May13-19
We left Loveland for Lander, WY, on the 13th. It was a good drive except the wind on I-80 east of Rawlings, WY. (Surprise! Surprise!) We took US Hwy 287 northwest out of Ft. Collins to I-80 at Laramie which turned out to be a very scenic road. I’d recommend it highly as an alternative to I-25 for scenery. Hwy 287 from Rawlins to Lander was also very scenic—this was all a new route for me except for the I-80 portion. Wyoming is lush and green this year! Very beautiful! One of the things Roberta and I have both enjoyed and commented on while driving in CO, and now WY, are the beautiful lilacs we are seeing as we travel. The bushes are in full bloom as we move north and are just gorgeous. We get to smell them every once in awhile, too. Ahhhh! We set up at Lander and took the rest of the day off. I haven’t been here since 1967, so saw lots of changes as we came into town.
On the 14th we drove to Jackson Hole via DuBois, WY. It was a beautiful drive over Togwatee Pass in the Wind River Range—just as I remembered it from so long ago! The Tetons were as spectacular as ever. Words really can’t adequately describe the range as you first see it from Togwatee and then drive down into the valley and come closer to the mountains. We saw quite a few elk as well as some deer, coyotes, and bison in Grand Teton N.P. The weather was perfect today, so we could really take in the countryside. I had forgotten about the red rock country west of Lander. It was a beautiful drive, too, with the bright green fields set against the red rock cliffs and mesas. Returning in the evening, we saw literally hundreds of deer between DuBois and Lander and we had one elk walk out in front of us on the return trip.
While driving to Jackson, we stopped at Kathy’s Koffee shop in DuBois for a break. That was a real find and I would recommend it to anyone traveling that route. We had lunch at the Silver Dollar Bar and Grill in the old Wort Hotel in Jackson—another interesting place with a lot of history. Jackson was bustling even tho the tourist season hadn’t started. Everyone we talked to was short-handed and we were told somewhere in WY that the state’s unemployment rate is essentially zero. It seemed they need help everywhere we have been.
On the 15th we moved from Lander to Cody. Part of the trip was up the Wind River Canyon north of Thermopolis where we drove through 3 tunnels while passing alongside the river. This was a very beautiful drive! We camped at the Absaroka RV Park on the edge of town which was a good choice.
We were up early on the 16th to drive to Yellowstone N.P. (YNP)
—it turned into a long day since we left at 8 a.m. and returned at 9:25 p.m. after driving 250+ miles. We saw a lot of elk and bison in and out of the park as well as a lot of deer outside the park. We drove the NE portion of the park from the east entrance up to Mammoth Hot Springs on the north boundary and eastward to the NE entrance at Cooke City, MT. I hadn’t been there since I was in the 3rd grade so it was fun to see the mud pots, geysers and Yellowstone Falls once again. The falls were as spectacular as I remembered them. As we came through Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley in the early evening, we were looking for gray wolves as were a lot of other folks who had stopped at an overlook and were equipped with binoculars, spotting scopes, cameras with LONG lenses, etc. An elk carcass had floated downriver earlier in the day and had been nearly eaten clean by wolves. After 45 minutes or so, we left and about ½ mile further up the road we saw a small group stowing their gear. They had just watched a grizzly chasing a wolf down by the river—we missed that, too. From Cooke City we drove the Chief Joseph Highway 80 miles back to Cody. It was evening and getting dark as we came back, but what a spectacular drive it was with a lot of deer and elk to see along the way. This definitely was not a road I would want to take the coach on—it was a slow drive in the car.
