2003

RV Road trip to Yellowstone

Saturday, August  30, 2003   Our First RV Road trip

Happy birthday, Dad.  I hope you're in a better place.   

I spent 1 ½ hours this morning putting air in the tires and filling the water tank.  Finally on the road!    I'm traveling with my dog, Rusty, and my cats, Oreo and Ninja. I've had the motor home for 2 months and have taken the critters out several times for some weekend camping in the nearby mountains, allowing them (and me) to become accustomed to it. This is our first real road trip in it, and the cats are very unhappy.  We're heading north from Denver to Wyoming, with no particular agenda, other than to be gone for a week. We'll probably go to Yellowstone. As I headed up I25 toward Fort Collins, every time I looked back at Ninja she opened her mouth wide in a silent scream. It probably wasn't silent - I had the music up and the windows down.  

I stopped a couple of times at rest stops to let everyone stretch their legs.  Rusty is riding shotgun for me and the cats are riding in their cat carriers.  Once in Wyoming, I took a 2 lane highway, Highway 287, at Laramie and then went to Medicine Bow National Forest. I found a nice little campground in a heavily forested area.  There's a little stream nearby.  It rained heavily tonight .  I'm sure glad I can cook indoors!

Sunday, August 31, 2003 Medicine Bow

This morning I met three people from Madison, Wisconsin, a married couple and their friend.  They came over to meet Rusty.  (You thought they were coming over to meet me?  Silly.)  Their friend came back again later to chat.  He  wanted to know what  made me so fearless  that I would go camping alone.  What could I say, but that I want to travel and camp and I have no one to go with me. Am I supposed to sit at home and miss out?  We had a long chat.  He came to Madison from India in 1970 with his family.  Very nice man.  He's a professor at UW in a scientific field (I don't recall exactly which).  He suggested  I keep a journal and write a book on my travels.  Maybe I will write a book some day.  For now, I'm taking his advice and am writing a journal of my adventures.

Rusty and I went for a five mile hike this morning  and came back and crashed.  The cats are both pretty comfortable inside the motor home; they won't venture out when there are other people around.  I was getting ready to leave around  noon when Oreo discovered a chipmunk just outside  the screen door.  I grabbed my camera.  Then Ninja  discovered him.  I threw some peanuts out for him, so he stuck around.  There also was a blue jay perched nearby.  Huge jay!  Ninja and Oreo were thoroughly entertained for about a ½/ hour (as was I), when Rusty, who was tethered outside, finally discovered the chipmunk and gave chase.  Damn!  I brought her inside and threw out some more peanuts and waited.  Our patience paid off - the chipmunk returned.  

     

If someone were to ask the cats if they had fun camping, they would each make a face and say "NO!".  But, that would be a lie.

Since the cats were having such a nice day, and Rusty and I were still tired from our walk, we stayed a second night.  This was a beautiful night, and this time I cooked over a fire.

Monday, September 1, 2003  Central Wyoming

Today was   a long day.  The drive was long and tiring.  I drove to Rawlings and then took highway 287 to Dubois, Wyoming. It was a long, lonely road through high desert.  It sure looked a lot like parts of northern Arizona.  I drove until I found a nice, cool, forested place to camp.  It was along a forest road in the Shoshone National Forest.  Beautiful, lush forest.  Both cats willingly went for a stroll outside, each with a halter and on a  leash.  And heading in opposite directions, of course.  Walking cats is really very similar to herding cats.  As I was trying to collect Ninja, I was startled by  a loud thrashing noise of an animal running through the forest,  straight towards Oreo!  It was Rusty!  Ha, ha! You're a very funny doggy.  A while later, after the cats had been returned to safety, Rusty started to growl and bark.  I saw something red  move behind the trees , about 75 feet away.  It moved again and I realized it was a red tag attached to a huge Black Angus. The area was all open range.  Rusty barked some more, and the bull craned his neck to get a good luck at her.  She barked again.  He then took a few steps forward, and put his ears back.  That was enough for me.    "Rusty, shut up and get in the motor home.  Now!"

Tuesday, September 2, 2003 

We left the Shoshone National forest after Rusty and I took our morning walk.  As we entered the Teton National  Forest we were on a road with a spectacular view of the Teton Mountains.  Just prior to entering the Teton National Park,  we stopped by the roadside to see a moose walking around in a marsh.  The first moose I've ever seen in person!  I didn't have time to get close before he took off swimming, but at least I actually saw one. Very exciting for me.  You have to look really close in the picture to see him, but he's there.    

 After entering Teton National Park,  I stopped for a few photo ops.  There were awesome views of the Tetons.  Unfortunately,  the sky was overcast and it was difficult to get a good picture.  I'll probably pass by here again after leaving Yellowstone, so I'll try another shot then.  

We arrived a little later in Yellowstone National Park via the South Entrance and camped at the Lewis Lake campground.  The campground was only half full the day after Labor Day.  Very nice. 

Wednesday, September 3, 2003  Yellowstone National Park

After Rusty and  I took our morning walk down by the lake, we started our tour of Yellowstone.  This is my first time in the park. Almost immediately, we saw  some beautiful bull elk grazing by the road.  Unfortunately, there was no place to pull over for a photo.  

