Last Day in Yellowstone Part 4

Canyon Lodge Inn restaurant

Day 4....We are on our last day in Yellowstone, October 24th. The inn closes in just a few days, on the 31st, to get ready for a changeover in tourists from fall to winter, then the park and the inn will reopen. The night before, we ate at the 50's style restaurant in the inn as it was the only place open. We tried both breakfast and dinner there the two days we stayed. The food was meh, some of the items were cold on the buffet and Sparky got food poisoning that night. It was touch and go whether we would be able to explore on our last day in the park, but Sparky was determined to get out for one last drive to see Grand Teton National Park. We had never visited there. After popping some immodium AD, she was good to go the next morning, despite being up half the night.....She was bound and determined we were going to visit Grand Teton National Park!

the porch

Canyon Lodge-Rhyolite section of the hotel

As an aside...the lodge was beautiful. We picked a nicer room with a porch that we thought would be a nice addition. If you get a ground room, the porch has such a big overhang, it's very dark. We were disappointed in that part, but the room itself was gorgeous. We think an upstairs room would have a prettier porch based on some web photos we saw.

Off we went.....our wildlife tally for our last day in the park was: 5 elk along the river, and 4 separate bison sightings of lone ones out in the fields. The low last night was 20 degrees so it was frosty cold out there! It's a 1.5 hour drive from Canyon Lodge to Grand Teton National Park which is worth a trip while in the area. We stopped at beautiful viewpoints along the road into the park, (route 89/191/287 South) but nothing was open, everything was closed due to the government shutdown. The road through the park is a loop of about 42 miles and takes about an hour to an hour and half to drive if you are stopping here and there.

T.A. Moulton Barn

Sparky wanted to see one of the most famous sites in Grand Teton National Park and that was the Moulton Barns on Mormon Row. These are two iconic barns constructed in 1908, by John Moulton and T.A. Moulton, and they are close to Jackson Hole, in an area called Antelope Flats between the towns of Kelly and Moose, Wyoming. The John Moulton Barn has a four sided roof, and the T.A. Moulton Barn has a triangle shaped roof. Because of the setting of the Tetons in the background, it's a VERY popular place for artists, photographers and tourists who try to capture THE perfect photo of the setting. Note: the roads into Mormon row are full of potholes and just dirt road. The barns are closed so you can't go inside.

John Moulton Barn

After exploring Mormon Row and the barns a bit, we headed into the town of Jackon Hole. Sparky loves the antler covered arches in each corner of the park in the middle of the town. 

Such a cool town with unique shopping and stores galore. Sparky loved a store that was loaded with mostly cowboy hats and boots. We were hungry so we stopped at the Roadhouse Pub and Brewery and had a great lunch. Eldy had fish and Sparky had Chicken Tingo Tacos. Yum!

There was a National Museum of Wildlife that Sparky REALLY wanted to stop at, on the outskirts of Jackson Hole, but it was late in the afternoon and we were running out of time...Next time, for sure! The outside of it was very very cool. Also for next time, we hope to see three other famous landscape photo op sites. They are: Schwabacher Landing, Snake River Overlook, and Oxbow Bend. 

By the time we arrived back at the inn, it was snack time and we headed to the bar area of the restaurant. There we met some great people and had a wonderful converstation with a fireman who now does snow removal and readiness for the winter season of the park and a couple from Hawaii with whom we shared RV information and travels. The fireman told us some great stories about winter rescues, animal sightings, and how the park gets ready for the influx of winter tourists with the use of special snow machines that level and pack the snow to establish a base layer for snow machine and snow mobiles. There is about a six week interval between the fall closure of the park and the winter opening. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting other people and conversing with them that night!

We left the next morning at 8:00 AM for Bozeman. We saw a lone bison with a very frosty back laying in the field waiting for the sun to warm him up. We saw more elk by the road. We had a wonderful trip with wonderful weather and think mid October is a great time to visit the park. The number of tourists was WAY down. There was never a time where we had trouble finding a place to park nor were any sites too congested. It was really great! We really lucked out on the weather, nasty winter weather was predicted and arrived about two days after we got back home to Indiana. 

