Day 9 Old Faithful

Day 9 - Day 9 Old Faithful

Old Faithful

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Boy oh boy, was it ever cold last night. When we awoke at 0700 in was 40 degrees F. There most certainly was frost on the pumpkin!

We joined Marje and Ed for a trip to the Upper Geyser Basin. Once there we:

1. Toured the visitor's center;

2. Participated in a ranger led walk/talk about the geothermal activity in the area;

3. Watch and photographed several geysers including Old Faithful. Marje and Anna Marie got splashed by the Lion Geyser when it erupted unexpectedly;

4. Checked old the Old Faithful Inn, an amazing example of classic rustic architecture;

5. Dine on Antelope sausage, bison chili, Rocky Mountain trout and elk burger (all farm raised) in the Inn.

6. Viewed and photographed Keplers Cascades;

7. Attended a ranger talk about the successful reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone;

8. Talked, planned future stops around the fire ring and then cooked dinner and toasted marshmallows over the wood fire.

9. Gathered in the trailer for dessert and hot chocolate.

After bidding our guests good night, we relaxed a bit before hitting the sack. We have another full day planned for tomorrow.

NB. During the guided trail walk in th Upper Geyser Area, Ranger Lori talk a bit the "Geyser Gazers" and the great wealth of information they give to the interpretive rangers.

I suggested that it would be a great group to join. Of course, we'd only join if we could get a senior rate for the dues. These senior members would be called the "Geyser Gazer Geezer."

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Day 8 Dars Bars in Dem Hills

Oh no, the propane system on my sister's Motorhome isn't working. They can't use the stove, water heater or refrigeration. They have to find a place to get it fixed. After spending the day in West Yellowstone, MT, they returned. The repair guy couldn't't do the job.

While they were gone, we

1. walked to Yellowstone Lake;

2. hiked up to the visitors center (1.2 miles round trip). One must traverse a suspension bridge that crosses over a deep ravine;

3. Joined a ranger hike on Lake Overlook Trail. It's rated as a moderate trail. One short section has a steep 700' vertical rise. At the top, one can see spectacular views of the lake, the Absaroka Mountains, Mt. Sheridan and, beyond the the the Grand Tetons. Much of the trail goes through areas that were severely burned in the fire of 1988;

4. walked through the West Thumb Geyser Basin;

5. enjoyed a lunch of trout and buffalo meatloaf (both were farm raised) at the Grant Village Lake House Restaurant;

6. participated in a Ranger Program on Bears;

7. heard Bull Elk bugling;

8. Saw a momma grizzly bear and two cubs moving through the campground;

9. heard stories that a wolf pack in Hayden Valley chased a Elk. Several accounts reported that this event took place at 1830 hours. That's the location were we photographed the Bison herd yesterday. We left just after 1800 hours so we could get back in time for the Ranger talk;

10. We also heard a report that a wolf pack tried to attack a Bison. It was reported that the Bison put his head down and held his ground. The wolf pack (5 animals in all) backed off and left the area.

11. Grilled chicken and baked potatoes over the wood fire (delicious!);

12. sat around the campfire with Marjorie and Ed, and planned tomorrow's activities.

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Day 7 - Yellowstone National Park, WY

Yellowstone or bust! Hey, it's only 150 miles away! Piece of cake!

We left Greybull a little after 0800 hours. We took Highway 16 all the way to Cody and then to Yellowstone. Along the way we:

1. saw a pronghorn on the side of the road, the apparent victim of an auto or truck accident. The speed limit is 65 mph on this two lane road;

2. drove thru Emblem, WY(pop. 10). Amazingly, the town, if you can call it that, has it's own Post Office;

3. saw a marker noting the Bridger Pass;

4. saw wild mustangs frolicking in the grassland;

5. drove thru Shoshone National Forest;

6. stopped at the visitors center to learn about the Buffalo Bill Dam. It made for an interesting stop along the Buffalo Bill Scenic Byway;

7. saw snow in the mountains in Yellowstone. The Absaroka Range is partially in Yellowstone;

8. stopped at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center and General Store;

9. set up camp in site 78 in the Grant Campground. We'll be here for six days;

10. took a ride with Marjorie and Ed to see the Black Sand Basin. It has a boardwalk where one can see geysers, mud pots, hot springs, and fumaroles, not to mention Sunset Lake and Emerald Pool;

11. straddled the Continental Divide;

12. saw and photographed Elk and Bison;

13. attended a Ranger Talk about Wapiti (Elk).

We made it back to camp by 2100 hours. We had a light dinner and a walk around the campground before turning in.

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Day 6 - Custer SP, Black Hills NF, Mt. Rushmore, Bighorn NF

Sightseeing starts today! And we're traveling with Marje (twin sister) & Ed.
Here's what we did and what we saw:
1. Toured portions of Custer State Park;
2.  Toured portions of the Black Mountains National Forest;
3. Saw the Needles, a spectacular mountain top geological formation that had been considered for the Rushmore project;
4. Took a Ranger led tour of Mt. Rushmore (Was it right to deface the mountain?);
5. Prior to visiting Mt. Rushmore, we saw the monument to Chief Crazy Horse. His likeness is being sculpted on a nearby mountain. Started in 1948, it continues to be a work in progress. Donations and entrance fees provide the funding;
6. Entered Wyoming; stopped at the visitor center; learned about the Vore Buffalo Jump (see vorebuffalojump.org); passed on the 40 mile drive to Devil's Tower;
7. Departed I90 for Route 16, the scenic route to Yellowstone. There were several stretches with a 6% grade, the longest being 14 miles. There were two hairpin turns that included a 6% grade. The truck was up to the challenge;
8.  Drove the scenic drive through Bighorn National Forest;
9. We didn't see any Big Horn, but saw lots of mule deer and several Pronghorn (antelope).
10. We arrived at the Greybull KOA, at 2000 hours.

