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

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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.  

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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.

Visiting South Dakota

Sundown over a South Dakota Farm

Our plans for this summer are somewhat fluid as usual.  We have learned it is best to make reservations early for holiday weekends and popular vacation destinations.  Using this philosophy, we made reservations at two Yellowstone National Park campgrounds covering a three week period in July and one week near Glacier National Park in Montana early August.  We made these reservations about six months ago and have been wandering our way toward those destinations at the appropriate time.  We try to wander through areas of the country we have not visited before and of course see interesting sites along the way.  Often we find very unique and interesting things to see; but other times, it is just somewhere to stop with not much to do.  

Geographic Center of the United States

We really enjoyed the western side of North Dakota and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  There was so much to see and do there with some fantastic hiking trails.  Once we crossed into South Dakota the landscape changed back to rolling grass hills as far as you could see.  We camped at Rocky Point State Park near Belle Fourche, SD.  You may recall that we passed through Rugby, ND and stopped to take a picture at the geographic center of North America.  Well, Belle Fourche, SD is the geographic center of the United States not to be confused with the geographic center of the contiguous United States in Lebanon, KS.  

Center of the Centers?

Clear? Well the center of the United States was Lebanon, KS until we added Hawaii and Alaska and that changed the center of the nation to Belle Fourche, SD.  Of course, each location has a marker and draws tourists who spend their dollars there.  Not being one to leave things alone, I decided to map the center of the three geographic centers and suggest a monument for the Center of the Centers and let the Cheyenne Indians make a dollar as well.  

We spent three days near Belle Fourche that was at least a day longer than what you need to see everything. We did find a fellow downtown that has a collection of about 30 pristine AMC automobiles.  He was very nice and we walked around his cars and discussed the various engines and parts used during the later years of AMC and the subsequent purchase of the company by Lee Iacocca CEO of Chrysler.   

Private AMC Collection Belle Fourche, SD

Next we traveled to a private campground south of Rapid City, SD near Hermosa.  From here we were able to visit some friends who live in Rapid City as well as spend a couple days driving along scenic roads thorough Custer State Park.  We had visited Mt Rushmore before but it was neat to see it from the perspective of driving north through tunnels on the Iron Mountain Road.  

Iron Mountain Road builders purposefully aligned the tunnels to frame Mt. Rushmore

We visited the Crazy Horse Memorial that is under construction and probably will be for our lifetime. The onsite museum is a great collection of Native American history and educational displays for events that occurred in the western United States.  In the basement, they have an entire area dedicated to Bison history that really explained the rapid decline and near extinction of these great animals.  

 Moving a little further south, we stopped for a few nights near Hot Springs, SD where we visited the Mammoth site.  This is a significant research facility and ongoing paleontological dig where 30 or more male Mammoths were drawn to a sinkhole pool of warm water that did not freeze during the winter.  They either tried to drink and fell in or entered the pool to drink and bathe.  Either way, the bank all the way around the pool was covered in slick red clay and they could not climb out.  They probably became exhausted with the struggle and drowned.  Entombed in a small pool that was subsequently filled with clay, their skeletons and everything else that was trapped in the pool are well preserved.  

Mammoth Site Hot Springs, SD

With the Fourth of July on a Wednesday this year, we made reservations at out of the way places for the weekends on either side of the holiday.  This gave us time in a small Nebraska city park campground to wash The Bus and get the oil changed in the Jeep.  I keep a log of tire mileage on the Jeep that we tow behind The Bus by simply adding the miles we drive in the Jeep with the number of miles we towed the Jeep.  In seven months, we have put 21,139 miles on the tires.  It is kind of shocking to think we will need to replace Jeep tires every two years at this pace.  

Random Prairie Dog

RV Tip:  South Dakota like North Dakota and several other states, charges a vehicle entry fee in addition to the campground fee to enter their state parks.  It is something like $7 per day or $30 for an annual pass.  We have found it is usually better to pay the annual fee and put the sticker on your TOAD (scout vehicle) so you can cover your days in the current park as well as breeze through the gate of other parks you may visit even if you don’t camp there. 

My 50th State

Before departing Minnesota, we stopped for a few nights at Winnie Dam Corp of Engineer Campground near Deer River, MN.  We took a day trip and drove over to the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca State Park.  This small stream begins the flow of one of the world’s mightiest rivers.

Pattie walks across the Mississippi River

Another day, we drove over to Grand Rapids, MN to visit Judy Garland’s childhood home and museum. She was quite the celebrity in her day and most famous for her role as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.  

Departing Minnesota, we headed west into North Dakota.  This was my first time in North Dakota and it is the only state I have never visited. Moving cross-country when I was young and then traveling extensively during my 24 years in the US Air Force, provided me the opportunity to visit every other state, but somehow I always missed ND.  There are a few states Pattie has not visited and we have several states where we have not yet camped in The Bus.  For now, we are happy to add the ND sticker to our national map.

