Yellowstone NP

Sunday 10 June

Well it sure started off cold today - 36 deg F (= 2.66 deg C, for the pedants). It is snowing.

Woops - here is an Elk standing on the road. We have left Grand Teton & are driving north to Yellowstone. We picnic in the cold at a spot overlooking Jackson Lake with the mosquitoes. "Beware Bear" signs everywhere.

This morning, early, we drove from our Lodge back the way we came yesterday & walked to Leigh Lake by hiking along the shore of String Lake. It was FREEZING, with snowflakes swirling around us. It was a lovely walk through a conifer forest & we saw an elk & a few glimpses of the Teton Range when the fog cleared.

We then continued on down to Jenny Lake where, as it so happened, we arrived at the boat dock just as the boat shuttle was about to leave so we jumped aboard to go across to the other side of the lake where we did a very short walk to Hidden Falls. We dashed back along the trail to get a return boat back, then drove with focus back to our Lodge where I was able to negotiate a later check-out so we could pack & have brekky with some degree of calm!

So, back to driving north to Yellowstone:

We stop at Jackson Lake just north of our Signal Mt. Lodge & walk the delightful Christian Pond Loop through marsh habitat, then climb through a forested area with lovely flowers. The sun came out in patches but by the time we finished it was starting to snow again.

We continue driving north & entered Yellowstone National Park, crossing over Snake River. There is snow on the ground on both sides of the road. It is quite thick. We go over the Continental Divide 8391 ft (= 2557m) - no wonder it's snowing!

My Friend is trying to sleep & drive. We must be the only car on the mountain driving through snow with the windows open. It is 34 deg F (= 1 deg C). 15 kms to go. We stop at some falls - Kepler Cascades. I take over driving. Nearly there. The weather is foul.

We are staying the night at Old Faithful Inn. We are sharing bathroom facilities. My Friend is somewhat bemused by my choice but this is an old historical lodge & he quickly adjusts to the fact that this is a unique experience. Picture enormous lodge, soaring ceilings, all wood, stuffed animals mounted on the walls, stairs go up & up (no lifts of course!). Thankfully we are on the ground floor. As we check-in, a guided tour is standing in the corridor where our room is!

We unpack in our quaint little room, locate bathroom amenities and set out to see Old Faithful, the famous geyser. There is a crowd milling round as we approach, so guessing something is about to happen, we join them & after a little wait, Old Faithful erupts.

We watch a short film in the Visitors Centre about the thermal charactistics of the Park & then set off to walk around the geyser, hot springs, potholes - i.e. around the gurgling mud thermal area - a little more informed. We detour off the main boardwalk to ascend up to Observation Point (we see a couple of busy goldern-bellied marmots!) and we watch the next eruption of Old Faithful from a high viewpoint (Old Faithful erupts occur approx. every 90 mins).

For the descent, we take a loop walk which passes by Solitary Geyser which erupts every 5 mins - a little geyser we could stand really close to & watch it slowly boil. The walk back down was lovely - through conifer forest - & the sun was finally coming out. Such a lovely afternoon. Saw 2 more elk.

Total walk distance today: about 13 kms.

Monday 11 June

Lovely morning - blue sky, sunshine. What a difference to yesterday!

Left early for drive north through the Park. Stopped to go around boardwalk at Midway Geyser Basin: lots of opal-coloured pools with boiling water & lots of steam so at times it was like walking through a sauna (I had to take my glasses off to see!).

Landscape changes abruptly from arid thermal to open meadows, beautiful snow-covered mountains & green meadows with streams in the distance. Then around a corner: a steep descent down into a rocky canyon. Quite amazing. We stop at Mammoth Hot Springs which is only 5 miles now from the north entrance to the Park. An interesting Visitor's Centre here. Helpful. Good exhibits. A film on the establishment of the Park - the first in the U.S.

We drive on through lovely green-treed hills, with white-capped mountains still distant, blue sky, wonderful clouds. Lovely scenery & weather. We stop at Petrified Tree & Tower Falls (40 m) - we can still smell sulphur (a bit like Rotorua, Trev!) - & we spot an osprey floating high through what is now the canyon area of the Yellowstone River. We then ascend up to Dunraven Pass. I see a fox slinking off through a high meadow. There are snow drifts banked high along the road - this road must have been unpassable only a few weeks ago ... & we pass just below the summit of Mt Washburn (10,243 ft or 3122 m).

About 2.30 p.m. we arrive at Canyon Village where we will stay at the Lodge for 2 nights.

