Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Idaho Falls

After Tuesday's cookout, we didn't fall to sleep until almost midnight, so a 6:00 am sprint wasn't filling either of us with optimism. Instead, we slept in until 7:00 or so, had a sit-down breakfast at the Two Bears Pancake House recommended by the motel proprietor, did some shopping for picnic supplies, and finally drove into the park a little after noon, headed for the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Taking the North Rim Drive around the canyon, we were able to find parking at Lookout Point, Grand View, and Inspiration Point. This picture is from Grand View. It was raining intermittently, but at each stop we were able to get out and walk to the overlook. 

The canyon is incredibly steep and I felt really unsteady any time I got near the edge. The height's didn't bother Kathy at all. One of the other visitors, who noticed my uneasiness, started telling me about the book Over the Edge, accounts of tourists who backed up while taking selfies and subsequently fell into the Grand Canyon. He told us it had to be reprinted each year to keep it up to date. The conversation didn't make me any less apprehensive. 

Both Inspiration Point and Grand View had longer paths that wound down to the river, but I resisted Kathy's entreaties to take the hike down. (I don't mind going down. It's the coming back up that bothers me.)

From Canyon, we headed south around Yellowstone Lake, then down towards the West Thumb Geyser region and past old Faithful, intending to arrive at the Midway Geyser Basin and the Grand Prismatic Spring. The drive around the lake was lovely. I didn't realize how huge it is. In the Hayden Valley we saw more herds of bison, but the traffic didn't stop like it did yesterday.

We stopped to see the Mud Volcano and the Dragon's Mouth Spring. Both were a nice chance to stretch our legs. This is a picture of the Mud Volcano, which, despite it's name, is now just boiling mud pool, having last erupted in 1872 and blown off it's top. The Dragon's Mouth Spring is a little spooky; the steam makes all sorts of growlings and grumblings which emerge from the cave.  

We arrived at the Grand Prismatic Spring about 6:30 pm. We were able to find a parking space, although, surprisingly, the parking lot was still almost full.

The wooden pathway around the Spring is very well designed, with a one-way loop that keeps everyone moving in the same direction.

After one last picture of the Spring at sunset, we headed back to West Yellowstone in time for an 8:30 dinner at the Serenity Bistro around the corner from our motel. Kathy had Panang Chicken and I had Buffalo Tortellini. The food was good, but the lighting was too dim to get a good picture. We got to bed before 10:00 pm.

We tried to get an early start on Thursday, since we didn't know how long it would take us to head through the Grand Teton National Park to our destination at Idaho Falls, since driving through Yellowstone took much longer than I would have anticipated from the distances. I had originally wanted to spend Thursday night in Jackson, and then head to Idaho Falls, on the Snake River, on Friday. However the prices for hotels in Jackson convinced me otherwise. I don't mind staying at the Motel 6, but I won't pay $300 a night to do it.

Surprisingly, there was much less traffic along the road through the Grand Teton National Park. We also never encountered a park entrance, perhaps because we came directly through from Yellowstone. At the top of the park we stopped at Flagg Ranch and had a delicious breakfast. I had the Mountain Man trout and eggs, while Kathy had a Frittata. The prices were very reasonable, and we both thought that food and service was of higher quality than we found in Yellowstone. Our waitress told us that was because Grand Teton has a different concessionaire than the one in Yellowstone.

Driving through the park, we stopped several times to enjoy the view, and Kathy was able to snap this picture of a horseback ride from out of her car window.

At one stop, another tourist volunteered to take a picture of both of us. Despite the crowds, almost everyone we met was kind, patient, and friendly.

Well, except for the car driving behind me, who honked at us when I stopped in the main intersection to take this picture of the famous "antler arch" in Jackson. We drove through Jackson at noon, and it was a zoo. I'm not a great driver in a congested environment, and trying to shoot pictures and drive at the same time added to the stress. In any event, both of us thought that Jackson itself was overrun with tourists, and had a little bit of the Sedona vibe.

We got to Idaho Falls by 4:00 pm and followed the robotic Google Maps voice downtown to the Destination Inn. In my old age, I find I like staying in mid-range three-star chain motels like the Comfort, La Quinta, or Hampton Inns. For some reason, on the date we were arriving, those hotels were all going to cost between $200 and $300 instead of the $150 or so we usually pay. However, the Destination Inn was only $200, and so I chose the Paris Room because I took Kathy to Paris for her 60th birthday. Kathy thought that it was a sweet idea, but as a hotel room it was kind of impractical.