The next day we returned to YNP, focusing on the Old Faithful Geyser area. We stopped and walked around some other geyser areas on the way to Old Faithful—it was interesting to read about the geological changes going on there (many earthquakes) and the effects on geyser activity. After watching Old Faithful spout off we looked around the Old Faithful Inn (under renovation) and had a relaxing drink before heading back to camp. The Inn is certainly impressive and the use of curved logs in the building was most interesting to see. We saw a lot of bison and elk again but no deer or bear in the park either day. We saw 3 big horn sheep high on cliffs above the Shoshone River while driving to YNP and 1 in a different area of the same canyon on the way home in the evening. We saw a moose as we entered the park in the morning and we saw many, many deer on the drive back along the Shoshone River in the evening. This is a nice time to visit YNP—nice weather, lots of wildlife to watch, and not many people here yet, although quite a few Europeans were in the park.
I spent the 18th and 19th working around the coach, doing some last minute shopping, etc. Also went to the Buffalo Bill Museum complex for a few hours. Definitely have to come back and spend more time here. The Boone & Crockett Club room was especially impressive with the very large stuffed trophy heads—I could have spent more time there. The western art collection and gun collection are both incredible. There just wasn’t enough time to cover it all what with the loose ends remaining to be tied up before heading further north.
I forgot to mention on my last posting that Roberta and I are both “full timers” in our motorhomes and have been fulltiming for about 4 years each. She hails from the Sacramento, CA, area and I grew up in SD before making 32 moves around the US. We both sold our “stick” homes before going on the road and we don’t miss mowing lawns, noisy neighbors, monthly utility bills, etc., one bit. If we don’t like the scenery out of our windows or the weather, we can move on. Same goes for noisy neighbors—which are rare in campgrounds, thank goodness. You meet some of the friendliest people in the world in campgrounds!
May 20-26
Drove to Three Forks, MT, on May 20 and stayed at a nice KOA—I’d recommend it. Three Forks is very near the headwaters of the Missouri River which is formed by the confluence of the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson rivers. The drive was nice and it felt good to be back in MT which is known as the Big Sky Country. Southern and south central MT was lush and green. Diesel fuel prices have finally fallen below regular unleaded fuel prices—diesel is running about $2.99/gal. in MT. May 21 found us headed north to Cut Bank, MT, through Helena and Great Falls. I was surprised to see all the new homes in the Helena valley and down south to Townsend. This was familiar country to me because I had worked as a pilot out of Helena the summer of 1968 and had done aerial spraying over much of the country from Helena to Townsend and on down to Three Forks in 1969. (Also sprayed in the Big Hole country around Wisdom that year.) The drive north of Helena on I-15 was beautiful as we went through the “Gates of the Mountains” country and crossed over the Missouri River numerous times. I hadn’t driven this route since the interstate was finished—what a change from the old winding two-lane road!
The 22nd was spent around camp doing laundry, cleaning, and organizing things for the trip north of the border. We didn’t have Verizon phone service which limited the business we could do prior to leaving the country. It rained a little and was VERY windy. Wednesday, the 23rd, we drove Highway 2 around the south and southwest side of Glacier Park. The Going to the Sun Highway in the park is still closed, so we took the long way around to the west entrance. It was a beautiful day and it was like being
back home for me driving the route with the park on one side and the Flathead Forest on the other.
We left Loveland for Lander, WY, on the 13th. It was a good drive except the wind on I-80 east of Rawlings, WY. (Surprise! Surprise!) We took US Hwy 287 northwest out of Ft. Collins to I-80 at Laramie which turned out to be a very scenic road. I’d recommend it highly as an alternative to I-25 for scenery. Hwy 287 from Rawlins to Lander was also very scenic—this was all a new route for me except for the I-80 portion. Wyoming is lush and green this year! Very beautiful! One of the things Roberta and I have both enjoyed and commented on while driving in CO, and now WY, are the beautiful lilacs we are seeing as we travel. The bushes are in full bloom as we move north and are just gorgeous. We get to smell them every once in awhile, too. Ahhhh! We set up at Lander and took the rest of the day off. I haven’t been here since 1967, so saw lots of changes as we came into town.
