Today we drove into Yellowstone again. We left pretty early for us and headed toward Old Faithful, mandatory tourist stop for any park visit. We arrived at the Old Faithful area about 50 miles north of our RV park by about 10:45 and found a pretty good parking space in a lot close to the geyser. By about 11:10 we were safely seated at the edge of the viewing area for this venerable attraction and learned that the 90 minute cycle between eruptions was almost over with the big squirt scheduled for 11:25. Right about on time, the big white hump started spewing steam followed by a great deal of water. This time, the stream of water did not go as high as I remember from the last time I was here. We figured maybe some eruptions are better than others.
We felt compelled to reward ourselves for watching the geyser so we strolled over to the old Yellowstone Lodge not too far away, found the bar and set ourselves up with some nice cold beers. It was a nice bar inside a gorgeous old hotel with an amazing lobby. All the framing is logs and heavy timbers and it is quite striking. Peggy made a quick recon mission into the gift shop but kept the expenditures to a minimum. On the way back to the car, we noted we had phone service and made some calls we were incapable of making from Flagg Ranch where we are camped. Between the beer, gift shop and phone, it was almost time for another Old Faithful eruption so we were treated to another display and the second one was a whopper. Lots of superheated water and foul odors came from the mound and rolled downwind to moisten some of the crowd.
We finally trudged back to the truck and headed northwest to Black Sand Basin where many colorful pools of boiling water, churning mud pits and hydrogen sulfide-laced emanations impressed us. The strange geology of the Yellowstone area offers views (and smells) of the hellfire underground’s effect on the surface and it is pretty amazing. Most of the water that comes out of the ground here flows into the Firehole River so we followed the river to Firehole Lake Drive, home to the Great Fountain Geyser which is a beautiful azure pond of clear water with steam and bubbles erupting from the bottom. They are plainly visible in the pond before they hit the surface and squirt water around and belch foul odors. We continued north on the same section of road to Firehole Canyon Drive which offers views of Firehole Falls and the river as it rips through a rock gorge near Madison Junction, gateway to the west from the park.
We continued a bit further north on the west side of the park before turning around and heading home for the day. Yellowstone is an extraordinary place with abundant big game, lots of little critters and colorful birds, spectacular geology and marvelous flowers and trees. We really have not found anywhere else on our travels that can offer better views of nature than here. There are also many stupid drivers, though, and a dedicated, sharp-eyed driver is necessary here. Brainless, impatient assholes will cross the road directly in front of speedy approaching traffic in order to get a certain parking place even when others are available. Oncoming cars will be noted with half their car in your lane and closing fast on tight corners. We salute this type of approaching moron with abundant horn honking and upraised middle fingers. Some jerks will see one of the thousands of bison here and panic brake to see these abundant creatures, blocking traffic and hope. The park forbids stopping in the road anywhere on Yellowstone’s max-45 mph routes but some arrogant bastards figure everyone can wait on them because they are so special.
We got a few pix and you can see them if you click here

Today we had no pressing chores so we devoted the whole day to exploring in Yellowstone National Park. Right out of our campground at Flagg Ranch, we turned north for two miles until we ran into the back of a long line of cars awaiting impoverishment at the Yellowstone fee station. Once we finally made it to the fee station, we showed them our access pass and were told to move along without parting with the $30 entrance fee.
Right past the fee station, the road starts climbing up a spectacular rock gorge with the Lewis River cascading down the valley. There were abundant wildflowers lining the road. The speed limit is only 45 miles per hour so passengers and drivers alike can enjoy the great passing scenery. Just because the speed limits are low, stupidity of other drivers was noted all along the way. We saw folks who could not keep it in their lane, folks who stopped directly in the traffic lanes and bikers coming the other way that put their left foot and front wheel on our side of the double yellow. The bikers promptly got back on their side as they noted Charlotte’s massive shiny bumper approaching with their left leg in the sights.
We took the counter-clockwise route around Yellowstone’s south loop. From the fee station we went to the West Thumb geyser basin for a stroll. There are many colored ponds with geysers in the bottom, fumaroles and other fart gas spewing features here with enormous Yellowstone Lake in the background. All the volcanic features here come with little gasps of hydrogen sulfide which smell like rotten eggs.
From West Thumb we continued northeast to the Mud Volcano which is a big hole full of bubbling mud erupting from the bowels of the earth. There is also a big cave with foul odors and gurgling noises emanating therefrom called the Dragon’s Buttpipe or something with ample steam and stench rising from the entrance. We continued to a section of the park called Canyon Village which is at the impressive Yellowstone Falls. From there we cut west across the park to Norris Geyser Basin and then south toward Old Faithful which is located at the south end of a gigantic geyser basin where the fury of the earth can be seen along both sides of the road. There are giant columns of steam and furious eruptions of water on all sides here.
From the Old Faithful neighborhood, we went back toward West Thumb, completing the loop and passing over the Continental Divide three times along the way. Yellowstone is a truly amazing place with fantastic scenery even without the volcanic highlights visible everywhere. Throw in the geysers and mudpots and steam breathers and the place is unlike any in the world.
We got some photos today and you can see them if you click here