After My Friend had a snoooooze, we looked around the "village" such as it is, watch a film about the Park & the instability here due to the thermal activity. Blah, blah, blah - I think I had a few zzzzz's through this one.

Late in the afternoon, we drove down to the Yellowstone Falls - we walked the south rim from the Upper Falls through to Artists Point: about 6 kms return including taking the Uncle Tom's Trail 328 steps down to the Lower Falls & 328 steps back UP - all counted by My Friend who was a reluctant starter for ths excursion. Overall, a lovely walk through some nice conifer forest, with great colours on the rocky sides of the canyon below - yellow of course (hence, the name "Yellowstone").

Wildlife count for the day: at least 10 bison close up (on or close to the road), an osprey, a couple of elk, a fox.

Tuesday 12 June

Last day in Yellowstone NP.

Several elk, lotsa Canada Geese, lotsa bison, hypothetical sighting of a grizzly (we didn't see it), Mountain bluebird (1).

When we thought we were "over" hot pools etc we stopped at a couple of thermal areas on the way to Yellowstone Lake. More extensive than Rotorua, Trev.

Have to say, one thing I notice is the absence of signs warning you to not leave valuables in your vehice (we don't anyway). I keep puzzling each day why this is the case here. Very different from back home ...

We travel alongside the Yellowstone River. Stop at old fishing bridge - lovely views down the river to the snow-capped mountains. Stop at Yellowstone Lake.

Drive on out of south entrance of Park until we get views of the Tetons - we are in luck : skies are clear & we get great views. Picnic by a river. Drive back through Park stopping here & there for views. Back at Canyon Village we walk the north rim.

Hot shower (yesterday & this morning they were very lukewarm. Feel much better).

Leave early tomorrow to drive back to Salt Lake City (7 hours) & catch plane to Los Angeles. Fly home Thursday. Arrive Saturday.

Wednesday 13 June - Leaving Yellowstone today

Set up the Hertz Never-Lost for Salt Lake City Airport for car drop-off. This will be a test for the Hertz GPS as Julie has been packed away.

Leave early & cut across middle of Yellowstone Park to exit out the West Entrance. See a herd of moose plus a great view of a native fox - big white face - taking its time ambling across the meadow. Beautiful early morning light on the snow-capped mountains. Pretty creeks. More thermal pools issuing steam alongside the road. A herd of elk. Lotsa Canada geese. Fat golden-bellied marmot waddled across the road. We cross into Montana. For the first time in days we travel above 45 mph - my goodness, 70 mph as we exit Western Yellowstone past shops wiith names like Bullwinkle, Wild West Rodeo, Fall River Trading Post - where is the accelerator?!

Out of Montana - gee, we weren't there long ... We criss-cross State boundaries in quick succession around here. We started in Wyoming ths morning. Now into Idaho. We'll end up in Utah when we get to SLC.

Pass Henry's Lake. Lovely red log cabins. Cute herringbone-wooden fences.

Targhee Natural Park (same name as Davo's Keens shoes). Conifers. Must be a managed forest (there is a Ranger) - extensive, has camping areas.

More RV Parks. Buckles: you'd be at home over here.

$US 3.79 a gallon for fuel - looking for cheaper ($3.20 has been the cheapest, $4.40 was the most expensive: in Monument Valley, $4.02 yesterday in Yellowstone).

We can see the back of the Tetons soaring up high & jagged in the distance, now over our left shoulder to the east of us. The skies with beautiful cloud formations continue - they have been a real feature of ths trip, all over the US & Canada. Pass big city of Idaho Falls. Contemplate exiting for petrol but looks complicated. The road is bypassing all fuel stations. Isn't it a truism that The Next Exit will either be a cent more expensive - or a cent less.

Pass a truck called Bison Transport. A big retail outlet called The Fly Shop: "150,001 flies ..."

Get fuel for $3.86.

Turn south on Interstate-15. Pass a big town called Pocatello. Looks like a Mormon stronghold.

Cheese & bikkies at a rest stop. Yay, mindless driving for miles. Making good time to get to SLC. The rest stops in the US are very good when you get them - but they are few & far between .. Little picnic areas, gardens, really good. The Rest Rooms over here are generally very good - I know I have mentioned this before. Often no-hands flush, no-hands soap, no-hands water, even no-hands paper. This one had no locks ...

Need to get wi-fi. We are close into SLC now. Key Starbucks into Never-Lost. It takes us there. Miraculous. We get our first coffee since Moab last Thursday. Yay - double yay!