Thank you for following along with our travels and best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Bozeman to Dallas to Indy-this is Dallas at night

We Take a Fall Trip to Yellowstone N.P. Part 3

 

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Day 3....Today we moved from the Kelly Inn and Suites in West Yellowstone to the Canyon Lodge located inside the national park. We had reservations for the Rhyolite Lodge, one of the buildings in the Canyon Lodge complex. Until we could check in mid afternoon, we were back out on the roads heading in a northeast to southeast direction today. On the map, the area we were exploring is called Canyon Village. There are waterfalls there, and the not-to-be-missed Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, an amazing geological feature within walking distance of the lodge IF you were up for about a mile hike. 

the hike to lower falls

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is spectacular in its own way, with a BIG waterfall in the middle, and viewing points at the top of the falls and towards the lower falls. You can hike your way up or down, they are short distances of less than a mile. What Sparky forgot is the elevation factor of 8,000 feet. While hiking down to the lower falls from the parking lot, which was a steep decline and NOT wheelchair friendly, she neglected to think about hiking back UP. Needless to say, for a 3/4 mile hike, it was arduous coming back up but well worth it to see the falls and the canyon. She thought her heart was going to beat right out of her chest! She stopped many times on the climb back up. Whew! The falls were spectacular whether you were looking at them from up above or down below.

Here is another view....

A view of the canyon from higher up at the falls viewing platform...

We hopped back into the car and continued our drive south towards Fishing Bridge. On the way, we passed through Hayden Valley which Sparky remembered reading some blogs about the foxes in that valley and the Lamar valley. Sure enough, we saw a red fox. Look-- a coyote photobombing in the meadow! Coyotes do kill foxes sometimes for food or to eliminate competition for resources. Hope this pretty fox was not going to be dinner!

Lots of bison along the way, crossing the road with their calves...

We arrived at Fishing Bridge, which is a historical area and facility complex inside the park. There is an RV park there, a visitor center, and a store. It's named for its famous old bridge but fishing is prohibited now. Maybe because of this? Haha...This big guy passed right by our car on the bridge. Eldy could have reached out and touched him easily. A "Touron"--a tourist who is a moron, on the other side of the road coming towards us, actually reached out his window and touched another bison following behind. The bison startled and jumped back in defense. Sparky yelled out, "YOU DUMB****!!!" (She's not holding back in her senior years, explains a sheepish Eldo.) Luckily, for the touron, nothing happened. He's lucky the bison didn't head butt the car!

right next to our car!

After exploring the area, we headed further south, past West Thumb, which includes more mudpots, boiling springs, and geysers, heading back to Canyon Lodge. It was a beautiful day, full of wildlife, and wonderful weather. One more day to go....see you tomorrow!

We Take a Fall Trip to Yellowstone Part 2

Day 2...Here is the map that shows where we started the first two days while we stayed outside the park. We entered Yellowstone National Park through the West Yellowstone entrance each day as shown on the left side of the map directly west of Madison. Today we were headed north to Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner, a very small town just right outside the Custer Gallatin National Forest.

We left early in the morning, around 8:00 AM.

The temps were in the twenties, the trees and brush were coated with frosty ice crystals. It was beautiful!

Along the way were many wonderful geysers and wildlife....And a lovely river running alongside the roadway, the Gibbon River. The bison were often spotted alone and not with a herd. 

The elk were plentiful....and could be seen in herds in the distance or in small groups close to the roads..

young bull elk

We stopped at Gibbon Falls, which had a beautiful stone cropped viewing point....The photo doesn't do it justice...It was a major, roaring waterfall.

We traveled through the Monument Geyser Basin, and the Norris Geyser Basin....

We passed Sheepeater Cliff (don't you just love that name? Is it because they fall off the cliff to their deaths sometimes?) No photo of that one, but on we went, continuing north....

We traveled the Golden Gate Bridge of Yellowstone, quite the engineering feat for its time. Bridging the canyon was one of the most expensive early road building projects back then. The view is of the canyon and Rustic Falls with pullouts to look for wildlife and mountain goats.

We arrived in Mammoth Hot Springs. There is a small local herd of elk in town that is supported with protective enclosures and here the elk lounge around town wherever they feel like it! Like this big guy. He was in somebody's yard for several hours, just soaking up the sun.