Today was a travel day. We started the day in Thayne, WY. I don’t know why when I think of this place I am reminded of an old Alan Ladd movie in which this toeheaeded little squirt of a kid keeps whining “Thayne, Thayne, come back.” Oh… that’s Shane. In any event, we departed Thayne this morning and headed north up US-89 through the town of Jackson into Jackson Hole and ultimately into a place called Flagg Ranch. Flagg Ranch is on a bit of land between Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstorne National Park.
Peggy and I were in Jackson Hole during trips when we were young in 1979 and 1981. In 1979, the second night of our honeymoon was spent in the honeymoon cabin at Colter Bay near Jenny Lake in Jackson Hole. We discovered that, due to our rush to get out of town after our wedding, Peggy only had a really snazzy looking pair of high heels in her luggage. We drove into Jackson the day after our arrival at Colter Bay and bought her a good pair of boots that were more suitable for the terrain we encountered in this place. Jackson was a tiny town then with about 10 blocks of commerce downtown. Now it is a pretty large going concern with many tourists, much stupid activity by out-of-town drivers, art galleries and a Starbucks. There appeared to be few improvements since 1979 unless you consider unfettered tourism attractive.
Without bothering to stop except at the numerous senseless traffic signals, we finally trudged through town with the Barbarian Invader securely attached to the fifth wheel in Charlotte’s bed. We emerged from the north end of the Jackson Hellhole into the beautiful Jackson Hole, a gigantic glacial valley with moraines dotting the surface. The road (US-89 still) climbs very slowly through Jackson Hole with some relatively small mountains to the east but the magnificent Grand Tetons to the west. The Tetons are wonderful craggy rock monsters with little other than glaciers dotting their surface. They erupt from Jenny Lake and rise right up to over 10,000′ elevations. They are very impressive.
We continued north through Jackson Hole until we got to the non-community of Moran where we continued north on 89 to Flagg Ranch. Flagg Ranch is not really a ranch but a collection of facilities dedicated to RV camping two miles south of the south entrance to Yellowstone. The RV park has full hookups, there is a close store and gas station, tourist info is nearby but Verizon cell phone and data service does not extend to this rustic environment. This place ain’t cheap. It is around $70 per night but that’s much better than $100 per night in Jackson. There is no wi-fi. The spaces are pretty close to each other but they are situated in a grove of conifers offering ample shade. We were able to get some TV service from our satellite antenna because our assigned spot was at the end of a row and offered a relatively unblocked view of the southern skies, required for satellite reception.
Since our travel distance today was relatively short, we arrived at Flagg ranch early in the day and were all set up by about 1:30 PM. We re-boarded Charlotte and took a short journey of exploration into Grand Teton National Park which starts just south of our RV park at Flagg Ranch. We do not have to pay to get into either Grand Tetons or Yellowstone, thanks to our access pass. We drove into the northern edge of Grand Teton and turned south on a secondary road that passes down the east edge of the beautiful lakes at the foot of the Tetons. There are elk, pronghorn and bison here for a fact. There is also breathtaking, majestic scenery on all sides. There are not adequate superlatives in my vocabulary to describe this extraordinary place. I like it a lot.
We finished our loop down the east edge of the lakes and then turned back out to US-89 near the community of Moose before heading back home to Flagg Ranch for the evening. We will be passing through this place again before we depart Flagg Ranch next week.
You can see some of the pix we got today if you click here

