Artist's Point and Uncle Tom's Trail in Yellowstone

Today was one of our favorite days of sight seeing in Yellowstone.  After checking out of Fishing Bridge Campground (and seeing NO bears, darn it), we moved on to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

On the way, we stopped to observe some more bubbling mud pots, sulfur pools and beautiful scenery.

 

We finally got to see our first buffalo while we were out of the RV looking at the scenery.  He seemed to like being around the mud pots.  He eventually lied down by one.

 

 

 

We later saw a herd of them and even met one on the road.

 

The Grand Canyon did not disappoint us.  We first visited Artist's Point which literally looked like a gorgeous painting thus the name.

 

 

 

Our next stop was Uncle Tom's Trail, a trail that takes you from the top of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to the base of the 308 foot high Lower Falls.  This was a challenging 328 steps down and 328 steps back up.  We did see a beautiful rainbow once we got down to the falls which you can see if you look under the branch.

 

 

Coming back up put me way behind Tami and Nick making me realize, the "old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be" for sure!!

 

Me, climbing the last few steps.

 

 

Did it!

 

 

There are four entrances to Yellowstone Park and this one is at the West side.  We started at the West entrance and ended up going out of Yellowstone at the North entrance so we pretty much did a huge circle and saw pretty much all of it.  The scenery was breathtaking everywhere we went.

Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, the USA, is one of the most geothermically active regions in the planet. Half of the world's all geothermal features are located here. The park spanning an area of nearly 9000 square km comprises of 10,000 geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles, thanks to its location in an ancient active caldera. Yellowstone itself is one massive super volcano that erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining, nearly intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone.  Below is an area covered with sulfur that comes out of the ground.

 

The hot springs are beautiful and yes....hot!

 

 

Lots of pretty colors in Yellowstone including this orange in the soil from the sulfur.

 

 

My youngest grandchild is now taller than me!

 

There are about 500 geysers in Yellowstone.  And of course the trip would not be complete without seeing Old Faithful.

 

 

We drove on to Fishing Bridge Park and again, we were lucky to get a place to stay there with no reservations.  Lots of signs posted about bears in the area but unfortunately (or fortunately), we never saw one.   I think I want to be a forest ranger in my next life. (OK...I know I look stupid but what the heck).

 

 

Tami found this uprooted tree with some interesting wood she would have liked to use to repurpose but unfortunately it would not fit in the RV.

 

 

 

Yellowstone With Tami and Nick

Tami and Nick (daughter and grandson) flew into Bozeman, MT July 28 to travel with me for a week around Yellowstone.  We covered parts of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington, then headed back to their home in Oregon.  We spent the first night in Bozeman at Bear Canyon RV Park adjusting to the little space in my small RV and found it wasn't bad at all.

 

Before heading to Yellowstone, we decided to take in a couple of museums in Bozeman, MT. 

 

The Museum of the Rockies, originally affiliated with Montana State University in Bozeman, and now, also, the Smithsonian Institution, the museum is known for its paleontological collections.  It houses the largest collection of dinosaur remains in the United States, possessing the largest Tyrannosaurus skull ever discovered.

The museum's collections focus on the physical and cultural history of the Rocky Mountains and the people and animals who have lived there, and date back more than 500 million years,  American Indians on the Northern Plains and near the Rocky Mountains.

 

 

It was interesting to see these workers cleaning real specimens of bones found in the area.

 

 

Taylor Planetarium, is a  domed theater which showed a production featuring black holes in the Universe.

 

 Living History Farm, was one of the attractions, which includes the Tinsley House, where costumed interpreters demonstrate life in a turn-of-the-century home.  It was like going back in time as you could actually interact with what they were doing.

This was a sewing and weaving room.

The kitchen where they were actually cooking on an old stove.

We left here and headed to the American Computer Museum which is a museum of the history of computing, communications, artificial intelligence and robotics.  It was interesting to see how far we have come with technology.

 

 That same day, we drove on to West Yellowstone, MT and were lucky to find a place to stay at Buffalo Crossing RV Park since we had no reservations and there were SO many tourists there.  We explored the downtown area.  Lots of motorcycles everywhere we went because of the Sturgis Rally that was going on in Sturgis, SD. 

 

 

Downtown West Yellowstone, MT 

 

 

Henry's Lake in Idaho

I crossed the state line into Idaho today.  I get to add a state I had not been in yet.  I hope at some point to visit every state in the Union.  I'm just about there.  This is Henry's Lake State Park in Island Park, ID.  This is one of the prettiest settings I have yet to see. 

