Vacation 2016 day 10

Edited to add: This is part of a series. The Vacation 2016 story begins here.

Aug 31

The point of this whole trip, as you may know, was to celebrate our 20th anniversary. When Bob and I married in '96, I had some money saved up and wanted to take a real honeymoon. I asked Bob to choose between mountains and ocean, and he chose mountains. So I booked us flights and rooms and a car to/in Jackson, Wyoming. We spent 10 days up there, I think, and went up to Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks, as well as to Mesa Falls in Idaho and out and about Jackson Hole. So, while Yellowstone was our "destination" this time, we really wanted to get down to Jackson.

A few days before we entered the park, a fellow traveler informed us at breakfast that the park was on fire. There were fires just north of Roosevelt-Tower, near the West entrance, and in the Grand Teton park between the South entrance and Jackson. The South entrance was closed our first 3 days in the park, but on the 31st, the day we had planned to go to Jackson, it opened. >big grin<

Grand Teton National Park is basically a path from Yellowstone to Jackson, and there are 2 roads that run parallel the length of it. One is a highway and the other is a park road. We took the park road, and took a detour off of it to reach the summit of a hill with a good view of Jackson Hole (the name of the valley where the town of Jackson is located). We had a snack/early lunch up there. We also stopped at a "village" on Jenny Lake. 

Jenny Lake

While in GTNP we noticed a management difference from Yellowstone. There were signs along the road in advance of each parking area, side road, or point of interest. Seeing what a help these small signs were, we really wished they were around in Yellowstone as well. The Tetons are amazing. A person could just stand and stare and wonder for quite a while. We all would love to spend significant time up there to camp and explore. We did see fires in a couple of places, and evidence of recent fires right across the main road. We spotted a herd of elk a great way off, and a couple of firefighter camps.

Chapel and Tetons

In Jackson we visited the new visitor center, which had clean "composting" bathrooms (we used to call it an outhouse) and a more or less interactive map, but no brochures to take with you. Thinking about it, it's fine and good to reduce paper waste and trash in the town this way, but maybe there should have been a free download for smartphones, to keep people from getting lost after they walk away from the building. 

We made it all the way around the square. Then we indulged - we ate a late lunch at the Silver Dollar Grill at the Wort hotel. Burgers were in the $15 range. Some had bison and some had elk, and we each tasted the other. It surprised me to find the bison tasted more gamey than the elk did. The service was excellent - our server even brought some entertainment by giving all the children a coloring page and telling them it was a contest. A few minutes later he took a quick glance around, declared Cedwryck the winner and brought him a "Shirley Temple." When we left we realized they were already closed for the afternoon.

When we started out from the hotel, a couple of "old ladies" crossed the street in front of us and said hi. Then one lady saw William, I think, and commented on how handsome he was.  As she realized the whole group was ours she started to make a remark about how they were all good-looking, but interrupted herself when she saw Cedwryck. "Oh! Oh! - That one!" she said, and was in danger of swooning. Cedwryck still blushes when I mention it. 

Elk horns on the square in Jackson

After some shopping and photographing, we went for a drive. We saw the hotel Bob and I had stayed in for the bulk of our time, and the nicer one we moved to for the last night. The big fancy Best Western has been turned into an Albertson's grocery store. We got more groceries there, and then went to a city park for a picnic supper. (We ate a lot that day!) No, I remember! We had ice cream at the park, for dessert from the lunch.

Considering the rather lengthy drive down from the cabins, we decided not to stay in town for the evening gunfight. We simply forgot to go down the side street along the elk refuge where Bob and I had often walked on our honeymoon.

Took the park road again through the Grand Teton Park, hoping to spot a moose or something, but didn't really see anything. Stopped again at the lake to try for more pictures and souvenirs.  It was dark by the time we got back to the cabins, and I had to pack up for the next day we were to leave.

Vacation 2016 Day 9

Edited to add: This is part of a series. The Vacation 2016 story begins here.

Aug 30

We had to leave our tiny cabins on this day, but not the park. I had booked two cabins for two more nights at the Lake Village area. Even though I booked our accommodations 10 months in advance, these were the only 4 days in a row that had 2 cabins available. I assume if you care you will look on a map to see the places I'm talking about, but anyway... The park roads make a figure 8, more or less, with a sprout out in 5 directions to the various entrances. Our first stay was at "Tower-Roosevelt," on the northeast side. Lake Village is in the middle of the east side of the lower loop of the "8."

So our 2nd full day in the park we packed up (I had cleaned the van the night before) and went on a long winding trip to the new place, stopping at some of the major geological features of the park.

I also got a craving for nachos, but cheese dip was nowhere to be found. Finally got a jar of salsa and a bag of tortilla chips, and that was refreshing. Yeah, most days we ate cheese crackers for lunch and Vienna sausages or ham sandwiches for supper. I tried to keep us in fresh fruit, though canned oranges were also popular, and carrot sticks and chips helped round out the meals.

