On Friday, July 23rd, we left Rock Springs, WY, and the Escapade Rally to drive north to Yellowstone. The drive through western Wyoming consisted of bare rock hills interspersed with green valleys where rivers and creeks flowed. As we continued on US 30 west, the valleys began to be irrigated bringing out even more shades of green. We turned west at Montpelier, WY, onto ID highway 36 and climbed up into the mountains. The Canyon Star roared and we climbed and climbed. Coming down the other side of the mountains, we were on 5%, 6% and 7% grades, all the way thru Mink Creek, into Preston, ID. We then drove up US 91 to Downata Springs Park. This campground and spa is in a grove of trees on the west side of the valley, where mineral hot springs flow. They have several swimming pools and soaking pools and there were lots of people there. We arrived too late to soak in the springs and we only stayed one night.
We drove northeast through Idaho Falls and up US 20 to West Yellowstone, MT, on Saturday, July 24th, arriving at Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park. West Yellowstone is a small town about 5 streets north to south and 5 streets east to west. The West Gate of the National Park is about a half mile from the eastern edge of the town. Grizzly RV park is a really nice park with well shaded sites. On Sunday, July 25th, we relaxed, did laundry and visited the National Park Information Center to better understand how to experience the park. Yellowstone is so big and so busy that it is a bit intimidating. (Map below).
On Monday, July 26th, we ate breakfast in town and drove to the West Gate at about 8:30 AM. The line to enter the park was all the way back into town and we learned would extended back all the way through town by 9:00 AM. It really is a case of “the early bird gets the worm” in Yellowstone. Entering the park, you drive 14 miles up the Madison River valley to Madison Junction. On the way up the Madison, we hiked a mile to Harlequin Lake. The Madison River runs between two ancient lava flows through meadow and willow groves. Towering over the valley are Mt. Haynes and National Park Mountain. At Madison Junction, the Madison River begins by the joining of the Gibbons River from the northeast and the Firehole River from the south. We turned south and visited the Lower Geyser Basin (Fountain Paint Pots), the Firehole River gorge drive and then Old Faithful in the Upper Geyser Basin. By the time we got to Old Faithful (noon), the crowds were really large. We watched Old Faithful erupt at 12:31 PM, on a schedule of about 90 minutes between eruptions, plus or minus 10 minutes. Old Faithful used to be more faithful, erupting every 60 minutes, but an earthquake in 1959 had altered that punctuality.
Definitions: Spring – a thermal outlet with hot water, up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, often accompanied by boiling from heat or gas release;
Fumarole – a thermal outlet that releases steam;
Geyser – a thermal opening that has a constriction in the opening. The trapped water gets hotter and hotter until it escapes the constriction in the form of steam and hot water that shoots into the sky;
Mudpot – a bubbling caldron of mud that bubbles with gas release and splattering mud; and
Travertine Terraces – calcium carbonate formations formed by the leaching out of the mineral from water that flows over the formation.
We drove north on US 191, on Tuesday, July 27th, through the Gallatin Mountains, over Fawn Pass and down the Gallatin River gorge to Gallatin Gateway, MT, arriving at Montana Whitewater (www.montanawhitewater.com/). We loaded up in an old school bus pulling a trailer with 10 six person rafts and drove up the Gallatin River. The water level was relatively low so the river was class 2 and class 3 rapids, not bigger as it would be with more water. Our guide, Josh, was very entertaining and we had a great time.
On Wednesday, July 28th, we had Marcus from Wishy Washy RV Washing wash our motorhome. It was filthy with bug splats on the front. He did a great job even though it started to rain as he was finishing.
Thursday, July 29th, found us playing the “early bird” and passing through the Yellowstone West Gate at 6:00 AM. It was very peaceful and quiet as we drove up the Madison River Valley, where we saw herds of elk. We turned left at Madison Junction toward the Norris Geyer Basin. We stopped and had Terrace Spring all to ourselves. The spring has bubbling water that then flows down the fill to the Gibbons River. We then drove to Gibbons Falls, a double cascade on the Gibbon River. Our next stop was the Norris Geyer Basin at Norris Junction. We walked the Porcelain Springs loop trail. At Norris, the road forks with the upper loop of the park via Mammoth Springs to the left and the lower loop via Canyon Village to the right. We drove to Canyon Village, had a late breakfast and bought Martha some new hiking boots. We decided that we needed to get back to our puppies so we returned to West Yellowstone. The road was getting very crowded as we drove back.
On Friday, July 30th, we joined our guide, Chris, with Yellowstone Vacation Tours, for a van tour of the South Loop (see map). We drove again through the West Gate and up the Madison River, turned left at Madison Junction, past Norris Geyer and all the way to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River overlooks, both the upper falls and the lower falls. The falls were mesmerizing and one could have stood looking at for the entire day. Then we moved on to the Hayden Valley of the Yellowstone River. We saw many bison, some in the fields, some crossing the river, some crossing and blocking the road. We stopped at Mud Volcano and the Dragon Head fumarole, had lunch on the Yellowstone River, then toured the Lake Hotel on Yellowstone Lake – we watched a large male elk grazing on the front lawn of the hotel. We arrived at Old Faithful just in time to see the eruption from the back side of the geyser. We finished our day with a revisit of the Fountain Paintpots and then returned to West Yellowstone.
On Saturday, July 31st, Walt returned to the Gallatin River for a fly-fishing lesson. It was great wading in the river and practicing casts, but beyond nibbles, neither he nor any of the other four class participants had any luck. There was significant rain on the previous Thursday and that made the fishing very challenging.