The main reason that we stopped in Idaho Falls was to visit Glenda Kaser who retired from the Women's Ministry at Calvary Chapel, and moved to be closer to her children and grandchildren who live there. We got a tour of her beautiful new house and went out to dinner. It was great to spend time with her and see and hear of how God is blessing and using her in her new home.

On Friday morning, we turned off the fountain in our hotel room, and headed south through Salt Lake City. The headline on today's Salt Lake Tribune was Salt Lake has the worst air in the world as wildfire smoke moves in. I had seen pictures like this from places like Beijing, but had never before driven through it. It was a dense brown fog from Ogden, though Salt Lake, and down through Provo. It didn't start to clear until we reached Fillmore, Utah.

We stopped for the night in St. George, Utah. We aren't seeing anyone or anything here. It's just the furthest we can comfortably drive in a day. Our Comfort Inn hotel room cost $89, with breakfast. In the morning, we'll start out early again, and are looking forward to pulling into our driveway by tomorrow afternoon. It has been a great two weeks!

Yellowstone

We ate breakfast at our hotel on Monday (self-service waffles for me, possibly-powdered eggs for Kathy) and were on the road to Yellowstone by 7:00 am. Instead of going down Highway 191 through Big Sky, which is the fastest route, we drove east on Interstate 90 to Livingston, where A River Runs Through It was filmed, and then went south to enter the park at Gardiner, Montana under overcast skies.

The North entrance to Yellowstone Park is marked by Teddy Roosevelt's arch. From the arch we drove down past the Boiling River, one of only two swimmable thermal features in the park. There, a hot spring gushes into the Gardiner River, and I had my trunks, but, unfortunately, it was closed for this season. Bummer. 

In Mammoth Hot Springs we toured the visitor's center which was filled with early photographs of Yellowstone Park, as well as exhibits on the history of Fort Yellowstone, the Army installation which predated the establishment of the National Park. There were also some cool animal exhibits.

In Mammoth Hot Springs we walked the trail to the Lower Terrace, where the carbon dioxide combined with calcium forms colorful travertine terraces covering the entire mountainside. After walking up the trail to the lower terrace I found myself really tired. I think it's because instead of eggs for breakfast, I ate the waffles that were offered at our hotel. So, with Kathy's blessing, we skipped the longer walk to the upper terrace. 

Driving a little further towards West Yellowstone, we pulled over to this boiling pool with a steam vent that sounded like a jet taking off.

By then, we were hungry. We saw a picnic sign and found a parking place at Sheepeater Cliff, named for the original Shoshone who inhabited the area. The basalt columns reminded Kathy of the Giant's Causeway which she had visited in Ireland.

Continuing on our way, we pulled into several overlooks like Undine Falls. But, at the main park "sights", such as the Norris Geyser Basin, the parking lots were all full, with lines of cars waiting to get in. We figured we'd get an early start in the morning.

In West Yellowstone, we stayed at the Alpine Motel, a property I found in my Moon guidebook, and which isn't listed on Booking.com or Hotels.com. It's two blocks from the main entrance, and the room rate was a bargain.

We got checked in, unpacked, and then went to dinner at the Buffalo Bar. It started raining just as we got to the restaurant. Because of the heat we've seen, I didn't think we'd need our rain coats. I'm glad we had them. The town is absolutely packed with vacationers, mostly, it seems, families with children.

It rained through the night. There was some lightening on the mountains, but it wasn't close enough for thunder. In the morning, it was still cloudy, but not raining. We left the motel at 6:30 am, and were at the Old Faithful Lodge by 7:30. There was plenty of parking.

We found seats in front of the geyser, and for the next hour, about 200 or 300 other people tricked in, filling all of the benches. We tried to find out when Old Faithful would erupt online the night before, but couldn't figure out the timing. Thus, we apparently arrived just as the previous eruption finished. (Unless they turn it off for the night!)

In the afternoon, we had a reservation for an Old West Cookout at Roosevelt Stables, near the Cooke City park entrance. Normally the roads in Yellowstone are arranged in a Northern Loop and a Southern Loop. This season, however, the road between Canyon and Roosevelt Tower is closed, so we had to drive around, back through Mammoth Hot Springs. We thought that since we got such an early start, we'd be able to visit the Norris Geyser Basin, but again, the lots were full, with lines out to the entrance.

