountains, a nearby lake, and some summer vacation homes tucked into the hills.
We were up early Wednesday morning to head east into the park. Sunny skies, no traffic and bison everywhere along the route. I had reserved several nights at Bridge Bay campground, just to be sure we had a starting campsite. Little did I realize that when summer's over...summer's
really over and the parks are totally empty! Bridge Bay has over 300 sites of which only maybe a dozen or so were occupied. As with most national parks there are no hook ups and with a Senior Pass they're half price which made it $10 a night to camp. We were in Loop A with a forested area right in front of us, my favorite kind of camping. Most of the loops had already been closed down and the whole campground closed for the season the day after we moved.
We got our things all set up by 2:00 when Paul realized our batteries weren't working to support any of the connections in the motorhome. Not a good thing! We'd been on electricity for so long we hadn't checked them out in a really long time. So... instead of a sight to see, we drove back into West Yellowstone, found a Napa Auto Parts and picked up 2 new batteries just as the store was closing. Dinner that night was at a little brew pub there in town. Staying so late in town made the drive back into the park a totally different experience and seemed to take us forever. We knew there were animals all around so we were both nervous driving the 2 lane roads without much light. I'd really never recommend that drive in total darkness to anyone.
Thursday brought completely different weather; winds, cloudy skies and chilly air. our main plan was to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone not too far from our campground.
Amazing sights from every lookout and view.
From there we drove on up another 50 miles to see the Mammoth Hot Springs area.
Minnerva's terrace has boardwalks all around for views of the formations. Near the Albright Visitor Center a group of about a dozen elk were sitting on the grass when the male elk began to bugle loudly. He must have been telling the females that it was getting too crowded with tourists and it was time to move on, which is exactly what they did. We listened to a ranger talk about the horns and antlers of the animals in the park.
Returning to our campsite through Hayden Valley was always a slow route, but the only way to get there. The large herds of bison would constantly be moving from one side of the road, or meandering down the middle of the road and have traffic stopped for a good amount of time. Of course everyone wants to get a photo, so the traffic moves as slowly as the bison. Earlier in the day we had gotten stuck in a bison-jam with Rangers in 2 vehicles, strange sirens blaring trying to move the bison off the road for an ambulance to get through.
Our third morning we woke to gorgeous skies once again and took a hike to see The Natural Bridge, right above Paul in the photo.
We still wanted to see more of the northeast end of the park, so with the top down on the car we drove to Tower-Roosevelt area and Tower Falls. Then on to this petrified tree. Such a perfect day!
On our way back that night at we spent an hour walking the boardwalks of North Geyser Basin near Norris but were too late to visit the Museum of the National Park Ranger...something to save for our next trip.
Friday we packed up the motorhome to move to a campground at Grant Village Campground. But before leaving the area we were in we took a short drive up to see the Mud Volcanoes including this one, Dragon's Mouth Spring.
later that afternoon it was a chance to take a ride out on Yellowstone lake and an hour trip with great views back at the old Yellowstone Lodge
Once we got moved into the new campground we set off the next day for our visit to Old Faithful and the surrounding geysers geysers, climbing up and over the Continental Divide 3 different times.
We joined the crowds to wait and watch.
After the show by Old Faithful we walked for a couple of hours to see all the other beautiful springs and geysers along the boardwalks. Next time, I'd bring my bike to this part of the park, there are plenty of places and paved trails to get around. Nice to be off season with few lots of space to see and enjoy the show they put on.
We relaxed for a bit at Old Faithful Inn and then went on to our last sight the Grand Prismatic Spring. The colors only became more intense.
The last part of the park that we hadn't seen was down at West Thumb Geyser Basin, not to be missed!
Most nights we come back to the motorhome for dinner and a campfire but we love to find a great place for dinner, so our last night in Yellowstone we had dinner at The Lake House Restaurant in Grant Village. Such a nice way to end our stay before going on to Grand Tetons.
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