The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone – Neighboring Wonders

When we last left you, Anna and I were headed out for a quick overnight stop in Coalville, Utah on our way to Dubois, Wyoming and the Grand Tetons National Park. The stop in Coalville was interesting initially since the journey to the park required some white knuckle mountain pass driving. After arriving we were assigned a site in the rear section of the park that required driving over two rickety little wooden bridges taking us across creeks. The second bridge had marker posts on each side that only cleared our mirrors by six inches. This campground was much larger than we had originally thought with large family groupings. They also had one of the best backyard food shacks that cooked us up two of the best burgers ever.

 

Dubois, Wyoming would be our next stop and our home base while viewing the Grand Tetons. While preparing to leave for Dubois, we discovered the seal for the fuel cap on the passenger side of our coach had been leaking and diesel fuel had completely covered the lower half of the motorhome as well as the passenger side of our CRV. It was somewhat difficult to clean, but all is well that ends well. I was able to clean, and treat the seals on the fuel caps so they no longer leak. The seven hour drive to Dubois was even more of a white knuckle mountain drive than the drive to Coalville. Wind gusts on I-80 and the state roads were hammering.  On our last RV trip on I-80, the Wyoming Highway Patrol had us exit the interstate until the following morning due to high winds in the area. Residents say that the wind blows so hard that they will fall over if the wind ever stops blowing!

 

After a much needed night of rest, we journeyed to the Grand Tetons National Park. Although we have previously been to the Tetons, the splendor of the jagged peaks rising from the valley floor to the clouds still seemed surreal. We had great weather our first day there and were blessed with clear views of the range. Our daughter Sarah and her family flew to Jackson Hole near the south end of the park and visited with us for an afternoon picnic overlooking Jackson Lake. Later we drove to the top of Signal Mountain for some birds-eye views of the park.  Sarah and family returned to Jackson and we left the park in time to return back to our coach to take care of our Golden Retriever (Camper), and have breakfast food (my favorite) for an early Father’s Day dinner. The next morning we decided to sleep in instead of making an early run to the park… Yay! Later that day, We attended the BarT-5 Chuckwagon Dinner Show with Sarah and family. It was fun watching our grandsons (Langston and Griffin) helping the wagon driver with the reins on the draft horses. The show was good. The fiddle player (Olivia) stole the show – man could she play the violin.  At the end of the evening Langston returned with us to our motorhome so he could travel with us and experience the beauty of Yellowstone National Park. 

 

The next morning we drove our motorhome north through the Grand Tetons National Park, and then in through the south entrance of Yellowstone and out the west entrance to Yellowstone to Grizzly RV resort in West Yellowstone. We stayed at Grizzly in 2017 and we were glad to return. This is a great facility and location. Over the course of the next three days, we traveled to all of the “must see” features and areas of Yellowstone, with the exception of Lamar Valley. We found the Bison rich area of Hayden Valley to be comparable to Larmar, with the exception of Grizzlys and Wolves, both of which are viewing rarities to the average park visitor.  Even when grizzlies are spotted, the park rangers are usually quick to move any park goers along without allowing time for photos. We did see one grizzly crossing in front of our car early on our second morning on the west entrance road, but he exited the area so fast that we were not able to take any photos. We also saw numerous Elk. We hit the motherlode of the Bison population in Hayden Valley on our third day. According to our grandson Langston (who became our official wild animal counter) we saw over 250 bison that day. I think it is safe to call his computation conservative! We had lunch that day on Yellowstone Lake and managed to finish and put everything away just before the raindrops started.

 

In addition to the wildlife, we were able to visit most of the geothermal features inside of Yellowstone. Langston said he liked “Old Faithful” the most. My favorite was a surprise. My brother-in-law (Wes) and I drove to the Great Fountain Geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin to attempt 9:00pm sunset photos. I surveyed the spot earlier in the day, and was informed by a park ranger that their best guess on a future eruption was around 10:00pm that evening, This geyser normally erupts twice each day, but the evening we were there was explosive with eruptions blasting anywhere from 75 feet to 200 feet in height. Storms were in the area and we initially thought the chance of a having a good sky for a sunset was a bust – but then it happened. The clouds opened a window and the Great Fountain Geyser thunderously awoke with almost a dozen eruptions. Watching the steamed spray misting back to earth in front of the setting sun was breathtaking. A night I will always remember.

 

Saturday was Langston’s last full day with us. Everyone wanted to sleep late and Langston wanted to visit the Grizzly-Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. The discovery center was fascinating. They had a grizzly named Sam who weighed in at 933 pounds. I can’t imagine crossing paths with an animal like Sam in the wild! Langston finished all of his requirements for his Junior Ranger Badge for Yellowstone and Anna presented him with his badge at the entrance to the national park. That boy can go. He has more energy than 10 adults combined. He is also a very inquisitive and creative 9 year-old. He has a unique perspective on many aspects of life. During one of our morning conversations I asked him if he knew the difference between adults and seniors. Without hesitation, he responded “yeah… seniors don’t have jobs!”  Well now I know! We took Langston to the West Yellowstone airport Sunday afternoon so he could fly to Denver to connect with his mom (Sarah). The employees at the airport were super nice. Even the TSA workers had common sense… go figure. It was Langstons first flight by himself, and also his first experience walking out on the tarmac. He turned around while climbing the stairs to board the plane – kind of like the president does. I told him to just make sure he doesn’t fall when waving. When Langston arrived in Denver, he and Sarah caught the return flight home to Nashville.

 

We had only one unfinished piece of business on our last day at Yellowstone. Anna and I had tried on several occasions to go to the Grand Prismatic Spring. The sheer number of people trying to get there each time we drove through the area was overwhelming. We couldn’t even park the car within a half-mile of the parking lot. Finally, my brother-in-law Wes told me about a trail (The Fairy Trail) he discovered that led to an overlook where I could have a clear view of the spring. It was not a bad hike – only 1.7 miles round trip and reasonably flat. The view was perfect, even with the thousands of little people walking around in the distance. We would normally go to a popular site like this a daybreak before all of the tourists come out of their holes, but the lighting at the Grand Prismatic Spring is best for photography in the bright noon sun.

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As you travel down the road of life, keep it between the mustard and the mayonnaise. Our prayer is that the Lord watches over you and your loved ones and keeps you safe.

As always, we hope to see you down the road!