Yellowstone with Malia

Yesterday, Malia and I decided to visit some ghost towns that were about 65 miles away from West Yellowstone, where we are still parked.  The first one was Ennis where we stopped for lunch in this cute little café..

 

Then, it was on to Virginia City.  We enjoyed some beautiful scenery along the way and had to pull over and capture it in pictures.  Montana really does have a "big sky."  An interesting place we passed was Quake Lake, a lake that was formed when Montana had a huge earthquake in 1959 which claimed 28 victims.    

 

 

Virginia City was an old gold mining town at one time with a lot of lawlessness.  This is the old train station which is now used as a visitor center.

 

This was a collection of old arcade machines of that time.  Here you could get your fortune told for
 5 cents.    

We also went to Nevada City but decided we were too tired to walk around there.  We opted instead to end our day with a cold beer at this old saloon which is supposedly haunted. 

Yesterday, Malia and I set out looking for Fairy Falls in Yellowstone but were sidetracked when we saw an interesting road which took us through Firehole Canyon.  Incredible views especially of the Madison River and it's falls.

 

 

In this area, swimming was allowed in this very cold mountain stream!

 

 

We then proceeded to Fairy Falls.  This is one of the many springs in this area.  This one is particularly colorful.  If you put your hand next to it, you can feel the heat.  They really are hot springs.

 

 

There is water in this hole, all the way to the top,  but it is so transparent, it looks empty. 

 

It was hard to believe this bubbling inferno was not roped off to prevent anyone from slipping into it.  It sure was pretty, nevertheless.

 We stopped to observe this lone elk.  It is so satisfying to see a wild animal in a nature setting instead of caged.  This is how it is meant to be.

And, of course, the day would not be complete without seeing a buffalo lumbering along on the highway.  This one was a little close maybe.

 

Today, we are heading to Virginia City....a ghost town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I drove to West Yellowstone, MT and was able to get a campsite where a friend of mine, Malia, was staying.  It is extremely hard to find a place now without having reservations so I was happy Malia found this place and we could spend a few days exploring together.  She is the best guide as she writes about RVing for magazines and anyone who is interested in this way of life.  She has been RVing for 14 years and is a PRO!  Plus, she is a lot of fun.  She has a very informative website at www.maliasmiles.com  

 

We spent the first day together at The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center where the animals are viewed in their natural habitat.  This is hopefully the closest I will get to a bear.

Same goes for a wolf!

This is what the scenery looks like in this park called Baker's Hole.  Great place to fish!

I left Cody, WY on Thursday, July 17, but before I left I did some sightseeing around the town.
It didn't take me long to spot this wine tasting room and it appealed to me more than going in and out of lots and lots of souvenir shops.  I'm just not a souvenir person.  The wine label here is Buffalo Jump.  I liked the Shiraz so bought a bottle.  The hostess in the wine tasting room is Pamela.  No one else was tasting this day so she and I had time to converse on some interesting topics.  She has had her share of adventures and seems to be very multifaceted as she also finds time to have a photography business.  She is originally from England, came to FL..then CA...then settled here in WY.  She has sailed for many years even being part of a crew at one time.  Very interesting.

The next day I went to Old Trail Town which was a step back in time to the old west of the 1890s.  This is the original townsite of Cody that Buffalo Bill laid out.  Here are original cabins used by Old West outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and a Wyoming saloon frequented by Cassidy's "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang." 

Here is the saloon the gang frequented.  The door literally has bullet holes in it from those wild days back in that time.

 

The next day I met a couple of gals, Sally and Bobbie, members of the WIN club.  They were from Phoenix, AZ and after spending time in Yellowstone Park, they decided to spend some time in Cody, WY and opted to stay in the parking lot at the local Walmart for a couple of days.  I decided to join them. 

 

 

 

The following day I proceeded on to Yellowstone Park!  Shortly after entering the park, I had someone sharing the road with me.  What a surprise to look out my window and see this bigger than life buffalo lumbering down the road beside me.  Understandably, I gave him the right of way.

 

 

East entrance to Yellowstone.

 

 \
                                                               Yellowstone Lake

There are so many dead trees in Yellowstone as a result of the volcanic gases that are released from the ground which acts as a poison to the trees.  Also responsible are the pine beetles and past forest fires.