Prelude to and Yellowstone, Grand Teton immersive (July 4th-11th)
I anticipated an early start out of Coeur d’Alene, but it didn’t happen. I did wake up early to hit a trail unknown to me near the campground for my interval run. That didn’t happen either! I ran to the trailhead called “Mineral Ridge”. More of a hike run, and an excellent one at that!
Feeling good, I finished by 0800, built a fire to make some bacon, and started motivating for the long drive. As I was packing, I was admiring my neighbors van and told them how awesome it was. You could tell they were very proud and we struck up a long conversation. They are living the dream and have been living and working from the road for 2 years!! I admire their bravery and enthusiasm for life. I am still pondering a job for myself that would allow this type of lifestyle.
Once I did get on the road, I had to stop at some sights along the way, most notably, the Old Mission State Park and the town of Wallace.
I arrived at Bozeman Hot Spring camp right before the office closed, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the hot springs were open until 11:00 pm! I was so looking forward to a shower. The hot springs were lovely, although the most comfortable soaking was in the chlorinated pools, I’ll take it. I soaked on the 4th of July, with fireworks going off in all directions.
After spending a quarter of my daily budget at a bakery in Bozeman, I was off to Yellowstone National Park. If vacationing is my new full time job, I put in a bunch of OT in Yellowstone. I awoke most days at between 0500 and 0600 and returned to camp at dusk, ~ 8pm or so. My first 2 days in Yellowstone were spent at the West entrance, the busiest, for good reason. This entrance allows easy access to geyser basins, spring pools and boiling mud pots (oh my). The first area I visited was the Artists Paintpots.
Next up, the Norris Geyser Basin. I loved breathing in the air of sulfur and letting the steam wash over me, even in the hot weather. Watching the setting sun behind the fumaroles was breathtaking.
Early the next morning, my first stop was the Fountain Paint Pots, which includes all 4 of Yellowstone’s geothermal features- geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots.
To get a parking spot for the Fairy Falls run, I arrived at the parking lot at 0930. A side trail takes you to a vantage point of Grand Prismatic Spring.
Another mile past the waterfall, I found solitude, if just for a few minutes, at my own private geyser.
I couldn’t even get a parking spot the first time around at Grand Prismatic Spring (my favorite) at 0915. I came back later and was lucky to get a parking spot, cars lining the road outside the lot for a half mile.
Other features in the Midway Geyser Basin area include...
And in Biscuit Basin...
And instead of dealing with the crowds at Old Faithful, I hiked 1.6 miles above the geyser for a bird’s eye view.
And a tour of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
The bison enjoyed roaming the Mud Volcano area, and were taking in the steam bellowing from the earth.
A hike around the West Thumb area, with Yellowstone lake as the backdrop.
The next 2 days I spent in Teton National Park. My America the Beautiful Pass, an $80 annual pass that allows access into all the National parks, has now paid for itself. The admission for both Yellowstone and Tetons being $35 each for a 7 day pass. I definitely recommend advance reservations at these parks.
But, I booked an RV park that was subpar and ended up taking the loss for a better spot at a forest service campsite nearby. While the staff were friendly and the bathrooms were clean, the camp spot was tiny, there was no parking, and the mosquitoes were eating me alive. There was only one parking spot at the start of a long driveway to get into the small area were the campsites were. So I backed the truck into my tent site to unload my gear. I have become an expert at backing up, apparently not so much driving forward. Unable to cook at camp due to the mosquito problem, I was pulling the truck out when I was unable to turn the corner around the two wooden signs featuring the campsite numbers. I heard some scraping alongside the passengers side of the truck, so I got out and adjusted the sign about an inch, clearly not enough. As I continued forward and heard more scraping, somehow the sign had become stuck in the groove between my cab and back door. I ended up pulling the sign out of the ground to get out of this predicament. Not liking this camp, and recalling reading reviews after I booked it and paid stating “Don’t stay there”, I drove past a sign for a forest service camp on my way to the restaurant. There were several sites available, still with plenty of mosquitos, but rustic with lots of charm. It is important for me to make coffee and breakfast at camp daily to start the day. I was racking my brain to figure out how to do that at the RV park, not being interested in carrying all my supplies, dealing with parking and hoards of mosquitos. So I went back, tore down the tent and set it back up at the new camp. While I took the financial loss, I returned to the RV park to shower both nights.