Finding ourselves without any pressing tasks to be performed, we took all morning to eat some cereal, drink coffee and read. However, we soon both became sort of interested in looking around the local area. Yesterday, we went north on a big loop so today we went south on US-89 to Afton, about 15 miles south of our RV park in Thayne. Afton is a bit more populous than Thayne but that doesn’t mean their grocery stores are any more open on Sunday than those in Thayne. Do not attempt to buy any groceries in the Wyoming/Idaho border region on the Sabbath because you will not succeed.
We took a side road that ran west from Afton called UT-238. It crossed the few miles of valley floor before turning north toward a dinky little community called Auburn. Lots of horses and cattle and pastures here. We also spotted a bald eagle and some other, smaller raptors feasting on little creatures. Unfortunately, other than the gorgeous, bucolic scenery, there were no other interesting roads less than 75 miles long that we encountered so we went back to our RV park and watched movies.
There are no pictures today.

We were free to explore today. We chose to go north up US-89 to the town of Alpine. The road there passes through rolling pasture with big mountains running on both the east and west sides of the road. It is awful pretty country and there does not seem to be anyplace that isn’t covered with some sort of vegetation. Everything, except the flowers, rivers and buildings, is green.
Just north of Alpine, we turned northwest on US-26 and into Idaho. 26 skirts the northern edge of Palisades Reservoir which is a beautiful and striking lake liberally used by boaters and fisherpersons. The road starts to climb and we continued up it until we turned notheast on ID-31 toward Victor, ID. 31 starts climbing fairly steeply right away and is very twisty. Near the summit and the town of Victor, the road gets even steeper (10%+) before arriving at nice brake check and overlook where you can see down the steep mountains into Jackson Hole. From Victor, we turned on ID-22 for a few miles before crossing back into Wyoming where the road is designated WY-390 and leads to Jackson, WY.
From the summit, the road starts a long 10% downgrade that runs to more than 5 miles. Anybody who loses their brakes here will be getting to the bottom soonest but without the benefit of the road. There are many low-speed corners on the way down but the scenery is great for passengers. Peg kept the velocity pretty low on the downhill portion because she is not comfortable with squiggly roads and abrupt edges plunging to unseen bottoms. There are ample turnouts alongside the road to allow slowpokes like us to allow the insane to pass.
Down in the valley floor, we pulled into the town of Jackson, WY. Peggy and I had been in the town of Jackson in 1979, during our honeymoon trip across the U.S. It was quite small with quaint, touristy stuff like wagon rides downtown, architectural similarity between downtown buildings and nice decorative arches spanning the streets and made from the horns of animals that certainly won’t be needing them anymore.
It has changed, based on our passage through a bit of town today. There are many fancy European SUVs, considerable numbers of traffic signals, more roads, more people and more commerce. We did only see a bit of town as we skirted it on WY-390 and turned south once again on US-89. If I get more info during our travels into Jackson over the next week or so, I will amend my widely-ignored opinions.
Once back on US-89, we dropped down toward Hoback alongside the Snake River. It cascades down through a spectacular canyon where there are a few places to pull off the side of the road. Many rafters and kayak aficionados seem to enjoy this stretch of river because we spotted quite a few folks being carried downstream through this fabulous, rock-lined river canyon. We even found some…uhhh….river surfers, I guess. These folks were equipped with short surfboards and some paddle boards. They jump off some rocks at the edge of the river and quickly paddle out into the stream passing through a rapids section. They have found a continuously-operating standing wave which they can carve around on until they foul up and get swept downstream. About 100 yards downstream, the water flattens out into a nice lagoon which untalented or failed surfers used to get back out of the river. It was pretty cool. We had lunch here although it was about 6:00 PM.
We continued south on 89 until we emerged from the glorious canyon near Alpine. Dead south from there for about 20 miles and we were back in Thayne and back to our RV park. The wi-fi here is terrible. Phone doesn’t work most of the time, either.
The drive today was filled with terrific scenery. The Tetons are visible from a few short sections. The view from the overlook up by Victor is amazing. We spotted some big hawks along the way. The roads are lined with gorgeous scenery. The rivers are beautiful. There may not be a lot of things to do near Thayne but the scenery in this part of the world is breathtaking.
You can see some photos from today if you click here