Day 5 - The Badlands and Custer State Park

We slept so well that we decided to sleep in today. We didn't leave our campsite until 0700! Today's destination is less than 400 miles away. There is little in the way of development between Sioux Falls and Rapid City. From I90, one sees undulating hills of grassland. The view seems to go on forever. This country seems desolate. Today is a good weather day but it's not hard to imagine how harsh it can be in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Now imagine it with unbearable wind! Our first stop was at a visitors center that featured exhibits about the Lewis and Clark expedition. The center is located on a ridge overlooking the Missouri River. We were able to capture some of the great views. We got off the highway to take the 60 mile loop through the badlands. What an amazing place!  We made the obligatory tourist stop at Wall Drugs where I enjoyed a nickel cup of coffee. We finally saw trees again when we approached Custer State Park, our home for the evening. On the way to the park, we saw bison dung on the side of the street. We haven't seen any of the big beasts yet. Maybe tomorrow? We established our camp in the Game Lodge CG of Custer State Park. Marjorie and Ed came over for a visit. We be caravanning and camping with them for the next month. Interestingly, the lodge right next door served as the little White House for President Calvin Coolidge and his family for three months during the summer of 1927. 

Days 3 & 4

Day 3 - Bloomsburg, PA to Chicago, IL
Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Starting out a week later than we had planned means we'll have to make time in order to get to Yellowstone before the cold weather arrives. Oops, it might be to late to avoid all the cold weather. Yellowstone's average daytime high temps for September is in the low 60's. The lows are in the low 30s. Light snow is in the forecast for later in the week.

Today's drive started early. I didn't get much sleep overnight. After fueling, we were on the road just before 0600 hours. I set the rest area in Portage, IN as our destination. At 610 miles, it's a bit further than the original destination in Elkhart.

We plugged away only stopping for fuel, lunch and a quick nap and two coffee breaks. We averaged 57 mph not counting about two hours of down time. We arrived at our destination in 12 1/2 hours covering a total of 610 miles. We had to contend with a steady rain for the final 100 miles. Driving became more tedious and slower.

Today's drive was all on I80. Shortly after starting out, we encounters a sign welcoming us the the Pennsylvania Wild. This is a mountainous region of state an national forest with a very sparse population. It's easy to imagine the dilation an remoteness of the area before construction of the interstate.

The hills of Pennsylvania eventually give way to the rolling terrain of the Ohio farmland. Sign posts suggest that Cleveland and then Toledo aren't far off, but neither is visible from the highway. In Indiana, development and commerce are very evident near South Bend and Elkhart but the rest is similar to the rolling farmland of Ohio, at viewed from the highway anyway.

We stopped about ten miles short of Gary, IN, and only about 40 miles from the Windy City. Clearly the sights will be different tomorrow.

Chicago, Chicago, that toddling town... We made it through the Windy City without a hitch at 10:30 PM! Why oh why would we do that? We had already settled in for the night at the Portage, IN rest area. This rest area is the last on the Indiana Turnpike and, more importantly, the last rest area before Chicago. We were parked between an RV and an 18 wheeler that was shut down for the night. Just as I was getting ready for a good night's sleep, the RV up and leaves only to be replaced by a tractor trailer, left idiling by the driver who promptly fires up a generator. The noises coming from this behemoth were enough to wake the dead two counties away! At about 2100 hours, we decided to move to a different location. Since we had the truck running we decided to fuel up as well. That would save precious time in the morning. Low and behold, the rest area was overflowing with trucks. We couldn't squeeze into any place in the entire place.

We ended up driving through Chicago while putting another 50+ miles on the odometer. We got a great night's sleep in a rest area clear on the other side of town.
Day 4 - Chicago, IL to Sioux Falls, SD
Thursday, September 15, 2011

The good news about our 0500 departure from this rest area is that we've already driven through Chicago. We didn't see much of Chicago, but now it's clear sailing to Yellowstone!

Sights along the way included the typical metropolitan area urban sprawl around Chicago. Rockford, IL and Madison, WI showed signs of hustle and bustle along the highway. I was surprised at the volume of traffic around Madison.

In the early afternoon, we crossed the mighty Mississippi River into Minnosota, home of 10,000 lakes, Luthern bachelor farmers, and prairies. The fields are so huge they must be measured in square miles rather than acres. Most are planted with seed corn and soy beans, as far as we could tell. In addition to their crops, several of the farms produce electrical energy from wind turbines, planted, so to speak, in the corn fields. We saw hundreds as we drove along I90.

The terrain isn't as flat as I expected. The prairie is very rural. One can drive for a couple of hours without seeing any homes. Barns and silos are more common than houses!

We finally decided to call it a day as we approached Sioux Falls. That's right campers, we've made it to South Dakota!

Day 2 Underway... After a Visit To The Dermatologist!

Day 2 - Day 2 Underway... After a Visit To The Dermatologist!

West Creek, Bloomsburg, Portage

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Our experience with Accredited Dermatology was not pleasant. Suffice to say the Doc was late, very late. Once started, the procedure went well. He only needed 17 stitches to close up the incision. The nurse gave Anna Marie a pair of suture scissors since I won't be returning for the Doc to remove them, she'll do the deed. I hope she doesn't faint!

Once back at Belleplain, we broke camp and were underway by 1530 hours. We were in stop and go traffic on the Schukyl Expressway for about 40 minutes but things cleared and we arrived in Bloomsburg by 2030 hours. We dry camped in a mall parking lot for the night.

	17 Stitches! [Map]		Perspective! [Map]

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