According to the signs, Old Faithful has been letting off steam about every 90 minutes, shooting up to 200 feet high and lasting from 2 ½   minutes to 5 minutes.  She wasn't up to her usual fine self today.  Maybe 100 feet. Maybe 2 minutes. However, I was very impressed with the proximity of so many other geysers.  Very strange looking place, with steam coming out of holes in the ground every where you look.  I must have screwed up my camera settings, because all of my photos of Old Faithful were very over-exposed. Not one good one. Of course, by the time I noticed this, the famous spewing geyser had retreated to her hole in the ground.  

   

I drove from the southwest area of Yellowstone  today to the northeast area.  Nearly everywhere we went I saw charred trees from the 1988 fire.  The fire was absolutely enormous! There is new growth everywhere, with stands of pines from 2' to 6', growing so close together that they look like  huge Christmas tree lots.   

I made lots of stops today to see the sights. I definitely stopped whenever I saw a tour bus turn off the road.  There are some spectacular waterfalls here. 

One of the best stops was for a herd of buffalo (I know, they're not buffalo, they're American Bison) alongside the road.  Rusty was rather excited - she'd never seen a buffalo before. She gave them her full attention, watching every move, and trying to catch their scent through the  slightly cracked window. She never made a sound, even as they passed right by the RV.  

We stopped to camp at 5 pm  up by the Tower of Falls.  It's a small, quiet campground in the middle of a pine forest.  I can see a burn are from where I'm sitting.  I tried letting the cats travel loose in the cabin today.  It didn't work well. They ended up hiding in the overhead space under a pillow.  I put them back in their carriers and placed them in the overhead, each facing a window.  Hardly heard a peep from them.  I observed Oreo gazing out the window several times.  I think the cats are now (relatively) happy campers.  This is Ninja: 

I took Rusty for a little walk after dinner.  We went up a  little deserted jeep trail and she started sniffing everything in sight.  Then she became nervous, looking to each side, and behind us, and walking very slowly.  At each of the campgrounds they've warned of bears, although I've yet to see one.  My Rusty was one worried puppy, so we hastily retreated.  When I go camping with Rusty, especially in a wilderness area, with creatures of the night wandering by, she stands guard for me.  She is ever vigilant.  Whenever I wake up  in the middle of the night, I will find her sitting next to me, staring out the window. Listening. Tonight was no different.

Thursday, September 4, 2003  Yellowstone  

Today was a drop-dead gorgeous day! We spent all day driving just 50 miles, stopping at every opportunity to view the Yellowstone River and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  It's a wonderfully beautiful canyon, with many colors and textures.  There's also a pretty impressive waterfall, the Lower Falls, especially when viewed from the east side at Artists Point.

I've been very disappointed that I've seen no bears.  Not one!  When I was a kid, every picture of Yellowstone was of cars stopped in the middle of the road and surrounded by bears.  I did see a couple of ugly elk run across the road in front of me. After they had gone and had re-joined the forest, I realized they were female moose.  Not a pretty sight. 

We camped at a pretty cool campground at Bridge Bay, just off of Yellowstone Lake.  I feasted upon grilled salmon, fettuccine Alfredo, and a salad, complete with goat cheese.  Camping is so rough.  I also filled up the RV's water tank and had a wonderful, much-needed, hot shower. 

I took Rusty for a walk by the lake and was informed there was a rather large buffalo not far away.  The campground staff said that buffalo definitely do not like dogs and have stomped some to death within the campground.  Yellowstone is definitely not dog-friendly. 

Friday, September 5, 2003

This day started poorly.  Oreo and Ninja had discovered a cubby hole beneath the sink and had gone under ground, out of sight and out of reach. I had no idea where the hole led too, somewhere in the bowels of the motor home. Ninja was the first one out, but Oreo was stubborn.  I was able to lure him out with some leftover salmon, but, after 2 minutes he was gone and the cupboard door had been pried open.  This time, he refused to come out.  I tried coaxing the nice little kitty and I tried scaring him by pounding on the walls.  I even opened up a can of tuna, to no avail.  Oh, for an electric can opener. Oreo is hard-wired to come running when he hears it. It's in his genes.  I didn't hear a sound out of him and he had me wondering if he was actually in there. Maybe he had escaped through the door.  Or maybe there was a way out underneath the RV.  He really had me worried. It was past check-out time in the campground, and I packed up and drove  out and parked near the entrance.  That didn't stir him either. I left him in there for another ½ hour  while Rusty and I went for a walk.  Still no sign of him.  Meanwhile, I had caged Ninja so she didn't get some hair-brained idea to join him. I finally decided that he would come out when he was ready.  After all, he is a cat. He could be in there for a long time, taking his afternoon nap, so I decided to hit the road, as it was time to start heading home. I was concerned about what fumes he might be breathing, so I left the cupboard door open.  I hated driving, not knowing exactly where he was and if he was ok.  After about 5 or 10 minutes, Oreo was sitting in my lap, looking out the window, and purring away.  Some day I'll punish him for this little escapade.

