May 25
Greetings from one of the most awesome and wondrous places
on the planet……YELLOWSTONE. Yellowstone
contains 2/3 of the worlds thermal features.
We got here 2 days ago and are here for 6 nights. We left
the north rim of the Grand Canyon, one of my personal favorites, Tuesday the 22nd
and did a 13 hour driving day up I-15 through Utah to about 60 miles south of
Idaho where we hit a hotel for the night in order to get a very early start and
make Madison campground that is in the western part of Yellowstone about 14
miles from the town of West Yellowstone. As we approached the park from the
west we climbed to over 6000 feet and went through rain, sleet and snow. When
we got to the campground they had 1 site left that would accommodate us so our
early start paid off. This is our 3rd visit to Yellowstone
over the past 20 years and the first since around 1993. Our previous trips
we’re in the summer with the kids and we camped then. We are very early in the
season and the weather forecast is for highs in the 40’s and lows in the upper
20’s to lower 30’s for next 5 days with rain and snow showers!! Many of the
campgrounds, lodges and visitor centers are not opened yet so our choices are
limited. So let me backup and fill you in on what we’ve seen and done.
May 18
We left Vegas and headed north on I-15 into Utah and at the town of St. George
headed east toward the north rim of the Grand Canyon.
We visited the north rim for 2 nights about 20 years ago with the kids and for
me it was love at first site and I have dreamed of going back. The drive in
takes you through the Kaibab National Forest on route 67 that ends at the
canyon and it goes through amazing large meadows ringed by tall Ponderosa pines
and the beauty of them is jaw dropping.
We drove through them around 7pm just a little before sunset
and saw numerous herds of mule deer grazing and a few patches of snow in
shadowy areas. A few miles before the canyon we saw a Coyote walking casually
through a small meadow…..WOW. The campground is quite nice, no hookups but lots
of space between sites under tall Ponderosa pines. It would be home for 4
nights.
May 19,20,21
The north rim of the Grand Canyon
is quite different from the south rim. The south rim is where most folks go and
I’ve been there 3 times. It’s developed a lot more and has many services be
they hotels or campgrounds. The vistas from the south rim are much bigger and
if you’ve never been to the Canyon go to the south rim first. Linda and I have
enjoyed the south rim a lot and even got to stay in one of their old cabins on
the rim and dine in the El Tovar hotel in February of 2003. In the summer the crowds are intense. The
north rim is quiet and peaceful. It sits about 1000 feet higher at around 8000
feet and has less services and fewer visitors. It opens much later due to the
large amount of snow it receives and we arrived about 1 week after they opened.
We hiked every day, saw beautiful vistas and some wildlife and dined in the
Lodge dining room which is something we try to do in every park we visit, if
they have one. The days were cool and the nights cold with lows around 30. The
stars were so big and bright they seemed to be within reach. On the 20th we drove out to one of
the large meadows and watched the Annular eclipse of the Sun and enjoyed a few
mule deer who decided to graze as we watched. The eclipse was a bit of a
letdown being it never got very dark but we did have some viewing devices and
we saw the “ring of fire” clearly. Our weather was outstanding and the visit damn
near perfect. If you love the outdoors GO THERE.
May 23
We traveled all day to Yellowstone and got the 1 campsite I
mentioned and went back into the town of West
Yellowstone and had dinner then returned and settled
in for the night. During the night Linda commented she thought it was sleeting
but I thought it sounded softer and in the morning we were treated to 1 ½ inches of new SNOW and the temp dropped to
29. With our type of camper the popup style beds let a lot of heat out or cold
in and it was fun staying warm.
May 24 thru 27
The next day we began the process of renewing our
association with the wonders of Yellowstone. Even
though we’ve been here twice with the kids there is always new stuff to see. US
Grant was President when he signed the bill creating the worlds first National
Park in 1872 and started what I agree as “Americas Best Idea”. The weather has
not been ideal with snow and overcast skies but an occasional patch of blue and
some sun. We visited numerous thermal features and made the mandatory visit to Old Faithful but the clouds and temps made photos poor
but she did her thing. It was around 34 degrees and that made the steam intense
and we had gray overcast. We went in the
Old Faithful Inn and on a whim checked to see if they had any rooms available
and they did so we will spend our 6th night here in the Inn and dine in their dining room, what a treat that stay
will be! Today, the 26th we awoke to around 4 inches of fresh wet
snow that clung to the pines and cold temps.
