Yellowstone: The First U.S. National Park

Stopping for lunch inside the park

We departed Teton National Park and headed north-entering Yellowstone National Park by the south entrance.  The National Access Pass (available from the National Park Service (NPS) for seniors and those with disabilities) was checked at the gate and they waved us through with no fee.  

The Bus did a fine job pulling the Jeep up the long grades; but, we pulled over in one of the side areas to let cars pass and have some lunch.  

We made our way through the park passing Grant Village Campground where we would

stay the following week and out the west gate to West Yellowstone.  West Yellowstone, Montana exists for the tourist business and it was booming this summer with visitors from all over the world.  We headed north to Yellowstone Holiday campground and enjoyed the level pull through campsite with full hook-ups.  Pattie was able to catch up on the laundry here and I cleaned the inside of The Bus and Jeep windows.  

Our plan was to use the campground north of Yellowstone as a base for exploring the northern circle of the park and later use Grant Campground as a base for the southern loop. This worked well, but required some backtracking due to our timeline.  The locals said the road to Mammoth Springs was under construction and 30-minute delays were normal.  To counter this, Pattie and I departed camp about 6:30AM and headed into the park.  The temperatures were in the high 40’s and the steam coming from various fumaroles and geysers was spectacular.  Our first wildlife encounter was a big old bull bison with steam rising off his body just lumbering down the road in our lane going the same direction we were going. He paid us no attention as we passed. 

One of us enjoyed the geysers more than the other

We made it through the construction with hardly enough delay to eat a yogurt for breakfast.  We stopped at Mammoth Springs and began the first of many, many short hikes around what I call bubbling pools of various goo and chemicals.  Pattie loved it!  We hit it at 9AM just in time to join a ranger who was giving an interpretive guide of the springs.  In the little town of Mammoth, we saw the elk that live and walk among the buildings there. We also discovered huckleberry ice cream that I really like.  

We continued on our journey around the north circle and stopped to hike in to see wraith falls. We stopped at Yellowstone’s own Grand Canyon and ate our picnic lunch.  This was the same spot I stopped for lunch in 2010 when I brought our sons here, so it was fun to share that memory with Pattie.  

On another day, we went back to the canyon and did a steep hike down the north rim to see the Yellowstone river waterfall and back to the top, but the view was great.  Then we went to the south rim and saw the iconic view of the waterfall and river.

Along our way around the park we saw several elk.  Some large bull elk with their horns in velvet and many cows and calves.  We also saw some scary near wrecks as people just stopped in the middle of the road to look at animals.

 At one stop, we approached the river quietly before anyone was there and saw a marmot.  In another location, we saw a lynx. 

After a few days of touring the northern circle, we relocated The Bus to Grant village Campground in the center of the park.  It was a dry campground meaning we did not have any hook-ups for the RV.  We ran the generator in the morning and evening to charge the batteries more than possible with just the solar panel.  It was a tight campground between other campers and the trees. Packed with campers it was always noisy, but at 10pm everyone respected quiet hours and went to sleep.  Grant Village was a good location for seeing the sites in the southern loop.  Of course, we went to see the Old Faithful Geyser that went off on schedule.  

The Grand Prismatic Geyser was probably our favorite feature with its wide array of colors.  Different types of bacteria that thrive in the various temperatures cause the colors.  

Grand Prismatic Geyser

On one drive, a short rain shower passed over and we were able to see a spectacular double rainbow over the Geyser Basin.

We enjoyed our visit to Yellowstone National Park and participated in several evening interactive programs conducted by park rangers.  One evening, we stayed out until 1am looking at stars through various telescopes the University of Montana Science Department set up for our use. Another evening, we heard about the development and evolution of the park and the recovery after the devastating 1988 fires.  One of the most educational events occurred when we took a spontaneous side trip west of Hebgen Lake about 25 miles northwest of Yellowstone.  We found a small museum dedicated to preserving the history behind the August 1959 earthquake that killed many campers and drastically changed the area.  It shifted the lake and many log cabins floated to new locations.  

Remains of cabins flooded during 1959 earthquake

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!

RV Tip:  Just because it says you can get a 40-foot camper into a campground doesn’t mean it is a good idea to do so.  The Grant Village Campground is not really suitable for such a large rig and we acquired several scratches from tree branches trying to exit. One of the rangers explained the Park Service philosophy of balancing enjoyment with preservation.  Basically if you don’t make improvements (like cutting branches and trees, widening roads, building more campgrounds), it is a passive way to limit visitation.  With nearly 5 million visitors per year trying to see Yellowstone, a lottery system may not be too far away.  If you have a large RV, camp outside the park.  

Bear to the Left

We continued to maneuver our way toward Yellowstone National Park exploring as we went.  We made reservations at two different campgrounds eight months ago and then planned our trip west timing it to hit those dates.  After our stop over in the northwest corner of Nebraska to earn our sticker, we crossed over into Wyoming and made camp near Glendo Lake.  This placed us between Casper and Cheyenne, Wyoming for the Fourth of July.  Our Nephew Nathan is stationed at F.E. Warren AFB near Cheyenne and he was able to visit us at our camp.  We grilled some burgers and explored the lake on paddleboards. It was good to see him and hear about his experiences in the Air Force.