On the 14th we drove to Jackson Hole via DuBois, WY. It was a beautiful drive over Togwatee Pass in the Wind River Range—just as I remembered it from so long ago! The Tetons were as spectacular as ever. Words really can’t adequately describe the range as you first see it from Togwatee and then drive down into the valley and come closer to the mountains. We saw quite a few elk as well as some deer, coyotes, and bison in Grand Teton N.P. The weather was perfect today, so we could really take in the countryside. I had forgotten about the red rock country west of Lander. It was a beautiful drive, too, with the bright green fields set against the red rock cliffs and mesas. Returning in the evening, we saw literally hundreds of deer between DuBois and Lander and we had one elk walk out in front of us on the return trip.While driving to Jackson, we stopped at Kathy’s Koffee shop in DuBois for a break. That was a real find and I would recommend it to anyone traveling that route. We had lunch at the Silver Dollar Bar and Grill in the old Wort Hotel in Jackson—another interesting place with a lot of history. Jackson was bustling even tho the tourist season hadn’t started. Everyone we talked to was short-handed and we were told somewhere in WY that the state’s unemployment rate is essentially zero. It seemed they need help everywhere we have been.
On the 15th we moved from Lander to Cody. Part of the trip was up the Wind River Canyon north of Thermopolis where we drove through 3 tunnels while passing alongside the river. This was a very beautiful drive! We camped at the Absaroka RV Park on the edge of town which was a good choice.
We were up early on the 16th to drive to Yellowstone N.P. (YNP)
—it turned into a long day since we left at 8 a.m. and returned at 9:25 p.m. after driving 250+ miles. We saw a lot of elk and bison in and out of the park as well as a lot of deer outside the park. We drove the NE portion of the park from the east entrance up to Mammoth Hot Springs on the north boundary and eastward to the NE entrance at Cooke City, MT. I hadn’t been there since I was in the 3rd grade so it was fun to see the mud pots, geysers and Yellowstone Falls once again. The falls were as spectacular as I remembered them. As we came through Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley in the early evening, we were looking for gray wolves as were a lot of other folks who had stopped at an overlook and were equipped with binoculars, spotting scopes, cameras with LONG lenses, etc. An elk carcass had floated downriver earlier in the day and had been nearly eaten clean by wolves. After 45 minutes or so, we left and about ½ mile further up the road we saw a small group stowing their gear. They had just watched a grizzly chasing a wolf down by the river—we missed that, too. From Cooke City we drove the Chief Joseph Highway 80 miles back to Cody. It was evening and getting dark as we came back, but what a spectacular drive it was with a lot of deer and elk to see along the way. This definitely was not a road I would want to take the coach on—it was a slow drive in the car.The next day we returned to YNP, focusing on the Old Faithful Geyser area. We stopped and walked around some other geyser areas on the way to Old Faithful—it was interesting to read about the geological changes going on there (many earthquakes) and the effects on geyser activity. After watching Old Faithful spout off we looked around the Old Faithful Inn (under renovation) and had a relaxing drink before heading back to camp. The Inn is certainly impressive and the use of curved logs in the building was most interesting to see. We saw a lot of bison and elk again but no deer or bear in the park either day. We saw 3 big horn sheep high on cliffs above the Shoshone River while driving to YNP and 1 in a different area of the same canyon on the way home in the evening. We saw a moose as we entered the park in the morning and we saw many, many deer on the drive back along the Shoshone River in the evening. This is a nice time to visit YNP—nice weather, lots of wildlife to watch, and not many people here yet, although quite a few Europeans were in the park.
I spent the 18th and 19th working around the coach, doing some last minute shopping, etc. Also went to the Buffalo Bill Museum complex for a few hours. Definitely have to come back and spend more time here. The Boone & Crockett Club room was especially impressive with the very large stuffed trophy heads—I could have spent more time there. The western art collection and gun collection are both incredible. There just wasn’t enough time to cover it all what with the loose ends remaining to be tied up before heading further north.