Instead, we drove straight through to Roosevelt Stables, checked in for the cookout and ate our lunch at the picnic tables, while watching the passengers board the stagecoach. Then, we headed through the Lamar Valley to the Cooke City entrance. Because of the Canyon road closure, this part of the park was much less crowded than the Southern Loop which has all of the famous sights. Our guidebook called the Lamar Valley the "little Serengeti of North America". 

Because of the heat, rutting season began a little earlier this year, and the bison travel from all over the park to the valley to meet up. There were herds of hundreds, all though the valley. We saw bison rolling on the ground, digging up the earth as they "wallowed" trying to remove the last of their heavy winter coats. We saw four or five males making moon eyes, bellowing at, and following a single female.

When the bison got near the road (or crossed it), the cars would all stop. The bison seemed oblivious. I'm glad this wasn't happening in the crowded portion of the park.

We also saw antelope, elk, and two black bears. One of them was chased away by a ranger. This is the picture Kathy got out the window of the other. (You'll have to take it on faith.)

Because of the constant wildlife delays, we barely got back to Roosevelt Stables by 4:45. The Old Western Cookout in Paradise Valley has been a Yosemite staple for several decades. For the price of a good steak dinner, you get a ride on a wagon through some beautiful countryside, as well as a running commentary on the wildlife and history of the area.

The cookout is held at the site of the first "hotel" in Yellowstone, established as a place for the mail carriers to stop on the two-day ride from Fort Yellowstone (Mammoth Hot Springs) to Cooke City. The hotel burned down in the early 1900s, but it's still a beautiful valley.

Dinner was steak (very good and as much as you want), cornbread, coleslaw, cowboy "butter" beans, corn, watermelon, cobbler, and cowboy coffee, all serenaded by live cowboy crooner, and ending with a sing-along of "happy trails", delightfully off key. (At least I was off key).

After dinner, Kathy got to visit the team of Belgian Draft horses, Red and Rusty, which pulled our wagon.

On the way back, we invited to ride in the front of the wagon. We got back to our car at 8:00 pm and back to the hotel by 10:00 pm. On the way we saw several elk browsing beside the road at sunset. Tomorrow we're going to see Yellowstone Canyon and Yellowstone Lake. We're going to start in the afternoon, since the parking lots seem emptier as it approaches sunset.

Bigfork, Missoula & Bozeman

We left Kalispell late Saturday morning for the run down Flathead Lake to Missoula. Because we had slept in, we waited until we'd driven a bit before pulling in to the Echo Lake Cafe for a late breakfast, early lunch. The place was packed, but we were thankful that we could sit inside, in the air conditioning, until our table was ready.

All of the employees were women, and the food was Homeric (large and epic). Chicken-fried steak with home-made sausage gravy, fresh-squeezed orange juice, an enormous burrito filled with eggs and home-made chorizo sausage, and the best cinnamon coffee cake that I've ever had. If you're ever in Bigfork, Montana make sure to stop by.

It was almost 1:00 pm before we got back on the road. Over the sound system, Dave Robicheaux said,

Suddenly I saw Flathead Lake open up before me, so blue and immense and dancing with sunlight that it looked like the Pacific Ocean. Young pines grew on the slopes of the hills above the beaches, and the eastern shore was covered with cherry orchards.

And there it was. We pulled over to one of the small mom-and-pop fruit stands that dot the eastern shore of the lake and bought two pounds of sweet red cherries for the drive. With Kathy driving, James Lee Burke on the stereo, and the outside temperature past 100 degrees, we made our way to Missoula.

We arrived in Missoula late in the afternoon. We stayed at the Comfort Inn at the end of Broadway, right at the freeway interchange. Out our window we could see the big M high on the hill above the University of Montana, and right below, the Clark Fork River, where families sat on lawn chairs in the cold slack water near the banks to escape the 100 degree heat, and sunburned teenagers on inner-tubes, inflatable kayaks, and stand-up paddle boards floated down to the faster water.

A week of driving, sometimes on dirt and gravel roads had turned our car into a dusty ghost. We looked for a car wash, but only found the u-wash hand-sprayer establishments. Twice we typed "car wash" into our GPS and were directed to houses in residential districts. Perhaps the people living there had a car wash business, but both of us felt uncomfortable ringing the doorbell. Finally, at a Conoco station where we filled the tank, a young man directed Kathy to a full-service Metro Express Wash where we drove through the suds and the swishing brushes.