Pattie and I took day trips to several historic sites in the area.  The pioneers who blazed the trails west passed through this area and you can still see the ruts their wagons left.  We visited Fort Laramie a major provisioning site and Register Rock where people camped and carved their names and dates in the stone.

We drove up to Casper one day and visited the Interpretive Trails Museum.  It was a great educational display explaining why and how the migrants traveled the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, and California Gold Rush Trail.  Casper is a neat town that has been able to revive their old downtown area.  Based on some online reviews, we stopped by Racca's Pizzeria Napoletana for lunch.  I must say it may be the best pizza I have ever had.  

Pattie sorting and packing for a Oregon Trail expedition

Wheel polishing...yippee!

Back at our Glendo Lake camp, the weather was mild and I was able to take a couple hours and polish The Bus’ wheels.  Back in Nebraska, I was able to wash the grim off The Bus and put on a coat of Wash Wax All. Here I used Mother’s Wheel Polish and power ball on a drill to clean the wheels.  It is a lot of work, but yields good results.  In the evenings, Pattie and I would walk to the western edge of the campground and watch the spectacular Wyoming sunsets.

As we discussed the next leg of our journey, we considered going north to visit the Little Big Horn Battlefield.  However, Pattie said she had not seen the Teton Mountains, so that trumps any battlefield in my mind.  We set course for one of the first come first serve Teton National Park Campgrounds trying to time it as close to 11am as possible when people are checking out.  We rolled in at 10:55am on a Monday and scored one of the few sites with electricity. 

From this campground we could easily explore the numerous trails in the national Park as well as visit Jackson, WY. Interesting there is no town called Jackson Hole.  The area is called Jackson Hole, but the town is just Jackson.  It is pretty much a tourist town and we walked through it one day. The town park has four archways made from elk horns the local Boy Scouts collect each year as a fundraiser.  

Oh the trails and views in the Teton National Park!  

We picked a couple popular trails and suited up with our hiking gear to explore them. We each carry Bear Spray and have studied what to do in case of a bear attack.  We each carry small daypacks with some survival gear, extra clothing, snacks, water, and first aid kits.  We wear hiking boots and have our hiking poles that are wonderful for keeping your balance on rocky trails.  I mention these items because on the trail we saw many people, often international tourists, hiking in sandals, sundresses, and only carrying a camera.  Maybe they were not going as far in as we were or maybe they can run really fast in those flip-flops.  Anyway, it gave me comfort to know that the bears have easier prey to catch and consume than me.  

 We hiked the Taggart Lake and Bradley Lake loop trails one day covering about six miles.  Along the way, we would pass a few slower hikers and had many groups of young people or groups on horses pass us.  Using trial etiquette, we would step to the side and allow them to pass.  Just before cresting the mountain to see Bradley Lake, some hikers coming from the opposite direction said they had seen a momma grizzly bear and her cub up ahead. We proceeded with caution and soon saw the young cub up high and to our right.  He was too busy tearing up a old stump and eating the insects to be concerned with us.  We moved out of the area before seeing momma bear.  Some other hikers said they saw a moose at Moose Pond, so we side tracked over there and saw them eating grass on the other side of the pond.

The views of creeks, waterfalls, and the lakes were breathtaking.  Speaking of breathtaking, the altitude and physical activity of hiking was also breathtaking.  People don’t realize when they fly into a high altitude area and immediately beginning to pursue activities their body needs time to adjust often causing altitude sickness. Being that we camped along the way and gradually adjusted to the altitude, we did not experience altitude sickness, but that doesn’t mean we did not feel the effects.  This hike was pretty rigorous for us and we consumed most of our water and had to stop once for a quick snack to replenish our energy before descending the trail.  

 We were hiking single file with Pattie behind me heading down the trail.  When we were about 300 yards from the trailhead, Pattie said, “Bear to your left.”  My thought was someone was coming up from behind and I needed to move left to allow them to pass, so I moved to the left side of the trail.  Pattie said again, “Bear to your left.”  I figured there must be a group on horses coming so I moved off the trail to the left.  Pattie raised her voice and said, “No! Bear, B.E.A.R. to YOUR left!”  At this point, I looked to my left and saw a young grizzly bear about 40 feet to my left.  He wasn’t paying us any attention, so I took a couple pictures and we continued on laughing at our miscommunication.  Later we discussed how we might communicate better in the future, but it was one of those unforgettable funny moments we share exploring as a couple.

The "Bear to the Left"

Our plan after the Tetons is to head to a campground north of West Yellowstone for a few days then move into Grant Village Campground in Yellowstone National Park.  

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!

RV Tip:  If you like pickles, buy whole pickles and cut them as needed.  Why? The stuff in your RV will be tossed or sloshed around while driving.  Sliced pickles tend to turn into “pickle soup” after a few trips.  

Bonus Tip:  If you are thinking of full-time RVing and wondering what towed (TOAD) vehicle to choose, think of how much exploring you will do from a base camp.  We put lots of miles on our Grand Cherokee exploring.  Get something comfortable and capable.  Here is an example of our explorations near Glendo Lake, WY.