West
Yellowstone, Wyoming
September 5-13, 2017
Prior to our arrival
in Yellowstone, Perry called many RV parks for reservations but most of them
were full. We were fortunate to get the
one and only available spot left in the area.
I wasn't crazy about going down an alley to our site, but the park was
nice and we wouldn't be in our fifth wheel much with so much to see. We stayed in the town of West Yellowstone
about three miles outside the park entrance and the next day we entered the
park towards some of the hundreds of geysers, including Old Faithful! Yellowstone National Park is over 3,000
square miles and is an active volcano.
We first went to the visitor center to get a map of the park/hiking
trails and there it was……..a stand selling bear spray! There were signs warning people of wild
animals (grizzlies, wolves and bison)
and thankfully I kept my bear whistle where it was quickly accessible. Depending on which trails we wanted to hike
would determine when to pack the bear spray.
The first day, we had the dogs limiting us to the trails we could go on
but fortunately many geyser trails permitted dogs on leashes.
 |
| Luckily, I already had mine! |
Hot springs were
bubbling everywhere with beautiful colors of
blue/blue green water. The water is heated through magma reaching 160F
before bubbling up through the fissures.
The smell of sulfur is so strong and not for those with a sensitive
stomach. The brilliant blue is from the sunlight hitting the water. Each day
coming into the park, we drove along the scenic, rushing Madison river where
many fly fishermen (Perry's dream but not this trip!) waded in the currents
hoping to get a catch. The
waterfalls, trees, rivers, the
wildlife……this park is the most beautiful place we've seen yet!
 |
| sulfur pot |
 |
| One of the many geysers in Yellostone |
 |
| One of many hot springs |
Leaving the park,
cars were backed up and creeping at no more than 10mph. Surely there was an accident but as we got
closer, we noticed people stopping in their cars to take pictures of elk on a
small island. It was an amazing first
day and couldn't wait to return the next day!
 |
| Elk on the tiny island and the long line of cars |
 |
| A better look at the resting elk |
With dogs, packed
lunches and bear spray in tow, we ventured off to another fun day of checking
out natures beauty. We were on the side
of Yellowstone taking us to the magnificent canyons that is called "The Grand
Canyon" of Yellowstone. The length
of the canyon is approximately 24 miles long, 800-1,200 feet deep and I
certainly didn't want to look over the edge to be in awe of the flowing river, but I had to take pictures of not only the
fast moving river but the trees growing out of the rocks. As we continued on this side of the park, we
drove to a more remote area spotting a bison.
Where there is one bison, there should be a herd. Not quite a herd, but we did see many bison
grazing and not so quietly as they grunted loudly allowing us to come pretty
close to take pictures.
 |
| Yellowstone river |
 |
| A different view of the canyon |
 |
| Beautiful Yellowstone falls |
 |
| Grazing, grunting bison |
The next day we
didn't go to Yellowstone but ventured out for a less traveled area in Idaho
(about an hour drive) called Mesa Falls.
Again there were bear warnings but the short hike to the falls was well
worth it. We were told to visit the
Johnny Sack Cabin in Big Springs, ID and Big Springs, a natural spring. The house and water wheel were built in 1929
by Johnny Sack who leased the land for $4.70 from the government and as the
story goes, built it before proposing to his girlfriend. It's a small cabin but he was only
4'11". He was turned down on his proposal
but would live there for the rest of his life. The natural spring produces 120
million gallons of water a day and is one of the 40 largest natural springs in
the world.
 |
| The tiny Johnny Sack cabin |
 |
| A natural spring |
Back to Yellowstone
the next day but this time we decided to leave the dogs behind. A woman and her 14 year old son took care of
the dogs giving us peace of mind knowing they were in good hands. We've had near perfect weather while we were
here (except for smoke) and wanted to return to visit the amazing park for the
last time. There were more calderas, sulfur pots and hot springs and a nerve wrecking (grizzly country) remote hike
to more stunning falls. A little tired,
we drove to wait for Old Faithful to erupt and that she did! What a spectacular sight as it shot up over
140 feet entertaining all the tourists as they "ood and awed" over
the natural geyser that spews up to 8,000 gallons of boiling water. Our day was complete and our time at
Yellowstone was nearly over. Our timing
couldn't have been better since snow was in the forecast in a few days.
 |
| A hike to some falls |
 |
| We made it (without needing bear spray) |
 |
| So amazed at nature's beauty! |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| Old Faithful! |
There are no
words to explain the exquisite beauty of this National Park!
We had an extra day
to explore the nearby "Quake Lake", a lake caused by an earthquake in
1959, killing 28 people. The 7.8
earthquake caused a major landslide creating a dam on the Madison river. There was still eerie evidence of the
destruction e.g. a house immersed in the water and skeletal trees poking up
from the lake. After, we drove down
through the Montana Valley towards the deserted town of Virginia city. Original structures still stood of the 1860's
town. Pioneers moved here during the
time of the gold rush and it was the capital of Montana for ten years before
being moved to Helena. It's a tourist
attraction but still has an operating restaurant/bar, antique shops, etc. and is home to "Boothill Cemetery"
where bank robbers and other criminals of the 1800's were hung. A short
distance away was the ghost town of Nevada City where some of the original
structures also still stand of the once thriving town of miners and trappers.
We were leaving the
next day and while hitching up, met an
eccentric older, graying woman from Washington State that was here to visit the
park. She and I talked while proudly showing
me her recently renovated small trailer.
She was single and travelling alone (aside from her dog) and showed me
pictures of her grandmother who visited Yellowstone in the early 1900's by
wagon train. The pictures were to be given to the historical archives of the
park. I was intrigued by her story and
wished we had met sooner.
 |
| A lost home in Earthquake Lake |
 |
| Untouched remains |
 |
| Skeletal trees from the landslide into the newly formed lake |
 |
| Old Virginia City |
 |
| See ya' Cowboy country! |
This is the "Old West" and
while learning more of the history of our country in and around
Yellowstone, the cowboy days for us are
over for now as we prepare to spend our anniversary in Boise, ID.