Today I explored the Geyser Basin at West Thumb. I'm amazed at the extent and variety of geysers at Yellowstone.  At the Basin there are geysers that have turquoise pools of steaming water as well as orange and yellow pools of sulfur.  There are some smaller, active volcanic geysers in the lake. This area is really spectacular.  Gremlins have messed with my digital camera today; they also twiddled a couple of bits  in a few photos.  I salvaged them by cropping them.

 

After exploring Geyser Basin, we exited the park and entered Grand Teton National Park.  I stopped for several photo-ops of the Tetons - they are really spectacular. My favorite spots are the Willow Flats Overlook and Jenny Lake.  My camera isn't an SLR and doesn't have an ultra-wide angle for this type of scenery, so I opted to try for a panorama via multiple contiguous shots of the mountains.  I assembled them into a panorama later on my PC.  Not too bad.  Note to self:  next time, use a tripod and lock in the same exposure for each shot.  

     

A beautiful young coyote posed for me along the String Lake trailhead by Jenny Lake. When I first saw him he was trotting parallel to the road.  I hurriedly drove up the road ahead of him and parked, hoping that he would continue his journey in the same direction.  I grabbed my camera, removed Rusty from the passenger seat and lowered the window, and waited.  He came along and I grabbed a shot.  And then, he stood on a log and absolutely posed for me.  I got the shot and off he went.  I was so excited.  So was Rusty!!!  She observed his every move and never made a sound.  Such a wonderful girl.  A day that started poorly was going rather well. The Tetons are really awesome looking.
 

 I checked out the Signal  Mountain Campground which had wonderful views of the mountains and Jackson Lake.  The spots with the views were taken and it was still pretty early in the day.  If the good spots had been available, we would have stayed, no matter what the time of day.

After we left Grand Teton National Park, I began looking for a campsite. The poor kitties had been contained for hours.  On other days I gave them breaks to stretch their legs, but not today.  Where are the good campgrounds when you need one?  I drove through Jackson, tired and hungry, and didn't stop.  Nice little tourist town.  I'd like to spend some time shopping there (spotted a store that sold cigar store Indians).  I continued down the highway, following the beautiful, wide, Snake River.  I was looking for a forest road in the Targhee National Forest, but didn't find one.  Almost missed a turn for a campground.  Had to backup to make the turn.  I'm really glad I did.  

This day that began so poorly and gradually got much better, ended on a high note.  I'm camped along the Snake River, with a noisy little rapids nearby.  The ranger told me that there are eagles and osprey nesting in the area.  I took my chair and binoculars down to the river bank and very quickly spotted a Bald Eagle in the tallest tree on the other side of the river.  She was sitting on a branch above her next.  After a while she raised her head and began chirping loudly.  then she took off flying above the river.

It was a perfect day.

Saturday, September 6, 2003

We're at the Elbow Campground, 10 miles south of Hoback Junction on highway 89.  It's deserted now except for some rafters preparing to take off.  The outfitter is called "Common Ground Adventure".  Rusty went over to say hello to all of the nice people and not one person acknowledged her presence. Some of them were preoccupied with their preparations, but not all. Quite a shock to my girl.  Usually, every person she meets is her knew best friend. 

I located a second Bald Eagle's nest this morning, and possibly another eagle. This one looked just like the previous one, and may, in fact, be the same one.  Or not. The eagle was constantly on the lookout, for food, I presume, and made a screeching sound, audible form abut 250 yards away with a noisy river between us. 

I left the cats outside for a short time.  It's difficult to convince them to go in the same direction.  This was just a quick venture outside because I needed to keep them both close to me in case the eagle decided they might make a tasty breakfast.  A little later, after I had cleaned up camp, Ninja made her move and jumped outside.  Luckily for me, and her, she stayed under the RV.  If she had headed for the grass and trees I may not have been able to catch her.  But, I did, after some talking to my "good little girl", and finally lured her out.  Bad kitty!

I hate to leave this place so soon.  I now have my first deadline of the week.  Today is Saturday and I won't make it home by tonight, but I need to get home fairly early Sunday.  I've got some serious cleaning to do.   I had been on the road  for 8 ½ hours, including rest stops and a little zigzag into Idaho, when  I stopped in Laramie at a 24 hour truck stop.  Several other RVs are parked her.  I wasn't sure that they were here for just dinner or for the night until I noticed the TV antenna up on one.  I figured it must be okay to park here overnight, so we settled in. I grabbed a muffin from the store so I could have a quick, clean (no dishes or camp stove clean and put away) breakfast in the morning. Not bad. 

Sunday, September 7, 2003

There were hundreds of trucks parked here in the truck lot. I parked in the Petro restaurant parking lot, away from the trucks.  It must have quieted down at night, because I slept pretty well. Even Rusty was quiet all night.  I had expected her to bark at all the strangers, keeping me awake all night, but not so. 

And we headed home!

We arrived home, safe and sound in the late afternoon.  I still have Rusty, Oreo, and Ninja with me.  No major mishaps. Life is good. 

Total Mileage:  1,600