I forgot to mention on my last posting that Roberta and I are both “full timers” in our motorhomes and have been fulltiming for about 4 years each. She hails from the Sacramento, CA, area and I grew up in SD before making 32 moves around the US. We both sold our “stick” homes before going on the road and we don’t miss mowing lawns, noisy neighbors, monthly utility bills, etc., one bit. If we don’t like the scenery out of our windows or the weather, we can move on. Same goes for noisy neighbors—which are rare in campgrounds, thank goodness. You meet some of the friendliest people in the world in campgrounds!
May 20-26
Drove to Three Forks, MT, on May 20 and stayed at a nice KOA—I’d recommend it. Three Forks is very near the headwaters of the Missouri River which is formed by the confluence of the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson rivers. The drive was nice and it felt good to be back in MT which is known as the Big Sky Country. Southern and south central MT was lush and green. Diesel fuel prices have finally fallen below regular unleaded fuel prices—diesel is running about $2.99/gal. in MT. May 21 found us headed north to Cut Bank, MT, through Helena and Great Falls. I was surprised to see all the new homes in the Helena valley and down south to Townsend. This was familiar country to me because I had worked as a pilot out of Helena the summer of 1968 and had done aerial spraying over much of the country from Helena to Townsend and on down to Three Forks in 1969. (Also sprayed in the Big Hole country around Wisdom that year.) The drive north of Helena on I-15 was beautiful as we went through the “Gates of the Mountains” country and crossed over the Missouri River numerous times. I hadn’t driven this route since the interstate was finished—what a change from the old winding two-lane road!
The 22nd was spent around camp doing laundry, cleaning, and organizing things for the trip north of the border. We didn’t have Verizon phone service which limited the business we could do prior to leaving the country. It rained a little and was VERY windy. Wednesday, the 23rd, we drove Highway 2 around the south and southwest side of Glacier Park. The Going to the Sun Highway in the park is still closed, so we took the long way around to the west entrance. It was a beautiful day and it was like being
back home for me driving the route with the park on one side and the Flathead Forest on the other. I flew Forest Service contract fire patrols and hauled personnel and supplies into and out of that country from 1966-1971. We drove about 14 miles into the park which was as far as the road was open and saw deer as well as a cow and calf moose. We also saw 6 mountain goats high on the cliffs above the highway in the evening—right where I used to see them while flying fire patrol over that country. Talk about bringing back a lot of memories!
The forecast for the next day wasn’t promising, but we decided to try to see as much of the east side of Glacier Park as we could. We also wanted to take in Waterton Lakes N.P. on the Canadian side. We headed to Waterton but had to stop in Babb, MT, and turn around. There were a couple of inches of snow on the ground and it was coming down very hard. We drove south and went into the east entrance at St. Mary and drove past St. Mary Lake to where the road was closed at the 13.5 mile point where we turned around. It was snowing hard when we arrived back at St. Mary and, since nothing was open in the area to have lunch, we decided to go on back to Cut Bank.
The forecast for the next day wasn’t promising, but we decided to try to see as much of the east side of Glacier Park as we could. We also wanted to take in Waterton Lakes N.P. on the Canadian side. We headed to Waterton but had to stop in Babb, MT, and turn around. There were a couple of inches of snow on the ground and it was coming down very hard. We drove south and went into the east entrance at St. Mary and drove past St. Mary Lake to where the road was closed at the 13.5 mile point where we turned around. It was snowing hard when we arrived back at St. Mary and, since nothing was open in the area to have lunch, we decided to go on back to Cut Bank.
Seven RVs were parked at camp this night and all were headed to Alaska. This ended our stay in Cut Bank with a cold, damp, and windy day. We decided we needed to have good internet and phone service to finish our business before losing service in Canada so we moved to Shelby, MT, for the 25th and 26th. The weather was much improved and we worked on finishing the remaining food (and liquor) that we figured we couldn’t take across the border. This campground had 25-35 RVs in it each
night that are headed to Alaska. SNOW IN GLACIER N.P.