We started our day by going through our Get-Out-Of-Dodge routine. Peggy took care of all the functions requiring finesse and talent while I pursued the more mundane sewer dumping and utility disconnection. We have printed lists of our individual responsibilities and we are happily a bit more efficient than we were 2 years ago when we started this adventure. Remarkably, we have not left anything behind when departing an RV park for over a year.
By about 9:30, we were on our way out of Fort Bridger headed north on WY-412 until we merged with US-189 until turning west on US-30. After a bit, we got to US-89, the road we intend to follow north all the way to Glacier in Montana. Once we turned north on US-89, we passed through gorgeous pasture lands between very nice mountains on each side of the Salt River Valley and some tiny Wyoming towns with names like Cokeville and Smoot before arriving at Flat Creek RV park just south of Thayne, population 366.
The drive today took us up over some alpine sections in the 7500′ range but the ascents were gradual and the road surfaces were well maintained. It is gorgeous here on the Wyoming/Idaho border and any drive is a scenic one.
Flat Creek RV Park is okay for overnight stops but it is a bit rustic. There are a few rental cabins. The spaces are all parallel and close together, giving that parking lot feel but the water, power and sewer work fine. The wi-fi must be an inside park joke because despite allegations wi-fi is there, it really isn’t. They have small, but tidy, restrooms and shower facilities and the road noise from nearby US-89 is negligible. Park staff we dealt with were very nice.
We shot a few pictures today and you can see them if you click here

Today we had no onerous tasks to perform so we were free to go exploring. We started the tour by driving almost two blocks from our campground to the entrance to Fort Bridger Historic Site. We parted with $4 a head ($2 for Wyoming residents) and pulled into the parking lot. Very close is a building used as a trading post in the 1880s. There was a young kid dressed up as a period soldier inside the building and he seemed quite sharp about both the history of the site and the contents of the store. Back in the day, apparently the store sold everything from nails to crank-operated butter churns. They had some old guns, some very well-crafted casework to hold goods and even sold nice beaver hats.
Once beaver hats and other fur items went out of vogue in the fashion industry, the death knell was sounded for trade in pelts. Jim Bridger, explorer and original trading post operator, got in trouble for providing his clients, Indians, with guns and booze which made numerous people angry. Bridger got out of retail marketing and went back to having fun. The US Army and the Pony Express and Mormons all added to the original trading post and some tried to burn it down although they weren’t entirely successful. At one time, there was a detachment of some 2500 soldiers here during some unpleasantness with the Mormons.
It was a tough place to survive in the 19th century. An Army group headed for Fort Bridger lost 600 cattle in one night due to the -16 degree temperatures and lack of fodder. Mormon zealots also attacked the column during winter, burning up supplies and leaving the soldiers with inappropriate cold weather gear and shelter.
We made a stop in the post museum which has some neat exhibits in it. They also offer some short videos of historical stuff which you can see while sitting in their nice little theater. They also have a small store in the museum and Peggy found some stuff she liked called Chipmunk Poo and something else called Moose Poop which she felt compelled to purchase. In fairness, she also found some nice jewelry and some small decorative items to spice up our mundane trailer interior decorating.
After finishing up at the Fort, we decided to go see the ghost town of Piedmont which is located about 10 miles west on I-80 and 15 miles down a dirt road. There are 3 complete and 1 mostly destroyed charcoal kilns there that were made back when the railroad was coming through this part of the world. There are also the remains of about a dozen old structures like barns and small houses that don’t look like they will survive for too much longer. The terrain around Piedmont seems to have plenty of water and lush grass, gently rolling hills covered with sage and no electricity. It looks like a lot of people live spread out across the land, mostly in trailers and not within sight of each other. We spotted deer, pronghorns, two big brown hawks, yellow-headed blackbirds, red-winged blackbirds, Canadian geese, barn swallows near water, yellow-bellied marmots and prairie dogs along the dirt road to and from Piedmont.
We took a loop through Evanston and as soon as we got on I-80 eastbound, we spotted Bear River State Park and got right back off the freeway. They have some very large bison and elk here, penned in big pastures with very sturdy fences augmented by the repelling effects of DC voltage. There was a bull bison there that looked about the same size as a car and in another pasture they have a seven-point bull elk whose rack requires about the same size as the rest of his body. Both of them were magnificent specimens.
After ogling the wildlife in Bear River, we jumped back on I-80 and drove about 30 miles east to Fort Bridger. The scenery around here is beautiful, the weather has been quite nice and the people we have spoken with have all been very pleasant. I would not make this a primary destination but I certainly would enjoy coming back here. Tomorrow we will go a bit west until we pick up the connector to US-89. From there we stay northbound on 89 until we get close to Glacier National Park in northern Montana. Fortunately, 89 passes through The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone on the way north.
We took some photos at Fort Bridger, Piedmont and in Evanston’s Bear River State Park and you can see some of them if you click here

