Drive through Yellowstone

Our work week has gone well. The store is getting crazy at times especially at the "Geyser Rush", the time after Old Faithful goes off and people come to the store to shop. From our window behind the cash register we can turn around and see the geyser erupt and watch the wave of people making the exodus toward us. Here we are early Friday before the store opened. We have the option of wearing the apron. I do because I need pockets to put my "stuff."

One evening last week we heard lots of people talking outside and realized that some bison were wondering through the camping area. I got this shot when one was across the street. That is NOT Dan by our car. We stayed inside when they were close to our RV.

Since Saturday was a beautiful day we decided to go out and explore the park. As we headed north from Old Faithful area toward Madison we encountered our first group of bull elks grazing by the roadside. Their racks were quite large.



Traveling northeast of Madison to Norris we followed the Gibbon River past Gibbon Falls. We didn't stop there because we hope to hike that area. From Norris we went east toward Canyon Village making a stop at Virginia Cascade. We aren't sure what the difference between a cascade and waterfall is but this cascade was on a slope rather that straight down like most of the falls that we have seen. It was a peaceful and beautiful to see the water rushing down.

We drove to the top of it and got another view that was quite lovely. The scenery along the highway has a way of changing as you drive along. Here is one view.

And here is another.



North of Canyon Village (we'll need a whole day to explore that area) we stopped at Tower Fall. We could walk to it, but we couldn't walk down to the base because the trail was closed due to unsafe conditions. I was a little underwhelmed!

 Just north of Tower Fall we stopped at Roosevelt Lodge which is the cowboy country of Yellowstone. It was one of Teddy Roosevelt's favorite spots in the park. It's main focus is horseback riding and covered wagon rides. We got to see some folks heading out on the trail. (Remember you can click to enlarge a picture.)





We traveled east past the Lamar Valley which we heard is noted for wolf, bear, moose, and bison sightings. What we failed to remember is that the best time to see them is dawn and dusk. So all we saw was lots and lots of bison. The bison population was down to less that 50 in the early 1900's but now is up to between 3,000 and 4,000. They are what we see most often. Even though we didn't see the animals we were thrilled with the scenery.

We decided to exit the park at the northest corner and go to Cooke City which is about 4 miles outside of the park. The population is 300 in the summer and 80 in the winter. It reminded us of a small version of Talkeetna, the Alaskan town we often visited last summer. We were thrilled to find a Steeler Bar there although not much was happening that afternoon.



There was a visitor center, general store, several gas stations, places to stay and eat. We walked around town which didn't take long. We liked the Trading Post in front of the mountains.

On the way back home we enjoyed the changes in scenery through the mountains and along the Yellowstone Lake. I didn't take any pictures, just sat back and relaxed with the gorgeous view. In several areas we saw the results of fire. Many of the burnt trees still stand and new growth fills in underneath.

We drove about 200 miles round trip. This is a BIG park. We are glad that we have the time to explore at our leasure.

On Sunday Scott & Kathy with Tigger, friends from PA, stopped to see us and Old Faithful. They are camping around the country with a stuffed tiger who we protected from the wild animals of Yellowstone. It was great to spend the day with them. Tigger got a little hot as the temperature hit the low 80's.

Our work schedule has remained the same so we have next weekend off. We're thinking about going to Cody, WY. It's hard to believe that we have been here over a month and that next Sunday begins July.

Tram ride at Teton Village - Hike to Mystic Falls

Last Saturday, June 9, we took a trip down through the Grand Teton National Park to Teton Village, a resort town west of Jackson, WY. We were lured by a free pass which expired June 15 to ride a tram to the top of the mountain. If we didn't go then we would miss out. Although the weather forecast was not the best we left Old Faithful with the sun shining. The drive through the Tetons was magnificent.

But the farther south we drove the uglier it got. We decided to keep going because you never know how quickly the weather can change here. Here's what it looked like.

We made our way to Teton Village and found the tram. As we looked up the mountain it didn't look very promising. The tram goes up about 4,000 feet from around 6,000 to 10,000 feet.

There was only one other person on the ride up with us. It was a relatively smooth trip, but as we ascended it got windy and cold with some rain/sleet pelting the windows. When we reached the top the guide reported that the temperature was 30 degrees with winds at 30 mph. We opted to stay on the tram instead of going out because there was nothing to see in the fog and we were cold enough. On the way down the view of the village was interesting, and the guide gave good information about the area.

We plan to go back when it is warmer to get the full benefit of the sights on the top and maybe even walk the 7.5 miles back down.

After visiting the city of Jackson for a little while we headed north back through the Tetons. We were hoping to view a moose around the Moose Entry Station, but there were none to be seen. We stopped at Jenny Lake Visitor Center. When we were there two years ago the lake was frozen and the center was closed. This time the lake was beautiful and the center impressive. Since it was cold and drizzly we didn't take any hikes around. We'll save that for a warm day also. Although we didn't see any moose we did spot a grizzly in a field in the distance.

On the way north we could barely see the Tetons through all the dark clouds. We hope to do this trip again when the weather is more cooperative.

On Saturday, June 16 we joined another couple, Bob & Micki, on a hike to Mystic Falls. Unlike the previous Saturday, it was sunny with promise of a picture perfect day for a hike. The beginning of the trail passed through Biscuit Basin where there are colorful pools of bubbling water and small geysers.

