Yellowstone... a walk, a short hike and a big hike

We were up early for another drive through the park.  This time the upper loop.  It was very foggy and misty out.

We headed towards Mammoth Hot Springs.  It was another beautiful day in the park.  The north loop has some different rocky outcroppings.

 

 

 

 

There were more fumaroles, geysers and beautifully colorful thermal pools to see.

You could say, more of the same, but they are not.  They are just so different!

 

 There are many walkways that take you through a maze of beautiful sights.

 

 



 While we were hiking this trail we heard an elk bugling nearby, so we headed back.

 

 

 

 

When you keep your eyes open you can find all kinds of surprises.  Just off the boardwalk I spotted this snakeskin that had been shed.

 



 

 

These below, are my favorite.  The colors were amazing.  Beautiful from all angles.

 

 

 

 

 

 As we drove around the loop back towards the Yellowstone River, the basalt cliffs were very interesting and really stood out.

 

 

 

We had a great hike up Mt. Washburn, the highest peak in the Washburn Range of Yellowstone.  At the peak, 10, 243 ft, there is one of only three fire lookout towers in the park.  The views are incredible and go on forever in a 365 degree view.

Up, up and up.  At the top of that peak in the distance is the fire lookout.

This is one of my favorites.  A small stand of bleached, fire burned trees.

 How cool was this?  We came across a herd of bighorn sheep right on the trail.  They wouldn't budge and couldn't care less that we were there.  We very slowly hiked past them.  Beautiful creatures.

We made it!!

Gotta rub the marker for good luck!
Veni, vidi, vici! (I came, I saw, I conquered!)

 

Yellowstone, Part 1

West Yellowstone, MT
Baker's Hole Campground

After all the rain and flooding in Idaho, it's nice to get some sunshine on our drive up north to Montana.  It's also nice to be back into the mountains with the fragrant pines.  Another lesson learned, when dumping tanks at a dump station (not at the campground were staying at) don't just take the info you read as truth.  Call ahead.  We wanted to go straight to our campground as it was first come, first serve and it's very popular as it's one of the few forest service campgrounds that has electric hookups and it's within 5 miles of Yellowstone.  I read that there was a place to dump just outside the campground.  They meant completely out of the campground, not across the road.  We figured we could get by another week without dumping the black and gray tanks, but we did need fresh water.  We tried to use a hose cheater, but it was a huge fail.  I stayed back in the campsite with the dog and a chair while Steve drove  the 5 miles back to town to a dump station.  It cost $6 and quite a bit of frustration as Steve could not easily find the park at first.  We won't make that mistake again.

I'm glad I wasn't driving.  The lane was narrow and the
drop off on the right side was about 2 ft.

We love the campground, it sits right on the river with a few river view spots of which a handful will fit a large RV (we are 40ft).  It's about 70 sites, 1/3 are electric which are spread out throughout the campground.  Number 48, a pull through, looked the best and will fit a large rig.  Some are open, most are treed and internet is a little sketchy.  At our spot, #16, we were getting 1 bar of 3G.  Not gonna cut it for Steve's work.  Until we put up our redneck antenna booster  :-)

It's a 4 ft PVC pipe with a small sheet of metal on top with the 4G Verizon Booster Antenna on top of that.  Steve drilled holes through the pipe then put small bungee cords in them.  I climb the ladder on the back of the RV and bungee it up so that it extends 3 ft above the roof of the 5er.  It boosted one single bar to 4 bars.  Still not the best, but workable.  We plan to try a thicker pipe and maybe making it 12 ft.  When not used, it could be bungeed to the ladder.  Not much weight and not that visible.

We spent our first day relaxing and doing a lot of bike riding.  We'd really like to do some fishing while here.  We watched the osprey diving in the river and catching fish, otters playing across the bank and lots of fry (little fish) jumping in and out of the water.  There is a pile of somewhat fresh elk poop behind our campsite, maybe we'll see elk wander through?

 

 

It sure smells good in the trailer.  Steve put together his famous Pork Verde in the crock pot.  Our new 4 qt crock pot.  It's the perfect size.  We used our last jar of a good friends Spicy Chili Verde Sauce.  Steve adds fresh cilantro and more fresh chilis & onions and just lets is simmer all day.  You could smell it several sites down.  For dinner we filled tortillas and had some spanish rice.  Lot's of leftovers too.

Tomorrow we'll drive into the park and spend the day, maybe get a real hike in.  I think someone is tired from our bike riding/walking today.













Saturday, August 9
Upper Loop

There were many waterfalls, fumaroles, mud pots and geysers to see as well as some great wildlife.

 

 

Here's looking over the edge.  LONG way down!

  

At the top just before going over.

 

 

Reflection in Yellowstone River while we took a lunch break.

   Old Faithful, of course!

 

Did you know that the rainfall that lands on the west side of the mountains flows to the Pacific Ocean and the
rain that falls on the eastern side flows to the Mississippi?  It also runs all the way from Canada to Mexico.

 We've been here before, but there is so much to see!  We are having a great time so far.

 

Interesting Park & Weather

Rexburg, ID
Beaver Dick County Park

Well, yes, it is an interesting name for a campground.  But it does have an interesting story behind it.

We found the park rules quite amusing.  No burning of furniture in the fire pits, darn!  No shooting in the campground either. 

We decided to stay here because it was a great halfway point from Salt Lake City to Montana.  Plus it's only $5 a night.  $3 if you stay the whole 5 nights.  What a deal!  This is
really a gem of a county park.  No hookups of any kind, but spotlessly clean, right on the river, nice shady spots, some open spots, great 4G service and only 5 miles to shopping, gas & services.  We've had the park to ourselves pretty much the entire time. Very small park.