We stayed at four different locations across ND.  Driving from east to west, the terrain looks much like Iowa with flat farmland as far as you could see.  We saw a sign in Rugby, ND denoting the geographic center of North America and made a quick stop for a photo op.  

Once we made it to west side, things began to get interesting.  The Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) is impressive on many different scales.  The beautiful scenery, interesting animal life, various plant life, and unusual geological formations are what attract many visitors here each year.  

We dry camped in the National Park Service North Site campground for several days before moving to a horse ranch near Medora, ND to visit the South Site.  Both the North Site and the South Site have scenic drives and many hiking and horse trails.    

The TRNP and history in the area made this the most interesting part of ND we visited.  The small tourist town of Medora, ND is home to a top quality outdoor amphitheater where many plays and musicals are performed each year.  We attended the Medora Musical and ate at the Pitch Fork Fondue.  They cook steaks on pitchforks by dipping them in hot oil.  It was more of a novelty than a wonderful tasting meal (there is a reason the best steak houses in the US are not cooking steaks by frying them in large vats of oil).  

The musical however was top notch entertainment.  Just before the performance began, a large bull elk wandered up for a quick visit and look around.  It was a fun evening out.

We also spent a long rainy day never stepping outside The Bus.  It gave me time to catch up on computer work and Pattie time to bake bread and do some laundry.  The following day, we sought out the Elkhorn Ranch Site located about 40 north of Madora, ND.  Most of the roads were dirt that had turned to mud the day before, but after an hour sliding around, we found the ranch site that was so inspiring to Theodore Roosevelt.  A short hike and we walked among the foundation stones that were once his cabin.  Back at the Jeep, we spent half and hour getting all the ticks off each other, but it was worth the trip.  

Next we had south into South Dakota to visit some friends and see the Crazy Horse monument.
Thanks again for keepingupwiththejonesrv!

North for Summer 2018 – Begin Year Four!

Happy Memorial Day

We began our fulltime RV lifestyle in June 2015 thinking we would do it for about three years to see everything we wanted to see.  Well here we are at the end of year three and we have only seen about half of it. There are ten states in the contiguous United States that we have not camped in with The Bus.  Our rule is we must have spent at least one night camping in The Bus to earn the state sticker.  Delaware and Connecticut we somehow missed in our travels back east and I don’t think we are motivated to go back just to say we did it.  This summer, we are hitting the northern tier states some politicians call “Fly Over States.”  

We stopped at Lake Charles State Park in Arkansas for a few nights after leaving Alabama.  I purchased a three-day fishing license, but failed to catch anything.  We visited the local mostly abandoned town of Powhatan, AR.  We toured the museum there and walked around the old buildings.  This little town was once bustling with pearl prospectors digging mussels out of the river.    

 

St Moritz Schnitzel

Our next stop was at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.  We camped at the US Army FAMCAMP located on the southern end of the lake.  Ft Leonard Wood, MO is about an hour south of the lake and I received some training there back in 1984.  In fact, that summer was my 21^st birthday and I ate at a German restaurant near the base.  I was surprised the restaurant was still there and ordered St Moritz schnitzel just as I had 34 years ago.  It was great! We stocked up on supplies at the commissary and headed back to camp.  The campground marina rents jet skis, so Pattie and I thought we would relive some of our youth by renting one for an hour.  We blasted across the lake at speeds over 50 mph! While it was fun, we both looked at the pontoon boats when we returned and remarked how comfortable they looked. 

How we felt riding the jet ski...you know, young, thin, hair

Next it was off to visit the Amana Colonies in Iowa.  As I drove through Iowa and looked across endless fields of young corn sprouting up 3-4 inches high, I reaffirmed the thought I had in 1984 the first time I visited Iowa. America's true power is in these fields and the men and women who work them.  Since I was driving, I was not able to take pictures; but, the rural farm houses with tractors and equipment outside, the church steeples rising from towns in the distance, the homes with American flags and banners flying in honor of Memorial Day was a picture of America those that fly over these states will never see or understand.  We camped close enough we could ride our bikes into Amana to visit the museum, shop, and of course eat another great German meal.

Many shops in Amana with homemade goods

Onward to the north trying to escape the 90+ degree weather in Iowa, we arrived in Eagan, MN.  We spent three nights here just south of the “Twin Cities” and visited the Mall of America.  It was an all day hike of its own.  We shopped very little since we don’t need anything and have nowhere to store anything.  We enjoyed the Fly Over America 4D video ride and lunch at Bubba Gump’s .  

Mall of America

Momma says...

We are still looking for that cooler weather so we are headed to North Dakota next.

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!

RV tip:  Locking gas caps can be a pain, but a fellow camper told me a story where a friend of his was camping in Washington State and someone put something in their fuel tank that basically destroyed the engine.  He said some radical environmentalist have been targeting large RVs and suggested we take precautions.  So, I found the correct type of caps and bought two keyed alike. Maybe it will save us some grief.