Right outside the town of Mammoth Springs, you can see a geological formations called the travertine terraces. Interactions of water and limestone coat rock cliffs that creat chalk white travertine. They are among the fastest changing features in the park. They emerge quickly and can dry up just as fast. They look like snow covered cliffs. 

In town you can see Fort Yellowstone and take a self-guided tour to see how the Army protected the park in the early days.

From there, we continued north to see the Roosevelt Arch which is the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. There are two little doorways, one on each side for people to walk through and get their photo taken. 

As we drove closer to the north park entrance, we spotted herds of pronghorn.

Pronghorn are neither sheep nor antelope as people commonly believe. They are unique North American mammals. They do resemble both sheep and antelope, because of their deer shaped bodies and their speed. Their horns are different from deer antlers and they are more closely related to giraffes (!) than goats or sheep. Their antlers have a hairlike sheath called keratin, and they are shed and regrown annually. They are the fastest land animals in the western hemisphere! When Sparky kept seeing more and more of them, she just HAD to get out of the car and get just a LITTLE BIT closer to get this photo....At which point, a ranger came out of the Roosevelt Arch entryway and chastized Sparky (very nicely) to get back in her car and move along, much to Eldo's chagrin. Sparky knows better! (But you can't tell her anything when she's trying to get a photo! laughs E.)

Back in the car we went, continuing on to Gardiner, a very small town of about 750 people. There didn't seem to be much there to explore, so we headed back home as it was now getting to be much later in the day. We thought we would top off the day with a visit to Old Faithful, probably the most famous geyser in the world? which was south of Madison on the map. Back we retraced our drive with lots of wildlife along the way to keep the repeat trip from being boring. Eldy is so great about stopping frequently to get multiple shots of elk and bison, and he watches the landscape continually to help Sparky find photo ops. He's a great driver, too.

Old Faithful erupts about every 90 minutes, but can vary from 50-127 minutes or 60-94 minutes. The visitor's center posts on a board about when they think it will erupt. Longer eruptions lead to longer waits so the time predictions change often. The visitor's center was gorgeous! Old Faithful is visible through the main window if you wanted to stay inside. We went outside and sat on benches and waited. It was a chilly afternoon!

Twenty-three minutes later than the scheduled time, "thar she blows!"

There was another geyser that blew before Old Faithful, and it was a fairly big one farther away, so that was a treat as well! We think it was the Lone Star Geyser. 

It was getting late, time to find something to eat! The town was gradually closing down for the season, and a lot of places had closed. Bullwinkle's was a restaurant right downtown in West Yellowstone that was open and Sparky wanted to go there just because of the name. (She LOVED the show Rocky and Bullwinkle when she was young and she can do a mean imitation of Bullwinkle's voice.) The moose theme was everywhere, and a model train ran around the perimeter of the ceiling inside the restaurant. The food was very good, and we highly recommend it.

Tomorrow, we head into the park itself to stay at the Canyon Lodge for our last two days of exploration. We'll see you there! (Part 3)

We Take a Fall Trip to Yellowstone National Park! Part I

Sparky loves it when Eldo decides we need a change of scenery, he more so than she. She works in the schools at least three to four days a week, he stays home and researches on the computer and learns all kinds of random things on Youtube but mainly about travel--how to travel using points, best destinations for reasonable vacation costs, how to travel in style on a budget, how to manage points for hotel stays and flights, you get the picture. Eldo is VERY good at it. He plots and plans for WEEKS usually. He has accumulated a LOT of points thru credit card usage and using the right card when charging things to get bonus points, etc.,  and has helped Sparky visit her daughter in Houston for almost zero cost mainly using travel points. A WIN! 

