Tuesday June 3rd, 2008

The previous few days were really nice, bright and sunny but today it was beginning to stay overcast most of the time.  It was a chilly morning when we got an early start from the Pocatello KOA and headed North toward Yellowstone.  It was pretty obvious that we had gone a long way north since the temperatures were quite a bit lower.  South of Idaho Falls we found a fun place to take a rest and do a short hike.  It's just a turnout to a rest are but is part of Hells Half Acre.  Lava flows had created a huge coverage with black gaseous looking rock formations that had walking (cement paths) and hiking trails running through the hillside.  Off in the distance to the west you could see the remnants of volcanoes that permeated this region thousands of years ago.  Quite interesting and has a beauty all it's own.  A great place to stop for a break.  Passing through Idaho Falls and on the northeast side of town we kept our eye out for a truck stop that should have been on our left.  We stopped there in 2004 and decided it warranted another stop this year.  Back then we found the best tasting and best selection of pies we had ever seen.  Gosh, they must have had 25 or so flavors on the menu.  Sadly we could not find it or simply missed it on the road out of Idaho Falls.  We spotted a big carved Indian head just on the outskirts of Idaho Falls and then the long flat fields of potato farms started showing up.  It is hard to believe how many miles of potato fields we saw with the huge mounds of "dirt with doors" that we were sure were potato storage.  We have similar much smaller mounds at home that we call the potato cellar, or just "the storm cellar" and lots of people call them "fraidy holes".  Tornados you know.  It wasn't long until we got our first look at the mountains on both sides of the road and spectacular valleys!!  Green and lush with farms and homes scattered about here and there, some on the slopes of the mountains.  Cattle and horses roaming around some with heads down hard at work.  It would be hard to imagine this whole valley covered in snow.  On past Palisades Reservoir and I think the Snake River.  Wow!  We were tempted to pull over many times in this heavily forested area that ran beside the river.  The view was just amazing!  One year when we drove down this valley there were people rafting the river.  I guess it's just too cold for that today.  The day was overcast and some of the mountains had their noses stuck up through the clouds and all the mountain tops were snow covered.  Finally!  Jackson!  We LOVE those antler arches at the square in downtown Jackson!  Are they not so unique that they just say "JACKSON".  Ah and to our back was the great ski slopes of Jackson Hole now all green and grassy looking like big wide winding roads down the mountain side.  As we passed through the downtown area of Jackson we got our first look at the Grand Teton Mountains peeking over the buildings.  Wow!  And they have their noses stuck in the clouds too.  Jackson has several pieces of art along the roadway so keep your eye out for those.  There are elk on the east side of the road near the visitors center and lots of other pieces of art on the left side as you go out of town.  Keep your eye out for airliners flying down the valley toward the airport.  It's a surprising sight making it appear that the airliner is going to land in the valley.  Well, we HAD to stop at one of the turnouts and get not only some pictures of the Grand Tetons, but to get the obligatory tourist photo beside the Grand Teton sign.  It had gotten a bit chillier so we bundled up for the stops beside the road.  The Snake River has shown up on the left side of the road and it wanders down through the valley and on many occasions the road is above the river.  Keep your eye out for herds of buffalo and other wild life like moose and bear.  Next, Flagg Ranch.  As we got north of Moran Junction it became pretty obvious that Yellowstone had received more snow than we thought.  We set up the RV and had a little time to go out and explore.  Yes, Yellowstone got lots and lots of snow this year.  Lewis Lake was frozen over and there was lots of snow along the sides of the road.  Back to the RV for dinner and plan on a bigger day tomorrow.

Here's a detailed PDF map of Yellowstone.  Yellowstone.pdf

And here is a detailed PDF map of the Grand Teton's.  If you will look at the middle near the top where it says Information Station you will find Flagg Ranch.  Grand Tetons.pdf

Lava flows at Hells Half Acre in Idaho

Potato farm in Idaho

Potato storage

Near Swan Valley?

Not Elk, some artwork on a hillside North of Jackson

The road to Flagg Ranch

Lewis Lake

Just outside Idaho Falls on highway 26 to Jackson WY

Potato farm

Jackson

Here are my girls with our obligatory tourist picture

Lewis Falls

Lewis Lake

Wednesday June 4th, 2008 

We had a target of going all the way to Mammoth Hot Springs knowing full well that we would get side tracked enough that we would not make it all the way and d sure enough we did.  It was really chilly this morning so we bundled up with heavy coats.  The drive north along the winding tree lined road crosses the Continental Divide three times and we had to stop at the first one to get a picture, and the second one, and the third one.  The drive up the west side of Yellowstone is really pretty and there are several pullouts along the way.  Unfortunately most of them were still full of snow at this time of year.  There is one pullout overlooking a valley that has a great picture and explanation of how the 1988 fire swept over the valley and caught the west side of the park on fire.  Just as we rounded the corner to make a stop at West Thumb we saw our first wildlife of the trip.  A very shaggy elk wandering around just off the parking area.  We had never seen elk with their winter coat on and this guy looked amazing with that warmer coat on.  There are board walks around all the geysers, pools and fumaroles for good reason.  Not only is the ground soggy and wet but there can be "thin" coverings over some of the fumaroles that may break through under a persons weight.  The West Thumb geyser area goes right up to the edge of Yellowstone Lake and as a matter of fact there are a couple of fumaroles at the edge of the lake.  Since there was such a chill in the air the geysers had a continuous fog rolling over the tops of the hot geyser water.  The wildlife liked the extra warmth of the geysers and were roaming the area, hanging out near the hot spots and we wondered if any of them ever accidentally stepped in a hot spot.  The geysers look very blue due to the chemicals in the soil but the waters are really crystal clear and boiling hot.  We read many horror stories about animals and humans falling into these boiling hot waters.  Needless to say most of those incidents were fatal.  We circled completely around the West Thumb geysers on a really long board walk that ran right up to the lake and as we headed back to the parking lot we leaned over one of the rails and spotted... Bear tracks!!  That certainly made us more aware of the type of wildlife that hangs out in Yellowstone National Park.  As we headed out of the West Thumb area and started the climb up the road toward the continental divide we got a really good view of Yellowstone Lake and the mountains beyond the lake.  Kepler Cascades came up on our left and we couldn't resist stopping for a look.  There was a nice boardwalk overlook that let us get out over the trees so there was a good view of the falls.  The next stop was at Old Faithful and the Yellowstone Lodge. Yellowstone Lodge is like taking a step back in time and today it was a relief from the cold as I'll bet it was back in the old days. 

First few miles of road

Winter coat

Bear Tracks

View of Yellowstone Lake

Kepler Cascades

Restored tour buss

Geyser basin NE of Old Faithful

At the second Continental Divide

West Thumb

At the edge of the lake

Do you see the elk laying down?

Getting a drink?

Kepler Cascades

Inside Yellowstone lodge

Waiting for Old Faithful

Saturday June 7th, 2008

Yellowstone - Trying to leave - It snowed and it snowed and it snowed.

Yellowstone Tour 2008