Going to Butte

Did I ever mention how much I hate driving the trailer in the wind? Well, double that. It was windy all the way from Rexburg to Butte. Very in some places, less very in others. Wasn't fun. Especially when the trucks passed me because they were going faster that I was going.

Most of the week before I left, the weather was gorgeous. Until Saturday. Then it clouded up. So, of course, it had to rain on Sunday, the day I left. Not a real serious rain, but enough to be annoying.

And then it rained the whole way, except over the Continental Divide where it decided to snow and hail. Apparently a winter storm has moved into the area, so it is cold, snowy and now only slightly breezy.

Oh well, at least I am here in Butte for a week.

Back to Yellowstone

On Wednesday, I went back to Yellowstone. This time, I went to the geyser part of the park (Old Faithful, et al). I had worked at the Old Faithful Inn (a very large log cabin) which is at the side of Old Faithful.

The first place I stopped was at Midway Geyser Basin. I tried to take pictures, but the steam was so heavy, I couldn't see the pools and small geysers. It was almost cold out, so the steam was probably heavier than usual.

The runoff from the geysers/pools went into the river (Gibbon I think) and made gorgeous patterns. Here's one.

In the pools that weren't covered with steam, gorgeous growths showed. There were miniature hoo-doos (different from the real hoo-doos) and lily-pad shapes floating in the pools. All in that gorgeous iron color. Comes from the various minerals/chemicals in the water.

While walking along the wooden boardwalk leading around the area, I saw a bison. Took his pictures. I must have made an impression on him, because he started following me, as if asking to have his picture taken.

After I walked away from him, he stopped and climbed over the walkway to get to the other side. Glad he didn't do that when I was at that spot!

When I got to the Old Faithful area, I walked around the trails to the various geysers and other water features. This one is called Grotto Geyser. There are holes throughout the structure that water comes out of. All these geysers are very noisy when they are spitting and sending out steam.

By the time I had gone a couple of miles around the circle, my left knee was almost non-functional, I had a blister on the bottom of my foot, and my left hip didn't want to work very well. I was going from bench to bench to get to Old Faithful with about 20 minutes to spare before it went off.

I am so happy that digital cameras have come along. When I got home, I saw that I had taken 208 pictures. If I had to buy that much film, I would be broke!

Although the day started out without any clouds, by the time I left, I looked like it was going to rain - cold, cloudy and windy.

But it was good to get back to semi-familiar territory. I guess things do change (not necessarily for the better) in almost 40 (!) years. On the boardwalks, they are replacing the old, worn-out, chemically eaten wooden boards with either manufactured "wooden" boards or concrete "boards." Much sturdier and longer lasting, One of the places I was visiting had a couple of broken boards (wood) or the boards were totally missing.

One thing about going to visit in the "off" season is that there were much smaller crowds. The parking lot at Old Faithful had enough parking space that a couple of football stadiums would envy. And probably 50 cars in the whole area.

Jackson and Tetons

I drove to Teton National Park today. I left early in the morning so I could make it there and back in a reasonable amount of time. It was an easy drive and most of the way, I could see the back side of the Tetons. 

The sun was just coming up, so the view is like my bleery eyes were able to see it.

I drove through the town of Jackson and got a picture of the antler gates. Typical small touristy town. Lots of souvenir shops and eatin’ places.

Teton National Park’s main road was closed to motorized traffic. Bikers and hikers were allowed, but that’s it until May 1. So, I didn’t get very far in the park.

I drove the main highway up to Oxbow Lookout (near Moran). I remember this view from 1978 when a group of us from Yellowstone drove here to climb Grand Teton. A thunderstorm and snow shortened that trip.

I drove back down the highway towards Jackson. At the Snake River Overlook, I took another picture. The scenery was gorgeous and I saw several elk near the road nearby.

I took lots of pictures of the Tetons, but this is the one I like the best.

I’m trying to decide if I want to come this way when I go back to California. That decision will have to wait until September.

Revisiting Yellowstone 2015

On Friday, April 17, I drove to Yellowstone. That was the first day that the West Yellowstone gate would be opened. I left early and got to West Yellowstone around 9:00 am, which was my goal. There were probably 30-40 cars in line already, and it took ½ hour to get in. Thank goodness I already had the Senior forever pass, so it was easy to get in. The one person price was $25! The pass was the best deal I ever got. $10 for eternity or until the world ends, whichever comes first.

Along the way to Madison and then on to Canyon, I met some buffalo (actual bison) on the road. Not too many on the way to Canyon. Just enough to get people to slow down.

I went to Canyon first. My goal was to hike the North Rim trail. The road was clear and dry, so I drove to the parking area. The major trail was still covered with 2-3 feet of snow, so I wasn’t able to walk the trail. So, I drove to the South Rim. The parking area overlooking the upper falls was open so I took a couple of pictures of the upper falls.