So weeks and weeks ago, he started a research project for somewhere we could go during Sparky's October Fall school break--five days off of school and where should we go? He never gets specific until he's got some terrific, frugal costs for a destination and amazing flight bargains. Sparky heard off and on about Carribbean cruises, trips out west, fall trip to Alaska, (OOOOOHHHH, YEAH!)-- but too cold for Eldo, maybe a midwest trip to the U.P.?--you name it, he was investigating it. He was waiting to see how Sparky's health was, too, as far as planning longer flights and traveling. Sparky is doing well with her cancer, it's not in remission, but no new activity and that's good. Lots of bathroom problems but she never knows when that is going to happen, and that's bad, so he took that into consideration. He waited till Sparky had the all clear on her echocardiogram, the latest test, and within a day of getting those positive results, he booked a trip for us to Yellowstone National Park! The park shuts down for a couple of weeks at the end of October, (October 31st) to prepare for winter visitors, so we had several days of reduced visitation in the park, plenty of room to park at the viewing points, and somehow, we got extremely lucky with the weather. It was milder than normal for that time of year and sunny every single day. It was brisk (in the twenties or low thirties in the early mornings, then it would warm up to the 50's-60's during the day.

The flights were free using points, and points also paid for our rental car. We stayed for two nights outside the national park in West Yellowstone at the Kelly Inn and Suites, then our last two days were at Canyon Village Lodge inside the park, close to Old Faithful. 

We flew from Indy to Dallas, to Bozeman, MT. These crop circles were so interesting to see from the sky on our flight west!

The Bozeman International Airport was so beautiful, lots of wood beams and western decor. And our first bison sighting! haha...

Coming into the airport was an experience in itself with the beautiful mountain backdrop through the airport windows.

Kelly Inn and Suites

It was a 90 mile drive from the airport to West Yellowstone, the town we stayed in the first two days. The Kelly Inn and Suites had beautiful western decor and the outside was just as interesting as the inside! They had multiple bears that were wooden or plaster(?) sculptures climbing up the outside walls of the hotel!

Just as soon as we checked in, we were off for our first drive on the main road through Yellowstone N.P. to see some geysers and go looking for wildlife.  The park was being run by emergency personnel as the government was in the middle of the shutdown. Our gate attendant was an EMT and we thanked him for helping keep the park open.

As far as exploring the park, we got a map from the park station entrance and for each day we plotted out a different route-working our way north then east, then the next couple of days east and then south, looking and marveling at everything we saw. Our last day we ventured into Teton National Park. This was our second visit to Yellowstone in many many years.

The very first day our tally was: 4 bison, 5 elk, a bald eagle and a herd of elk with one bull male. Sparky got so many bison photos that she isn't sure which day which bison were seen, but it was every day! The elk were usually quite close to the side of the roads....Or there would be large herds out in the meadows grazing. 

The features of the park are many....there are over 10,000 thermal features there, the world's largest concentration of geysers, colorful hot springs, bubbling mud pots, and fumeroles (hissing steam vents). Geysers erupt sporadically or sort of regularly (Old Faithful, 23 minutes late the day we saw it),  The hotsprings were amazing--they are pools of hot water-the most famous being the Grand Prismatic Spring and Morning Glory pool. They are the most common thermal feature in the park. They vary from roiling, boiling hot water to clear and calm pools with great depth and color. They have no constrictions so water rises, cools and sinks easily.

the edge of Grand Prismatic Spring

The mudpots are hot springs where acid from volcanic gases and microorganisms decomose the surrounding rock into clay and bubbling mud. Mudpots are also hot springs with a limited water supply. The smell of sulphur in the air was overpowering!

One of our favorites was the fumeroles, the hissing steam vents. We saw a very powerful one in the park while we were there, and it was very LOUD! It was a ROAR of hissing steam! They are the hottest features in the park. The small amount of water in the fumarole flashes into steam before it reaches the surface. Fumeroles hiss, whistle or thump if the pathway is restricted at the surface. 

The one disadvantage we had while visiting-the days were so chilly during the day, even with the sun out, sometimes the steam made the air so cloudy, it was difficult to see the beautiful waters of the springs. But Sparky managed to get a couple of decent photos on one day when we retraced out drive before the clouds of steam enveloped everything.

Morning glory Pool

She caught this photo that captured the surrealness of the steam and the early morning vibes at the park. It's one of her favorites, another tourist enjoying the scenery.

The first day was a very promising start to a wonderful trip. Be sure to check out the rest of our journey in the coming days....Thanks for reading!