Once we were presentable, we drove downtown, to Camas park by the river, and visited the Carousel for Missoula, a volunteer-built, hand-carved carousel.

And, like the carousels of years past, every child, and most of the adults, couldn't resist trying to grab the brass ring from the dragon's mouth.

Right in front of the park, there is a large standing rapid, named Brennan's wave. This late in the summer, the water is low enough to reduce it to a fun riffle. 

When the water is higher, though, you can actually surf on the wave that's formed. (I don't think that it's as impressive as the standing wave surfing in the center of Munich, however.)

On to Bozeman

We turned in early on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning we were ready to go by 7:00 am. We had a nice, self-serve breakfast at our hotel, and drove out Hellgate Canyon for Bozeman. The speed limit between Missoula and Butte was 80 miles per hour, so we made very good time. We didn't stop in Butte, but we could see the giant open-pit mine from the freeway. I had wanted to take one of the many historic tours, such as Underground Butte, but none of them operated on Sunday.

We pulled into Bozeman a little after noon. It was too early to go to our hotel, so we spent the afternoon at the Museum of the Rockies, a place our guidebook rated as a "must see".

The big pull here is the dinosaur exhibits which not only include some neat Triceratops fossils, but a fascinating movie showing the excavations.

And yes, they do have a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Very, very large. In addition to the dinosaurs, they also have quite a few exhibits on the development of Montana and Yellowstone, Native American and pioneer artifacts, and so on.

The also have travelling exhibits that have nothing to do with Montana. Today, it was the Vikings. I thought of my metal-smith daughter Hosanna Rubio when I saw this gold harness.

Outside the museum is the Living History Farm which represents a homestead typical of those found in southwestern Montana in 1890 – 1910. The Tinsley house itself is an original 1889 homestead.

Outback we found a hand-pump. I thought that I'd take a picture to illustrate my annual lecture on primed sentinel loops, but, in fact, this pump had no need of priming. Disappointing. 

By 3:30 it was late enough to head back to our hotel. On the way, we stopped by Smith's groceries to buy some picnic supplies for our three days in Yellowstone. All of the clerks here in Montana were so nice. We got a room on the ground floor so we could park right in front. (The hotel has a pool and an indoor water slide. I brought my trunks, but I hesitated when I thought about trying it out. All I need is to throw out my back in the middle of our vacation.)

After unpacking, we went looking for dinner and ended up at the Montana Ale Works, where I had the traditional Montana Schnitzel and Kathy had a wonderful burger and a salad.  Then, back to the hotel to update the blog. Tomorrow, Yellowstone.

Going to the Sun

On Thursday morning, we slept in (until about 6 am or so) and then headed out for Kalispell and Montana, and Glacier National Park. Instead of taking the faster freeway route, we decided to take a longer, scenic drive through Sandpoint and Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. 

At Bonner's Ferry, we turned off on Route 2 and headed into Montana. We've finished Dune, and now we're listening to James Lee Burke's Black Cherry Blues, the first Dave Robicheaux book to take place in Montana. The mob miscreants that Dave is chasing are buying up land in Montana in anticipation of the approval of casino gambling by the legislature. In real life the law must have gone through, because as soon as we crossed the border, it seemed like every block there was a tiny old house that said "casino" in front of it. It was actually surreal.

Between Troy and Libby, we pulled over and hiked down to the river to see Kootenai Falls, the largest un-dammed falls in Montana. The temperature was in the high 90's, and the hike down to the river, at only .8 miles, sure reminded me that I'm not a kid of 60 any longer. (Another hiker we met coming up said that the smoke in the air made the climb much worse.) We decided to skip the swinging bridge over the falls, built in the 1930s, since that was a different trail.

We got into Kalispell before 4 and checked into the My Place hotel for two nights. I'd never heard of the chain before, but the room was very nice and included a small kitchen. We went out to a local chain restaurant, MacKenzie River Pizza and Grill where we shared a small bowl of Bison chili. Kathy had a huckleberry salad and I had a large Bison burger. (So hungry I forgot the pictures.) After dinner we drove the 12 miles to Whitefish, cruised through the quaint town center, and stopped at the lake to take this picture. Then, we went to bed early, for our visit to the park in the morning.