After clearing the snow off the camper we headed to the
central area of the Park in order to visit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and its Falls.
Mother Nature was kind and granted us some sunshine and blue
sky until around 3pm when the rains came. So I’m sitting in the camper with
rain coming down and our little Honda generator running to recharge our deep
cycle batteries. With the cold nights we really need the batteries to run the
inverter so we have our bed heaters. It also recharges our deep cycle that runs
the fan on the propane furnace. There is a price to pay for being here this
time of year but the rewards are so great. Seeing Yellowstone
in a touch of the Winter scene is quite special. We watched Buffalo grazing in a rather intense snow
shower.
The morning of the 27th
we packed up and headed for the Old Faithful Inn. It was threatened by the
wildfires of 1988 when hundreds of thousands of acres were burned in Yellowstone. They actually rigged up water hoses from the
peak of the roof to constantly wet it in the hope that flying embers would not
ignite the building. The interior is really special in how they used logs and
tree limbs in the construction.
We finally had a pretty nice weather day with some blue sky
and sun along with the expected occasional snow shower and we spent our last
full day seeing more geysers and thermal pools and watched Old Faithful a few
more times.
I’m adding a special shout out to Jon at the Madison campground where we stayed in Yellowstone.
We met when we checked in and he saw we were from Jacksonville. He lived there a while back.
Then the morning of our 4 inch snow we met again as I was walking around taking
photos and he was walking his dog and we chatted for awhile. It turns out the
Jon worked in the Interconnect side of the telephone industry and so did I. He
worked with many of the phone systems I did and then he worked in the Software
industry and his customers included American Express and PHH Mortgage the two
companies I worked for from 1985 to 2010. Jon then worked in the lending
industry and worked closely with PHH Mortgage including folks I worked with in Jacksonville. What
appears to have been a chance meeting now looks much different! The saying
“it’s a small world” doesn’t quite cover it does it?
If I may let me inject a little National Park history that I
am fond of. At Mammoth Hot Springs we went into the Horace Albright
Visitor Center.
Horace was a young man in his 20’s in 1915 and was working a government job in Washington DC that had
something to do with managing our natural resources such as Yellowstone.
There was no National Park Service at that time and the management of Parks was
in disarray with an extreme lack of control of the resources with private
individuals and companies exploiting those areas. Horace was disillusioned and
intended to leave the government and work in the private sector. At that same
time there was a self made millionaire named Stephen Mather who was in his 40’s
who had a passion for the outdoors and especially our nations park lands. He
was aware of the lack of control and was bothered by it. If I recall right he
contacted an old college classmate who was Secretary of the Interior at that
time and complained about the parks management. His classmate told him if he
was so concerned then he should come to Washington
and do something about it, so he did! He was put in charge of the Parks and
made Horace his 2nd in command and immediately gave him a raise with
his own money. Stephen would often use his personal fortune to aid the Parks in
different ways. Stephen would only accept $1 a year in salary and set out to
see that our National Parks were protected and that the other areas would
become parks. He was a man of extreme energy and those around him, including
Horace who was half Stephens age, had trouble keeping up with him. Stephens
efforts resulted in the creation of The National Park System. In every National
Park you will find a plaque honoring him as the Father of the Park system. If
you’ve been to the Grand Canyon you may recall
Mather point. With Mather’s efforts the Grand Canyon
was made a NP.
Horace Albright thrived in the new agency and he was very
instrumental in the Park system we have today. At one point Horace was
appointed Superintendent of Yellowstone and he also had a love of the Tetons
just to the south and felt they should be included as part of a Greater Yellowstone
Park. During his tenure as Super he had two visitors to Yellowstone
who wished to not be recognized, John D. Rockefeller and his wife. Horace
wanted to show them the Tetons and Jackson
valley and share his plan to include them in the Park system but Mather
instructed him to allow them to have a private visit and not mention it so he
followed Mathers directions. However a few years later they came again and with
no instructions to the contrary Horace took them on a tour of the Jackson Valley and the Tetons and shared his
dream. They enjoyed the trip but made no comments on his plan until months
later Rockefeller asked Horace to come to New York and share his plan with the
“Family”. After hearing the plan Rockefeller said that it was not what they had
in mind, it wasn’t enough! The Family intended to include a large portion of
the Valley in their Park plan, not just the mountains.