But back to the sightseeing. We looked at more hot springs, mudpots, waterfalls, the Sheepeater Cliffs, and finally wound our way to Old Faithful. Here's another thing about Yellowstone. Old Faithful has to be one of the top 3 attractions, but it's a good 2 hours from any other major stop. And, though the eruptions are predictable, the ONLY place to find out when the next eruption is due is AT the "Old Faithful Village." (There's another thing. The park has its own little language. There are pulloffs and picnic areas scattered here and there, but the major tourist spots are called villages. Some are larger than others, but most have a central parking area, a lodge or restaurant, and a store and/or gas station, post office, ranger station, or museum).

 

 Anyway... when we arrived, we walked straight over to the geyser, where a nice paved area with new composite-wood benches waited for our viewing pleasure. Several people were seated, waiting, so we picked out a spot and settled in to wait and see what to do next. I heard some folks talking about the time, and realized it was about 30 minutes until the eruption. So some of us went in to the bathrooms, etc.  We got to see and video the eruption, and it was very nice. Then we looked around in the Inn, and poked into the shop. While I was in line to check out, a tv was playing a slideshow of park information, and I caught a slide out of the corner of my eye that indicated the next eruption of Old Faithful was 2 o'clock the following day. I don't know if it was am or pm, but I know if the park management expects people to be able to see its most famous sight, they need to do a better job of providing information. We got "lucky" and were able to see it with a reasonable wait time. But what if we had decided to walk around one more hot spot on the way over? Then we'd be stuck with tired and discouraged children (not to mention adults), trying to decide if we come back tomorrow or go on with our plans of seeing Jackson. You know? It's not like you can just pop over there and get back on the road.

 

We wanted to eat some "wild" meat, and hoped to find something at the Old Faithful village, but the big Inn required reservations, and neither of the other two restaurants had anything. So it was picnic again, and on to our new cabins at the Lake village.

The Lake was a big attraction back in the day, and there is a big historical hotel there, but we stayed in cabins around back. Once again, the boys got a bigger room, but the girls' room was nicer. Both had electric heat and indoor plumbing.

Vacation 2016 Day 8

Edited to add: This is part of a series. The Vacation 2016 story begins here.

Aug 29

The following few days didn't have a set of directions and instructions. I had a page of tips and "best of"s, two travel guides, a state map, and a park map. Naturally we didn't even hit all the highlights of such a large and diverse place as Yellowstone, but I was able to check a few lines off my list.

O.K. then. On the 29th we woke up early in order to look for wildlife in Lamar Valley. Prime time, prime location. When we started driving, the van's built-in external temperature gauge said it was 36*F. I had the heat and defroster going, and Bob asked me to run the windshield wipers so any pictures would be clearer. When the water hit the windshield, there was a pop, and a crack appeared across the glass, tracing a path from two existing chips (and beyond). As the temperature changed inside and outside the van (over the next several days), the crack disappeared and reappeared. It finally decided to stay, and is still there as of 11-2-2016 since it will cost about $500 to replace it - nearly our deductable.

Well. We drove all the way to the northeast park entrance and back. We spotted bison (those guys were everywhere), fox (just beyond the road sign indicating we had entered the Valley), a single elk WAY over there, a herd of antelope scampering about, and then more bison - coming straight at me! On the road, between a rock and a cliff! The head dude was charging the van. I came to a complete stop and he slowed and led the group around me and on down the road to a wider place, where they veered off into the grass. I rolled down my window and took a video. Could have touched them, but knew better. So that was pretty cool.

Not the ones on the road, but a good picture.

Back at the cabins, we had breakfast at the picnic table (it was warmer by that time), maybe showered or changed, and went back out. I just can't remember where! I will look at the pictures soon and probably edit this all out. I'm pretty sure we went to the Petrified tree, maybe Tower Falls, and for a mile and a half walk to see a waterfall that was dry!!! We had a picnic along that trail, supposing from the map that there had been a picnic area there, and having carried our supplies with us. Drove down the Blacktail Plateu Drive, which wasn't paved and was quite rough, hoping for more wildlife. Toward the end there was a deer right on the side of the road.

petrified stump. It was bigger than I expected.

OH! Heading back to our cabin that evening, Riah claimed to see a bear. There was a pulloff, and I came to a screeching halt, all the while denying the possibility. Bob and Riah jumped out of the van as a car from the other direction also careened into a parking space. Sure enough, a black bear had lumbered down the valley and hid behind a clump of trees. After a few minutes it came into view again, climbed a small pine tree, and proceeded to eat it. We watched for 30-45 minutes, as great crowds of visitors blocked the road to see. The second car on the scene contained professional spotters, and they kindly let us each look through their powerful lens to got a closeup of the bear. Ruth and Daniel even got to see, once they woke up. That was the highlight of the day devoted primarily to wildlife watching. I managed to not get a picture from Bob of the bear. Maybe tomorrow.