Glacier National Park is so crowded that this year they've instituted a ticketing system. From 6 am to 5 pm you not only need a pass, but a special entry ticket. There are 1,145 tickets sold for entry each day, and they go on sale 60 days before at 8 am. I was online, clicking right at 8 am, but by the time my click went through, there were only 450 tickets left. 

We got to the park entrance by 8 am (since we had to drive from Kalispell). I had to show my ID and the pass (since it's not transferable), and Kathy had to show her ID as well, since our National Parks pass is in her name. Our first stop was the Lake MacDonald lodge, built in the traditional National Parks style.

We used the restroom, walked out and looked at the lake on the veranda, but didn't hang around. Notice the haze in the air from the fires elsewhere in the state. There were no fires in the park itself.

Going to the Sun Road is the only road that goes entirely through the park. It was finished in 1933 and took a decade to complete. It's only 50 miles long, but the speed limit is 25 miles an hour, so it takes two hours to drive from Glacier West to St. Mary's on the east. That's without stopping, which is, of course, impossible.

The first stop we had planned was the Trail of the Cedars at Avalanche Creek. In the guidebook, I looked for trails that were wheelchair accessible, that way I could be sure that we could handle the walk. When we got there, at 8:30, all of the parking was full. 

Later in the afternoon, we met some ladies at the East entrance (who took our picture in front of the Glacier sign). They were staying right across from the park entrance and they told us that those without tickets showed up at around 5 am. So, by the time the park opened for the ticket holders, the parking for the E-ticket attractions, like the Trail of the Cedars and the Logan's pass visitor's center were completely full.

Never the less, the park is extremely well designed, especially for aging automobile tourists like us. There are pullouts for every scenic vista, and I really doubt that the top-ten attractions are any more beautiful, especially when you're sharing them with hordes of other tourists. This picture is of the Jackson Glacier (in the distance). A picture on the sign at the pullout shows the same, but much larger glacier in 1911.

I wanted to put up a sign naming this the Gilbert Glacier, but Kathy demurred. "It's just a patch of snow!" she said.

In a sense, visiting the less-seen sights reminds me of traveling to Europe. Some of the best times we had were in towns that weren't featured in a Rick Steve's guidebook. And, when we did visit a must-see sights, like St. Mark's in Venice, we showed up at 7 am, and had the whole square to ourselves.

The drive was a little hair-raising, with narrow lanes, twists and turns, and steep drop-offs to rivers miles below on the canyon floor. But, the surprising lack of traffic (everyone lined up to hike the major trails), and the slow speeds made it manageable. 

We stopped for lunch at a picnic table at Rising Sun, and then headed out of the park through Babb and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, and on to a dirt road into Many Glaciers. On the radio, Dave was making the same trip. We were stuck for almost an hour, as a road construction crew worked on the road.

When we finally got there, it was worth the wait. Many Glaciers Hotel is right on the lake and the view was impressive. Like Switzerland.

 

We visited the restroom, and then had iced coffee on the porch overlooking the lake. I had wanted to stay inside the park, but all of the reservations were sold out online. When Kathy and I went to the front desk, though, the friendly lady said that they had cancellations all of the time, and they actually had openings that day. That would be a real trip.

Because of the road construction, and our long drive back to Kalispell, we didn't stay long. When we got back to the Logan's Pass Visitor's Center, (the continental divide), at 5 pm, the crowd had thinned out and we found a parking space. Then, we followed the path (boardwalk) to the top of the ridge. If you were able to blow this up, you could see the path and the Visitor's Center at the bottom of the picture.

By this time, the winds had blown away much of the smoke, and the views were even more spectacular.

We didn't see any bears, but walking up the trail we did see a mountain goat and her kid, right by the trail.

By 7 pm we were exhausted. Driving back to Kalispell, and once Kathy got reception, she had a message from Pam Rozell saying that she was working all day at MudMan Burgers in Columbia Falls and that they closed at 8 pm. We got there five minutes before closing time and had a great time of fellowship with Pam and her husband Mike.  

As well as some really great burgers. We got back to the hotel a little after 10 pm pretty wiped out and sore. Even the "old people's hikes" are a little too much for me. It's now 10 am and we're getting ready to head out for Missoula on Saturday. Along the way, we want to stop at Polson, at the bottom of Flathead Lake, to get some of their famous cherries.