Horace was elated and Rockefeller formed a Land Company and
began buying up ranches in the Jackson
Valley. No one was aware
of who was behind these purchases. The Greater Yellowstone plan was not popular
at the time. Some years later after other challenges the Tetons and a large
portion of the Valley became a National Park. John D. Rockefeller and his
family made other efforts and significant financially contributions in areas
that are now National Parks.
Stephen Mather and Horace Albright and John D. Rockefeller
are just a few of the significant people
who helped shape and create our National Park system. They had a passion for
our wild lands and wonders and wanted to make sure they would be preserved and
protected for future generations to enjoy. We must never forget their
contributions and make sure all who come after us get to enjoy our Parks. If
you’d like to learn more about the history of our Parks watch Ken Burns 6 part
documentary on the NP’s, it’s great.
May 29
On the way to Grand Tetons NP that is a short drive. We
arrived to temps in the 60’s….WOOHOO a frickin heat wave, and blue skies. We
drove up Signal Mountain
for great views of the Jackson
Valley and the mountains.
We are in a quiet campground just back from Lake Jackson.
While driving we saw a rather small grizzly as it crossed
the road.
May 30
We took a boat ride across Jenny
Lake to the base of the Tetons and
then hiked up to Hidden
Falls and Inspiration
Point, a few miles and about 500 feet of up then down.
I have iced the knee
tonight and it’s letting me know about it. I’m pretty sure I tore something
back in April in Big Bend but will let it ride
as long as possible. Tomorrow we are doing a 10 mile float trip by raft on the
Snake River through the Jackson Valley and hopefully some more hiking then early
Friday morning Linda flies home from Jackson Hole
for 2 weeks. I’ll go on to Glacier NP and then west to Seattle where she will rejoin me for another
40+ days. The Tetons and this valley have really wowed me. This is a beautiful
place and I could see myself working summers here.
May 31
We awoke to a return of our blue skies just in time for the
raft trip and it was great. We saw a Moose, Pronghorn Antelope, Elk, various
ducks and 3 bald Eagles. The scenery from the water was gorgeous and I took way
too many photos but a few standout and I believe this one is going up on the
wall back home in a larger format. Lots of others are on my albums.
June 1
We are up at 4am to get Linda to the airport. Driving at
this time of day is a bit scary with the wildlife around here. We cruised thru
a few herds of Elk grazing right along the road and Buffalo and Mule Deer are
in the area as well so you keep your eyes glued to the road and
shoulders…….nerve racking. We had an incident in Yellowstone
I hadn’t mentioned. One evening we went into the town of West Yellowstone for dinner and were
returning after dark. We were watching for wildlife, especially Buffalo which
are plentiful in that area and I mentioned to Linda it was especially scary
when another car came at you and you had to dim lights and were somewhat
blinded by the oncoming car. About a minute later as an approaching car was
passing us I noticed a mother Buffalo
and calf stepping into our lane and we were just a few car lengths from them at
40 mph. I had no time to stop and gently moved left as far as I dare as we
passed the oncoming car and with Divine intervention we missed momma Buffalo by what I believe
was inches. Had we hit her the least that would have happen was totaling the
pickup since they weigh up to 2000 lbs. I think the other driver may have seen
my need for space and moved some. Ironically this was our 2nd near
miss with Buffalo
on the very same stretch of road, the first being 20 years ago with the kids
and our popup in tow. I don’t plan to ever drive in Yellowstone
again at night and I best stay away from that stretch of road!
After Lindas departure I’m on the road for Montana and it will be a long day. As I
cruised through eastern Idaho
in route to I-15 I drove through ancient lava flows that went as far as I could
see. We learned in info at one of Yellowstones Visitor Centers that the
Yellowstone Super Volcano is over what is known as the Yellowstone
hotspot where the earths crust is very thin. The North American continental
plate is moving from the northeast to the southwest over this spot and there
are ancient lava beds and volcanoes over 2 million years old stretching from Nevada northeast thru Utah
and Idaho to Yellowstone in Wyoming. We have seen them all on this trip.
Photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/103943218564105837637
Photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/103943218564105837637
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