Having looked at the pictures, I remember walking the trail around a hot springs area. Because of the geothermal activity, that walk was HOT. I was glad that I finally found a sun hat to fit my head - a men's size XXL. On this walk I began to notice the effects of the current Yellowstone leadership's philosophy of wilderness before access. The untreated wood that made the boardwalk was quite rough, with nails missing in places; Elijah got a dozen splinters by leaning against the handrail; you had to watch your step at all times.

cuteness. This rail looks new.

This might be a good time to mention our driving arrangements. We "usually" sit in a traditional pattern of Bob driving, me in the passenger seat, and the children arranged throughout the back seats. However, we quickly learned that Ruth preferred me to sit beside her in the first back row, so I did as much as possible while Bob and Taryn took turns driving. Bob drove the more challenging sections, such as Colorado mountains in the rain, and Salt Lake City; Taryn likes long stretches of highway. But I was the designated driver while in Yellowstone, for a few reasons: I don't worry so much about falling off a cliff when I'm driving; I go slower so everyone can see more; Bob takes better pictures; Bob wanted to go on the walks, too, and driving hurts his knee. Sometimes I'd go for a good 30 minutes with my left hand behind me, holding Ruth's foot until she fell asleep (don't ask; I cannot explain), but overall we liked this arrangement the best.

We stayed a second night at the same cabin. I built a fire that night, though it wasn't as cold as the first.

Vacation 2016 day 7

Edited to add: This is part of a series. The Vacation 2016 story begins here.

My instructions for the day read:

Aug 28

Sunday morning visit with Lani and drive 5 hours to Arrive 1st lodgeRoosevelt Aug 28 (Sunday), stay 28th and 29th;

From Lani's, go north to Missoula, then onto I-90 (93 to 12 to "Old 93" to 90); (If leaving from Hamilton, go south, then east on 43 to I-15 to I-90) follow I-90 to 89, just past Bozeman. 89 south thru Gardiner (stop and look!) into the park.  Turn left on Grand Loop Rd to Tower Junction, then right to the lodge.

We'll have 2 roughrider cabins, each with 2 double beds. Showers and toilets are communal and "nearby." There is a "general store, restaurant, and service station."

Laundry facilities for both camping and lodging guests are located at Lake Lodge, Old Faithful Snow Lodge and in the camper services buildings at Grant and Canyon Campgrounds and Fishing Bridge RV Park

Limited cellular telephone service is available at Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, Canyon, Grant and Mammoth Hot Springs villages. ATT is best at Canyon Village.

To see Lamar Valley, go across the Loop Road and continue on 212/NE Entrance road about 14 miles (25 minutes).The Petrified Tree, located near the Lost Lake trailhead (looks like you can walk from Roosevelt to Lost Creek, then down to Lost Lake)

Well, all of us would have gladly stayed at my cousin's for many days to come, but Bob and I decided in her interest and let her rest. 

It was a beautiful drive over to Yellowstone. We stopped in Gardiner and walked through some shops (some were closed since it was Sunday), and then worked our way to our cabin. I think we stopped at a waterfall or something, and arrived in plenty of time for a picnic supper between the cabins.

We stopped at Mammoth Hot Springs. Now I remember! This is from the top of the spring, looking down over the "village"

Yep, stopped at a waterfall.

The hotel office was inside the restaurant, which was quite popular. There was a small store/gift shop to one side, and a dirt road behind to rows of tiny cabins. We had two cabins next to each other, and just around the corner from the toilets. The first cabin we opened was small but clean; the second was even smaller. As the boys had someone sleeping on the floor, they got the larger cabin. These facilities are deliberately primitive. A single light. Cracks in the walls. A wood stove for heat. But It was fun, and seemed appropriate to the park.

Our two cabins, with an alleged parking spot between them. Bob was able to get the van in there, but we couldn't open the doors. So mostly we parked on the "street."

I cannot remember what we did after our supper. Maybe when I look at pictures I will see something, but maybe we just went early to bed. Remember, we didn't have the dog, but we did have 11 people in 4 double beds. Ruth was supposed to sleep with Ella and I in one bed, and the two big girls got the other bed. But Ruth doesn't much like what she's supposed to do. Some nights she insisted on sleeping with Taryn. Some nights she just bounced and talked until she collapsed on the floor. Sometimes she wanted a blanket, and others refused one. And so on.  This particular night was kinda chilly, so I put her into footed pajamas. She fussed about the feet until she fell asleep. Then I tucked her between Ella and I, and we proceeded to snuggle closer and closer throughout the night. The big girls never got down their extra blanket; they just froze to death. Bob actually built a fire in his cabin.