The hike I chose at the Grand Tetons the next morning, Cascade Pass, was a popular one, for good reason. I took a boat to the trailhead, which cut ~4 miles (roundtrip) off the hike. It was an epic day!
Another perk of solo traveling, there was a wait for the return boat and the captain hollered for any “singles” and I promptly raised my hand, hopped over the benches, and got onto the boat without delay. The captain then said to me “thanks for speaking up”, as if I would be embarrassed, nope! I just gained another 30 minutes in the park! I visited Mormon row in the evening.
Took a side trip to Jackson Hole and ordered the 3rd pizza of my road trip(08), and ended the day with a side trip to Schwabacher’s Landing.
The next day I took a run at Taggart and Bradley lakes, and continued to tour the Tetons before heading North.
My mantra for Yellowstone, to achieve all that I did was, “Why hike what you can run, why run what you can bike.” Everyday was epic, and each time I thought it couldn’t get better, it did. I rode my bike to the Natural Bridge, and took a quick photo op at the Fishing Bridge.
More hiking at Tower Falls, A side trip to the ancient Petrified tree, a wolf spotting with more bison and a hike around Mammoth area before arriving at camp at the North entrance town of Gardiner, where the Roosevelt entrance is located.
Another early rise and spotting wildlife in the road, I hiked the most popular trail in the park, Mt. Washburn. This is not a difficult hike, but I was already acclimated.
Yellowstone is set up as a figure 8 drive, 142 miles. I drove the figure 8 after the hike, hitting some hot spots I missed previous. This was a 14 hour day of pure bliss. I hiked around the Black Sand Basin.
Another feature on my list was the lone star geyser, known to erupt about every 3 hours. Luckily, I was able to ride my bike on this 4.8 mile trail. I did not know what time the eruption would occur, but thought it cool to see the cone. I arrived 15 minutes before the eruption.
I wanted to get another view of the Grand Canyon on Yellowstone, so I took the plunge (stairs leading 600 feet down) to the brink of the lower falls. My knuckles were white holding onto the camera to takes photos (its not insured), the falls making me dizzy. I spent a long time there, watching the violent splash of the falls shooting fine water particles high into the air, it took my breath away.
Before my adventure started, I booked a couple of trips. One trip I scheduled was horseback riding in the am, and whitewater rafting in the afternoon. It turned out to be the perfect thing to do that afternoon as the temperature approached 90 degrees. Originally, I considered this day to be a rest day, not anticipating working while riding and floating. I was mistaken (yet again). The horseback ride was amazing, not through flat fields as I anticipated, but on a hilly National park trail. I am a novice, so it felt intense to lean forward going up the hills, and lean back going downhill, like I was a real cowgirl. The rafting was laid back, except for all the paddling, a family orientated trip. I very much enjoyed being solo on this trip filled with families, making friends with one super sweet family as we crossed paths multiple times that day at lunch and again at the campsite. I learned that people watching in Yellowstone can be almost just as fun as watching all the wildlife.
My day concluded with a drive up Lamar Valley, known as the American Serengeti. An actual bison herd stopped traffic for ~10 minutes, and I had a front row seat!
Stats:
Miles run- 19
Miles hiked- 29
Miles biked- 7.5
Miles on the river- 8
Miles driven in Yellowstone - 735
Miles on a horse- enough to create sore hips and lower back
Wildlife spotted- Herds of Bison, wolves, bighorn sheep, elk, marmots, deer, brown bear, black bear with 3 cubs, marmots
Best meal- my camp neighbors in Gardiner brought me their leftovers after I returned to camp late- strip steak with fajita seasoning, sautéed onions and carrots
Showers- almost every day!!
Mosquito bites- multiple fresh bites, multiple bites in various stages of healing