Then I drove to the site called “Artists Point.” From there, you can see the lower falls area and it appears that this is where the iconic pictures of the falls were taken from. As you can see, there is a lot of built up snow and ice around the falls. The trail was mostly open, with only a few areas covered with snow (like the walkway up to the highest level).

I left Artist Point and drove back to the North Rim where I was able to find a trail to hike down to get a view from the other side.

I also met a bird watcher from Bozeman who has been watching a pair of Osprey for several years. She had a very large telephoto (drool, green eyes, etc.) lens and was watching an osprey nest.

While we were watching, the male met the female in the nest and proceeded to mate with her. He then flew off (typical male) and she started straightening up the nest. I left and drove back towards West Yellowstone.

I stopped at Artists Paintpots area and hiked the (a lot of up and just as much down) trail around the Paintpot area. The various colors in the various paintpots explained exactly why it was labeled as such. Here are a couple of pictures of the colors, the springs bubbling, and one of the paintpots close up. Some of the pots were just holes.

Here is one of the large mud/water pots bubbling up. (05)

Also saw some bear tracks on the path I was following.

On the way back towards West Yellowstone, I met up with some more bison. I stopped to take pictures before they got out of my lane. This is a not very wide two lane road. I was on my side, the bison were on the other side. A couple got very close.

The last time I was in Yellowstone was when I worked at Old Faithful Inn in 1978 (that long ago?). Things have changed since that time. But I’m glad I was able to make the trip. The trees that have grown since the huge fire in Yellowstone many years ago made the hillsides look like green carpets. The geysers and hot spots were chugging away and the steam spread across the road in some places. I’m almost sorry I’m not working there this year!

Welcome to Winter!

Yesterday the wind was extremely strong. My trailer was rockin’ and rollin’ in the wind and as of about 5:00 pm, it was snowing. The fact that the snow blowing past my window was blowing horizontally was an interesting fact. Early in the day, it was blowing from left to right. Later in the day, it was blowing right to left! The fact that the lake I am at (really just a big hole in the ground) was showing whitecaps was more than interesting.

So, has winter returned? The news was saying winter storm, but I really hope it is merely a one or two day experience and it will turn nice. We’ll see.

Woke up in the morning to see snow on the ground. Snow! Here are pictures of the “lake” I am at and a picture of my truck. The snow is very light and powdery, but it is overcast. I don’t know how long it will last.

My Stuck Adventure

I drove out to West Yellowstone today. I wanted to be able to drive through if possible, but the entrance was blocked off. I guess I won’t be doing any sight-seeing until April 17. Unless I want to drive to the north entrance (which I don’t).

On the way back, I stopped at St. Anthony’s Sand Dune Recreation Area. Sand dunes are interesting and totally out of place in the middle of farm land. I drove into the area and read the signs that said “No parking on the shoulders”.

So I saw a “Day Use Parking” sign and turned in to go to the parking area. I didn’t realize the sand was as soft as it was and ended up getting stuck. I dug a deep hole for one of the tires using the tire as a shovel, but I was stuck. I got out and was going to call AAA for help when a very nice gentleman drove up, lassoed my hitch and pulled me out.

Here are pictures of the holes my tires dug in the sand. I also ended up with a pound of sand in each of my shoes.

I found a more solid place to park the truck and walked over to the dunes nearest the road. Here are a few pictures of the tracks left on the dunes by the wind. I’m guessing the wind wasn’t whispering to leave these marks!

 I drove home relieved that my truck isn’t limping (so far). I hope I didn’t do it damage driving into the soft sand and then attempting to back up.

Other than that little adventure, today is for resting up and relaxing.

Ready to Leave

This is going to be quick. My last day at Deer Valley was April 9 (Thursday). I relaxed on Friday and today (Saturday), I'm cleaning the trailer and getting rid of anything not absolutely required. Right now it is very windy.

I gave my truck a bath, so it isn't looking so much like a dirt road. It is supposed to rain here on Tuesday and I'm hoping it won't be raining on my trip to Rexburg.

I'll be staying in Rexburg, ID for two weeks and visiting Yellowstone during that time. On their website, they say they will be "plowing" the roads so they can open, but from what I've seen on their webcams, there is no snow. They don't officially open the visitor center until April 17.

Rexburg is also near the lava beds in Idaho, so I'll visit them too.

Deer Valley. I have at times hated the job and other times felt nothing. I wanted it to end NOW and then I didn't mind it going on. The people that I worked with were an interesting group and I enjoyed being with them. Some of them think I'm crazy ('cause I'm from California), but if you can't have fun at work, why bother!

Here's a picture of the group (minus Kate) at our official "breakfast" last Friday. It didn't last long enough, but the cashier's cage still needed to open for the day.

Bye bye Deer Valley Accounting. I'm off tomorrow to start my next adventure. I think the cats are convinced by now that this is a permanent stop. I really hate to disappoint them, but it's time to leave!