This was a bucket list trip. Janet has always wanted to go to Yellowstone. I had been there once back in 1977 but just for one day. I had also driven through Glacier that same year on my way into Canada but neither of us had been to the Tetons. Besides, really seeing these parks over multiple days was a far cry from just passing through.
We left on September 1st and headed towards Portland. Our plan was to boondock in a truck stop in Troutdale that was supposed to be RV friendly. Well, someone forgot to tell them that, but they did say we could park by an abandoned restaurant that was next door, so that's just what we did. We got together that night with our friend, Karen, to catch up and have dinner. The next morning we headed east. It took us two days to get to West Glacier from Troutdale. Our faithful GPS decided to take us around Kalispell on a series of dirt roads. My - did we kick up dust! Eventually we arrived at our base of operations for our days in Glacier - the San-Suz-Ed which is a bed and breakfast as well as an RV park. The owner makes wonderful baked goods - we sampled some but had to restrain ourselves.
We spent 3 days at Glacier. The first day we drove around the south side of the park and stayed away from the Going to the Sun Road because we were going on a Red Bus Trip that would take us on that road. We went through the East Glacier entrance to see Lower Two Medicine and Two Medicine Lake. We saw one bear cross the road in that area. We got lost on our way to Sherburne and ended up crossing the Blackfeet Reservation. When we got to the open plains we knew we were headed in the wrong direction so back we went. We did see some interesting statues on the edge of the reservation.
Coming back from Lake Sherburne we had a young grizzly jump out in front of the truck, about 20 feet away. What a beautiful animal! I couldn't get a photo though as a ranger came running up yelling and banging stuff to scare him off. The country there is beautiful - no question.
On our second day we went out to Lake McDonald Lodge to catch a boat ride. It was a pretty day and we got some nice photos. Our last day in Glacier was for our bus trip. Unfortunately, it rained overnight and the clouds were hanging around the mountains all day. It drizzled on and off so the bus driver put the top back on for part of the trip and took it off again when we were on our way back. It was a bit disappointing because it was so cold and gray, but we still had a good time.
We left for West Yellowstone the next day and arrived at the KOA campground two days later - exactly one week after we left home. We went first to the IMAX theater and spent the afternoon there seeing all three of the movies they had. We also bought a number of souvenirs including Janet's moose pajama bottoms. She really wants to see a live moose on this trip. The town is full of painted buffaloes with various themes. We managed to get photos of quite a few of them though I'm not sure we got them all.
The next day we drove the northern loop of Yellowstone including Mammoth Hot Springs and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. I didn't see any of this on my first trip here - I only remember seeing Old Faithful. The colors in the hot springs are beautiful and the gorge in the Grand Canyon was very impressive.
The following day we did the southern route highlighted by two eruptions of Old Faithful. I was amazed at the number of people traveling at this time of year. We thought the crowds would be small because of school being back in session, but I guess that's what all the retired people think! And, with so many kids being homeschooled these days, there were also quite a few families with children. I cannot imagine trying to get around here in the summer with two or three times as many cars!
On our last day in West Yellowstone we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. They have two packs of wolves and about 10 grizzlies that are on display. The grizzlies come into an open area that has been seeded with food for them to find. They put one or two bears out at a time -usually siblings or bears that have been together for a while as they are usually solitary animals. There is no human interaction other that observing them in a fairly natural setting. They are magnificent.
We had to head over part of the southern loop of Yellowstone to get to the Grand Tetons so we stopped at Old Faithful again. What fun to see it three times in two days.
We headed for the Grand Tetons on the 12th and got to a park a bit east of the mountains in the afternoon. There were wildfires down around Jackson and there was also a fire to the east of where we stopped. The air was hazy from the smoke but we hadn't seen anything yet! In the morning the smoke was lying on the ground like a thick fog. We couldn't see the mountains though they had been visible the night before. What we found each day was the smoke lifted as the day progressed, it just took a while.
Everyone told us we would love the Tetons - they are what you think of when you think of the Rocky Mountains. And that was true - they are tall jagged peaks and they just pop right out of the ground. There are no foothills. One minute you're in the valley and the next you're in the mountains. They only last for about 40 miles - but what a view. o
Everyone told us we'd see a moose in the Tetons - that they were all over the place. Well, we asked around and found out where they were sometimes seen, but we couldn't find any. Then we were told there was a mother and two calves just off this trail around Jenny Lake. Well, it was much more of a hike than we bargained for and we were just turning around in defeat when one of the people near us spotted the mom lying in the brush. We could see her ears and also the ears of the two calves, but we really couldn't see them very well. We had just stepped away and were starting back when Mom stood up! Yeah - Janet finally got to see her live moose. It was great!
Our last day there we went to a cookout just outside of Jackson. That was quite an extravaganza that they have down to a science. They can serve something like 600 people in less than half an hour. There was a show after dinner that was also very good. We had fun and were glad we took the time to do that.
On our trip home we stopped to see the Craters of the Moon in Utah. It was quite reminiscent of an area in Oregon called Belnap Springs that is covered in black lava.
It took us three more days to get home from here. We stayed one night in Vale, just into Oregon and our last night in Bend at a really fancy park where we had a free night. We were looking at them for our RV group, but it was way too fancy and too many rules. Great for one night though - and especially because it was free! The next day we had to pass through Sisters where there was another big wildfire burning. Lots of smoke - no fun to live there right then. We got home that evening - September 19th after a 3400 miles jaunt. It was a good trip - worthy of a bucket list.
