Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons

Woke up Saturday, 7/3 to a very chilly camper-temperatures outside were in the mid-40's and we had not set the heat to come on. We should have remembered that we were at an elevation of 6500+ and that it would get cold-much colder than we'd expected! Eventually we were headed for the West entrance of Yellowstone. For those of you who aren't aware of this fact-if you are over 62 you can purchase a Senior Pass for $10.00-which will give us lifetime access to any National Park-there are advantages to getting old. We had purchased our Pass while at Carlsbad Caverns and when we got in line at the West Entrance we were waved right by-that we found to be quite nice. Our first sighting in the Park was of a Trumpeter Swan on the Madison River. A bit farther along cars were stopping to view the Elk grazing by the river. Heading toward Old Faithful, we stopped at most of the geo-thermal viewpoints-the mud pots, the fumaroles, the geysers, etc. Arriving at Old Faithful, it was lunchtime and we had taken sandwiches, etc. as these places gouge for food, and it is not very good. Just as we were finishing our non-picnic, we saw over a rise in the hill the end of Old Faithful's almost hourly erruption. So we headed out the boardwalk to view some of the other examples of the subterranean activity. Just as we got in front of it, the Bee Hive Geyser went off - a fairly un-
predictable geyser and we were just lucky to be there at the right time. After that Hank decided that we needed to view the next erruption of OF from the hillside observation spot- a 1/2 mile up the mountain-we got up there and had to wait for 15-20 min. for it to blow-was worth the walk and the wait!! After that we headed toward the South Entrance of the Park taking us over Craig's Pass-some 8200 in elevation-then down very quickly. Before us was the huge Yellowstone Lake-quite a site. Leaving that Park we headed down John D. Rockefella Parkway which took us down into the Grand Tetons-the mtns. to our west-most over 10,000 ft, high and still most of the peaks covered in snow! Jackson Lake also beautiful-saw elk and bison in various places along the road. Arriving in Jackson we decided it was time for a break and we explore the very touristy/ski village. Lots of fun places to explore...Time was getting on and we still had nearly 100 miles to get back home to our tin tent in Idaho! We left Jackson heading West and up and over Teton Pass-10k high-and I just love heights-NOT! Safely down the other side we drove back north and got to the tin tent just about sunset! It had been chilly most all day with temps not getting above the low 60's-. Photos will have to wait until tomorrow!

Salt Lake City to Island Park Idaho

On the road again heading north from Salt Lake via I-15 to Idaho Falls, ID where we stopped for a bit of grocery shopping and lunch in the camper. Fri. before a long holiday weekend brings out the worst in some drivers and we encountered many of them while trying to get out of the parking lot of a Wal Mart! Nearly 10 minutes went by with Hank getting more and more livid that there was not a courteous driver in the lot! Eventually we got on our road-US rte 20 which would take us NE to just outside Island Park, ID where we had reservations for three nights. Arrived there, checked in, set up, and immediately got frustrated because once more I had no Internet capability-even though I had paid $1.00 per day for each day we'd camped there! The folks in the office said we could bring our computer into the laundry and work there-RIGHT! Instead, we drove into the town of West Yellowstone, MT which is just a few hundred feet from Yellowstone National Park. W. Yellowstone is quite the tourist town-lots of fun places to explore. We walked past restaurants which seemed to specialize in Pizza and it smelled so good we just had to go in and have some! It was excellent pizza-and I didn't have to cook or clean up! Since we were going to have a long day on Sat. we crashed early.
As I'm playing catch up on 7/5 for what happened on 7/1 this becomes a bit of a challenge when I don't make notes. Apparently I didn't take photos that day, 'cause I can't find any!

In and around Salt Lake City

Thursday 6/30 dawned sunny, windy and hot-high 90's. Hank decided that it was time to have our trusty vehicle serviced and checked over and the staff at the KOA there were very helpful and suggested a reputable GMC dealer and arrangements were made quickly to take the car there (with good directions!) While he did that, I took care of a laundry for a week! Before I had finished, Hank was back-dealer had brought him back to the campground and we were told we would receive a phone call when it was ready. We still hadn't received the call in a couple of hours so we took the free shuttle (provided by LDS) to Temple Square. Our driver seemed to be very knowledgeable-gave us a great deal of info. on SL and Temple Square. Then we were met by two delightful young ladies (doing their 18 month mission duty) one from the South of France and one from Mexico. They gave us a tour of the Tabernacle, grounds, the North Visitor Ctr. and the South Visitor Ctr. all the while politely trying to convert us. All the while we were being toured I kept thinking "this is BIG business". They also showed us the Center devoted to families-didn't have time to see the museum or the genealogy building because Hank got the call that the car was ready and they'd send a courtesy car for us. The girls told us that the Morman Tabernacle Choir would be rehersing at 8PM that evening and the public is invited. So off we went to the GMC dealer to pick up the car. There was nothing wrong the car, but it did need an oil change and items checked over. Once that bill was settled we found our way back to the KOA got some dinner and headed back to Temple Square - this time on our own steam. The Utah capitol bldg. was right on our route so we drove there 1st and at least got a couple of photos. Then we headed to the LDS Conference Ctr. where we were told we could watch the orchestra reherse before the choir came in. Someone misunderstood and the public is not invited to the orchestra rehersal and we had an hour to kill. We wandered around Temple Sq. then wandered some of the surrounding streets. For a large bustling city, there was surprisingly little to do or see at 7PM. We finally found a souvenir shop where we killed a few minutes chatting with the proprietors who were helpful in giving us suggestions of how to use up more time before we could get in to hear the choir. We went into the Joseph Smith building and took the elevator to the top floor where there are observation windows on the east and west sides of the building-quite a view from there. Eventually it was time to head back to the Conf. Ctr. and there were already a great number of people waiting to get in. At last the doors opened and we were ushered into a huge performance hall which seats 21,000 people and it is constructed in such a manner that microphones aren't needed-except when they are recording. The orchestra was accompanying the choir in America the Beautiful as we sat down. Eventually, the conductor turned to the people in attendance and explained that they were preparing for their patriotic program which would be broadcast Sun. 7/4 . I had goose bumps just being in the presence of the Morman Tabernacle Choir, and even though it was a rehersal and the conductor kept stopping and starting, it was still quite wonderful! They sang 76 Trombones, I Pledge Allegiance, and God Bless America which made the tears fall! It was an incredible 1.5 hours and we were both so glad we'd gone in to listen. When we came out onto the street the sun had just set and the sky was gorgeous! Got a little misplaced on our way back to the KOA, but only a couple of streets out of our way. Now to see if we can share some photos of the day...

Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake

We were told that the best place to experience the Great Salt Lake was to drive north to a 7.5 mile causeway which would take us to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. Antelope Island is a Utah State Park. Driving across the Causeway our 1st observation was that the air coming into the car didn't smell very good. Not sure if that's how a "dead" inland sea should smell or if the aroma was caused by the great number of sea birds living along the causeway. Once on the island we drove to the Visitors Center to learn what we could about the place. ( The island is about 15 miles long and there are a couple of mountains on the island over 5,ooo feet high. The Great Salt Lake is fed by 4 rivers and there is no outlet so evaporation leaves large concentrations of minerals-especially salt-5X that in our oceans! The island is NOT developed at all-there is a defunct ranch at the SE end of the island which represented 135 years of western ranching history. On the island are mule deer, big horn sheep, pronghorn antelope, coyotes, and over 500 bison.) As we were walking to the visitors center we were bombarded with "no see-ems" which were awfully pesky-they were even annoying Hank! On the way back to the car the wind kept some at bay, but not all. We drove along Bridger Bay to the Buffalo Grill where we enjoyed buffalo burgers for lunch. Then we walked down along Bridger Bay and waded in the lake-water was chilly so wading was all we did! Cleaned our feet and got back in the car to explore the rest of the island. Drove up to Buffalo Point Outlook and on the way back down spied a bison beside the road-of course we stopped for a photo. Then we drove along the eastern shore of the island to the old defunct sheep ranch. We walked through a small museum of farm implements, a sheep sheering barn, past a coral with about 20 horses, then toured the oldest Anglo built house in Utah-the ranch house on this ranch. Along the road back to the causeway we saw more bison, but none of the other animals purported to live on the island. We were there during mid-day when it was hot, but it was cloudy and showery off and on so we thought we might see some at least-only a few bison.

Now back in the camper the wind is so strong that the camper is shaking! Hank is napping-err I mean watching the evening news. We heard that the oil has hit Biloxi-they don't need that while they are still trying to recover from Katrina! Now to see if I can attach some photos of today's adventure... The photos of Hank and I are wading in Bridger Bay, and the other photo (trust me on this one!) is the south end of a northbound bison. This was pretty exciting as this is the 1st bison we'd ever seen in "the wild" and that bison couldn't have care less that we wanted a good view so we could get a photo! He ignored us and other cars also stopping for photos. I thought that these creatures traveled in herds, but the 4 or 5 that we saw were by themselves with no other bison is sight. The island is covered with low grasses, lots of sagebrush and other low growing weeds, but few trees. The mountains look rocky with no evidence of trees.

Cedar City, UT to Salt Lake City

We are so confused as to what time it is! AZ doesn't use Daylight Savings Time, so while they are on Mtn. Time it is 1 hour earlier in AZ. Then when you go into NV you're on Pacific Time, then back into AZ then into UT where they are on Mtn. Daylight Saving Time and we've change our clocks and watches so many time we're afraid of wearing them out!

But I digress...Today we drove North on I-15 through the Great Basin from south western Utah to Salt Lake City. Saw so many changes in topography-mtns. changed color as the miles progressed. In the 1st hour on the road we saw a tumbleweed blow across the road in front of us, we saw prairie dogs beside the highway, and snow on the peaks to the East-incredible! Am not sure what I expected to see along the way into Salt Lake City, but it sure isn't as I had imagined it! Huge mountians just to the east, flat as far as the eye could see to the west, and snow on the peaks to the North! Amazing! Presently we're getting ready to endure a thunder storm and the camper is shaking in the wind! We're in a huge KOA Resort just north of downton SLC -expect to stay here for a couple of days to explore the area. Am going to try to include photos I took from the car today...

Photos AZ to Utah

Williams, AZ to Cedar City, Utah

We re just south of Cedar City,UT and it is HOT-HOT-HOT-drove much of the day with temps. ranging from 83 (lowest) to 110 degrees while we drove through Los Vegas. We left Williams, AZ and drove west on I-40 into Nevada. Had wanted to see Hoover Dam, but construction near the dam prevented any vehicles hauling trailers from taking that route so we had to go farther west, then north in Nevada on US 95 into Vegas. We had climbed many steep grades, and the vehicle, while working ok, was complaining-so we found a shopping plaza(what else?) in Henderson and had our lunch in the camper then went into a Wal Mart for a few necessary items while we gave the car a rest. An hour later on the road again heading NE on I-15-the most fantastic scenery-then into the NW corner of AZ again before heading into Utah! We came upon a sign that indicated there were 7% grades ahead and we weren't sure if it was up or down but we were hoping for down. However, ahead of us were some pretty imposing mountains, but when we got there it was down for 11 miles-the most incredible scenery-will include some photos if I can. Today we've seen mountains of almost every color you can imagine-red, gray, green, brown, sand colored and where we are now is Red Ledge Campground.