As far as weather, well, I guess were out of the boring and predictable sunny weather of the west.  We've already had numerous rain, thunderstorm, flood watches and warnings.  I guess we'll have to get used to that.  Good thing we keep up with that sort of thing with weather app alerts, news, radio, etc.  It's already much cooler as we head north.  No more 90s.  More like 80s in the day and 50s at night.  Just perfect when the sun is out.

It's also our 1 Month Anniversary of being on the road.  Loving it!  No real surprises.  Just need to actually make a closing up check list as I seem to forget just ONE thing almost each time.  Nothing big, but things that need to be adjusted after.  An inside sliding door popped off the slider, forgot to put the antenna down (I know, I know, rookie mistake!).  But really, it's all going just great and we are having a ball.  Steve has not had any problems with connectivity with work thanks to my handy dandy coverage? app by Techomadia.  I also have many other apps and websites to find free camping/cheap camping, state, county, national parks etc.  I then check them out on google to zoom in and see what the campground and surrounding area looks like.  Don't want to be too close to a highway, railroad or airport.  Love to be in thick trees, but need to get good internet. 

No problem being "cramped" together either.  We haven't killed each other yet.  We actually like each other and it's been nice to have so much time together after me working at the store 6 days a week.  We actually get plenty of separate time too.  As we speak, Steve is off with his metal detector and I'm typing this blog.  Hurley, the dog, is pooped from his stick retrieving and playing in the river.
Tomorrow we'll head into town for some food and supplies and gas.  Since we are boondocking, we are keeping track of how long we can go on our tanks (fresh water, gray and black), how long our laptops stay charged and how long it takes to run the generator to re-charge them.  So far, so good!

 

I also had a chance to talk with Jo of (darn, I can't find the name of her blog.  I'll get that to you later)  We met her and Craig in Tennessee and they are the sweetest couple from Texas.  They head out fulltime next week.  I'm so excited for them!  We'll meet up with them again in Indiana in September.



Family, Food, Friends

 

Salt Lake City, UT
KOA

   

 

 The Tree of Life is an 87-foot-tall sculpture that was created by the Swedish artist
 Karl Momen in1986.  It's made mostly of concrete and natural minerals native to Utah.

A view of the Salt Flats going towards Salt Lake City. 
The top left shows our kayak on its new rack.

 

Before I forget I wanted to mention we had a rack for our kayak built for us.  Rack-It in Shingle Springs, CA did an amazing job of creating the perfect custom made rack.  AND knowing that we were heading out fulltime at the end of the week, did it in less than 1/2 the time so we could be on our way on time!  The best customer service we've had.  If you are in need of a custom rack, give Gary a call and their custom guy and Robert will  create you a masterpiece!  It was also the best price around.  The rack needed to hold our 14ft. kayak, not stick out too much in front and not get in the way of the 5th wheel cap in the rear.  It couldn't fit better!

Our campsite at the SLC KOA, #724.

The Family... We don't usually stay in private campgrounds, but this KOA in Salt Lake City is too convenient for doing genealogy at the Family History Center to pass up.  It's pricey (to us) at $42 for FHU.  There is a free shuttle to the History Center, it's very near some great food and has a light rail right in front of the park with a nice bike path near the river behind it.  The park has lots of shade, a couple of pools and is very clean.  There is a train track nearby, but it's not loud or heavily used.  I've continued to strike out on getting back to Scotland on my husbands side, but did find some proof of NY residency (and a possible marriage) on my Italian side.

The Mormon Temple is absolutely beautiful and definitely worth taking the time to stroll around the grounds as well as the downtown area.  Like the rest of the city, it is spotlessly clean and beautifully decorated.  Here are a few facts about the temple:

• It opened in 1893
• It took 40 years to build
• The quartz used was quarried from nearby Little Cottonwood Canyon
• The walls at the bottom are 9 ft thick

Our friends John & Tina that stayed with us
while they were picking up their new trailer.

The Food...  We had read on RVillage a suggestion to eat at The Red Iguana if you want "killer" food.  They have a great selection of some typical recipes, some yummy specials and very unique Mexican dishes.  I've not really been a mole fan, but they have several that they make themselves that can really set off the dish.  They bring a complementary plate so you can sample them.  On one of the classic dishes I had, the Punta de Filete a la Nortena, was top sirloin tips sautéed with bacon, jalapeno strips, onions  and fresh tomatoes.  I could choose 2 different mole sauces.  I chose one and let our waiter recommend the other.  He was right on.  Steve had the Cochinita Pibil.  It was a pork loin rubbed with achiote, vinegar, lime juice, paprika, salt then shredded, slow roasted and simmered in its own roasting juices.  The food was so good, when our friends, John & Tina, came to visit we went again!  They were very happy with their Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos and a special stuffed Poblano chili with rice, ground beef, cheese, raisins, apples, peaches deep fried and covered with a wonderful sauce.  Very subtle but wonderful flavors.  On the second night, Steve had some tacos that were a favorite of Guy Fieri.

An interesting front door with
lots of stickers and decals.

8 Different kinds of mole sauce.

 

The Friends...  John & Tina just happen to be here the same time as us to pick up their new (to them) trailer.  We had a nice time visiting and walking around downtown.  John makes a great homemade sauce, so one night we had grilled Italian Suasages, pasta, bread, salad and they even shared their last bottle of Classico Chianti from Verrazanno Winery they brought back from Italy!  Tina suggested a great salted chocolate gelato to finish it off with.  What a meal!

 

John & Tina's new trailer.

 

 

 

 

One last gorgeous picture of the temple all lit up at night from the 10th floor of the hotel.