The trail continued flat for a while and then slowly made its way uphill through the woods for about a mile.

We could hear the falls before we saw them. What a magnificent sight when we finally got there. The falls are 70 feet but seemed much taller.

We climbed up to the top where we looked down on the sides at all the colorful rocks. We were glad that we had the walking sticks because the trail was steep with loose dirt part of the way. After sitting a spell and enjoying the sights and sounds we moved onward and upward to an observation point at the top of the mountain. There we could see the Old Faithful Inn and geysers several miles away. What a view!

We made our way down the mountain through about five switchbacks. It was quite challenging at times for us since this was our first hike in a while. After we got to the bottom we walked back through Biscuit Basin and drove north to a picnic area. When we are not at the employee dining room for a meal we can order a packed lunch with choices of meat, cheese, bread, chips, veggies, cookies, and drink. It was more than enough to fill us up after all the walking. The area where we stopped is called Whiskey Flats. I hope to find out why that name was chosen. In the past there have been moose spotted there, but we didn't see any that day. After we filled out tummies we headed back to Old Faithful area. On the way there was a herd of bison on the hillside across the water. There were lots of cars stopped so we stopped too. There were several groups of mamas with cubs.

As we watched, some of the large bison started to cross the water. Then the whole herd followed along. It was a sight we had never seen before.















Although there are warnings to keep a distance between you and the animals, there were many people who were right down by the water taking pictures. If a ranger would have seen them they would have been told to back away and probably would have fined them. Fortunately no one was hurt while we were there. You just never know what you may see in Yellowstone!

 Today we had quite a nice Father's Day. We were able to attend a church service at the rec hall which is by the Old Faithful Lodge, so we won't have to drive to West Yellowstone for church on Sundays. We got to talk to all the kids. They served BBQ Ribs for dinner and grilled burgers for supper so Dan was a happy camper! We drove to Grant Village Visitor Center this afternoon where they have a film and displays about the fire of 1988 and its devastation. There's so much to see at Yellowstone and we hope to do more on our days off. Our schedule stayed the same so we have next weekend off. We have all week to plan another adventure.







The snow pile is gone!

After working Monday through Friday we had the weekend off, June 2, 3, so we took an overnight weekend trip to Bozeman, MT which is about 125 miles north. When we returned the big chunk of snow on our campsite had melted away. Yippee!

We left Yellowstone Park and drove through West Yellowstone, MT before turning north to Bozeman. We were quite surprised to see a bison right on the main road. I was glad that I had the camera on my lap. I have learned to have it ready at all times because you never know when a photo opportunity will arise. Here he is.

As we drove north along the Gallatin River we saw white water rafting and zip lining across the river. I was not fast enough to get a picture, but we'd like to try the adventure later in the summer. We drove to Big Sky, MT which is a skiing resort with summertime activities. There was still snow on the mountain but there was no skiing to be seen. The scenery was breathtaking all along the ride. Here's one sample.

Bozeman is one of the larger cities around here with population of about 39,000. In addition to    WalMart we visited the Museum of the Rockies which is on the campus of Montana State University. Since our ID card gave us free admission we decided to check it out. There were several sections including Montana history and Native American history, but the main focus was on dinosaurs. What made it special was the fact that the dinosaurs were actually found and dug up in Montana. There were descriptions of many of the digs and displays of what was found over the years. In front of the building is Big Mike who was named after the tenth president of Montana State.

He was discovered in 1998. His skeleton was cast in bronze making him the first life size Tyrannosaurus Rex in the world. He is 38 feet long, 15 feet tall, and weighs 10,000 pounds. It was quite an impressive sight! At the museum there was also a temporary display of the life and artifacts of Napoleon. It gave us a refresher course in the history of his era. Neither of us remembered much from history classes long, long ago. One other part of the museum was a planetarium where we saw the Montana night sky and both dozed off a little during the presentation.

On Sunday on our way home we took a different route. We headed east to Livingston and then south to the northern entrance of Yellowstone. We drove along the Yellowstone River which was very scenic.

We stopped at Chico Hot Springs Resort to look around. It's quite a large resort with lots of activities but is mainly noted for its natural hot springs 96 degree pool and 103 degree spa. We didn't have out swimsuits so we didn't stay, but may go back later in the summer. Before entering the park we drove through Gardiner, MT, a charming little resort town. As we were passing through the northern entrance some elk came to greet us.

The scenery going south in the park was dazzling in the sunshine. The road followed rivers, and we passed several small lakes along the way. Here's on sample.

We didn't stop at Mammoth Hot Springs. We decided to save that for another trip. As we traveled along a bison was in the middle of the road. We are getting used to them, and I was not going to take a picture, but there was a man who got on top of his RV to get a better view. This is what we saw.



You just never know what you will see when you drive the roads of Yellowstone!

I'm not doing a good job writing the blog in a timely manner because so many things are happening, and time is flying by. I hope to improve. We are both liking the sales associate jobs very much. Every day is different, and we learn many new things each day. We have been scheduled the same shifts during the week with the weekends off. It's too much to hope for this to continue because we are getting 30 new employees this week. But maybe we'll get lucky.The store has been getting crazy busy, but the job is getting easier with experience. The food in the employee dining room continues to surpass our expectations and the associates and supervisors go above and beyond. Our major complaint right now is the weather. But they tell us it will warm up and the snow will stop. I hope they're right!