We got up late today. We took time for our usual fortified coffee ration and I cooked a breakfast for us. We got in some showers and mostly loafed around the trailer before figuring we ought to get a little something done.
We decided to do our most dreaded task – the laundry. They only have two washing machines at Fort Bridger RV Park and we had at least four loads. We started two loads and then took off for the local post office so we could get rid of out outbox contents. We also drove a few miles over to the community of Mountain View which does have a spectacular view of the snow-capped mountains to the south. In Mountain View we were looking for a liquor store but ended up getting a small re-supply mission done at a bar. It seems the bars are the liquor stores in small communities in Wyoming. The selection is small but you can sit down at the bar and have a drink of anything you care to before packing away your ultimate choice.
After completing our re-supply mission, we went back to our park and finished up the laundry. It was about 4:00 PM before we were finished. We were not in a hurry. The weather here is much cooler than that we encountered in Utah so we spent some time riding the glides on the office porch in the shade. It was glorious.
There are no pictures.

Today was a travel day so we gathered up our stuff, disconnected from the utilities at Fossil Valley RV Park and headed north on US-191 toward Wyoming. 191 is a tough road that starts with a big climb up switchbacks from about 5000′ elevation to 8400′ at the pass. They do not show a pass on the maps but, believe me, it is there. After the big climb, where Charlotte again performed admirably, the road takes a couple long 9% downgrades all the way to Flaming Gorge. We left 191 and turned west on Utah 44 to a town called Manila despite there not being any Filipinos there. At Manila we turned west on Utah 43 for about two miles which transforms into WY-414 after crossing the border into Wyoming.
The drive on 414 is pretty lumpy and there are some ups and downs between 6000 and 7000 feet elevation along the way. The countryside along the road is very nice rolling pasture. There are also some badlands that you drive through before emerging into pretty flat pasture land that goes all the way to Urie, WY. We turned west at Urie for a few miles before driving into Fort Bridger, a town of some 300 souls in the middle of nowhere. It is the location of Fort Bridger State Historical Site which we drove past.
Fort Bridger RV Park is a nice, grass-covered field with some shade trees spotted around the site. They have wi-fi of sufficient capabilities to allow us to stream Netflix. That hardly happens in any other parks we have been to and it is glorious. The individual RV spots have full hookups and cable TV that boasts 12 channels, 9 of which work. They have a small laundry facility and big clean restrooms. Check-in is pretty informal; you pull into an open spot and they come around to collect the money later.
Despite the short 137 mile distance covered during today’s drive, the roads were quite challenging for those pulling large trailers through 20 mph corners, steep upward climbs followed by harrowing downgrades and pretty beat up road surfaces with hidden potholes the size of badgers. We set up our trailer and climbed inside to take advantage of the delightful air conditioning. We arrived early so Peggy and I rewarded ourselves with some tasty booze followed by nice naps. It was luxurious.
Peggy got a few pictures of the gorgeous terrain along the way in you can see ’em if you click here

We were lazy today. Late rising, long coffee time and a good breakfast almost killed the entire morning. We fabricated a list of groceries we needed and drove down to the local Waldo-Mart where we found all the stuff we wanted plus some cords for recharging phones and Kindles and other fancy electronic gizmos.
I led the charge on dumping the tanks and getting prepared for our early departure tomorrow. We would like to get out of Vernal as early as possible since right away we have an 8300′ pass to go over followed by a long drive through wrinkled Wyoming terrain on our way north to I-80. By mid-day, it can get pretty hot here and we would prefer to let Charlotte do the climbing in cool weather.
Vernal turned out to be a very nice small town. The RV park was nice and shady, Dinosaur NM and Flaming Gorge are nearby and the terrain around town is quite striking. Downtown Vernal has the entire main drag lined with posts and pots full of glorious flowers. There seems to be quite a bit of wildlife and we found a good Mexican restaurant. Not bad for a tiny place like this.
It was pretty boring today so we didn’t take any photos although we could have snapped a few at WalMart. I wonder if I look as strange as some of the shoppers there. I sure hope not.