6,500 Miles With the Crazies - A National Parks Road Trip Extravaganza

[HouCuseChickie]

I was lucky to be able to find rooms at Old Faithful Inn and El Tovar that fit into our schedule after I booked the hotel in Yosemite (not Ahwanee but the Inn at the Falls). I heard Yosemite filled up super fast so I started with booking that even though it was later on our road trip. I could only get one night at Old Faithful so we stayed a night at Mammoth which worked well in our touring. We had to share a bathroom at Mammoth though. I did not like not having my own access to a toilet and shower. It was just for one night though.

Even though Old Faithful Inn is my favorite of the lodges El Tovar was great. It was at the end of our road trip and after days of National parks, touring San Francisco and Disneyland, sitting on the rocking chairs on the porch of the El Tovar and looking at the Grand Canyon was super relaxing. The parking situation at the El Tovar was horrible though. My husband drove around for 30 minutes while I checked in and brought all the bags to our room.

The Inn at the Falls also looks stunning...and what a view! We stayed in a cabin when we stayed in the Mammoth area. It was probably my favorite cabin of our 2005 trip, but we too had to use a shared bathroom. We had this adorable little front porch with chairs, but the bathrooms had outside access and there was a large bull elk hanging out, licking his wounds from a battle, and it made me anxious the entire time.

I think it was our day after Christmas breakfast when I got to peak into a few of the El Tovar's rooms. Housekeeping had the doors open after people had checked out, so I had to be nosey. I found it interesting how they were all a bit different in size. The parking for all of the GCNP lodges in that area is atrocious. We stayed next door at the Kachina Lodge and we had such a nightmare of a time even finding a place to temporarily park to unload and load bags. David did the same while I was checking in. And of course, there's barely any cell service, so it took me forever to find them after checking in.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

July 21st continued...

I really wasn't kidding about cows out on the road.

I can't recall how many cows crossed the road, but this would be our third cattle encounter of the day, and still not the largest of the day.

We headed towards the St. Mary's area and found a spot for lunch.

It was a cute little cafe, but it was grossly overpriced for what we got. I know we're in a tourist area and with supply and labor shortages, things are costing more, but we were paying Disney level prices for very basic food. I think I was the only one that liked what I had. I think it was about $19 for my bacon ranch chicken wrap. Service was slow and when we asked about Sam's milkshake...30+ minutes after ordering...our server kind of snapped at us about getting to it, but it's busy.

We'd hoped to use the bathrooms before leaving, but it was a nightmare. So, we headed into the park and used the one at the visitor center. Cool side note...they had sort of a mobile observatory for their nighttime programs. We never got to do it, but it looked neat and love that they have these kinds of things.

So, we headed in on the eastern side and with David driving, I could finally take driving pics while in the park.

Based on the picture clarity, I'm thinking we got out here. I can't fully remember, but I know I pushed for more stops since we drove through much of this area on the previous day. And now we're back in the car...ha!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I remembered that we'd missed stopping for Jackson Glacier on the previous day. It's the easiest glacier to see, and we were in Glacier National Park, so I kind of felt like we had to stop and see a glacier...especially when you consider how much the glaciers have been shrinking/disappearing. Some scientists thought they'd all be gone by now...so, any chance to see something, I suppose.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I tried to use the telephoto a bit and hopefully capture a little bit of the blue ice. There was still so much snow cover on the glacier and the distance, that it's not as obviously blue...but it's also not brilliant white either.

Well, I was hoping to get farther tonight, but I didn't get the laptop from Kendall until late and had to devote some extra time to caring for their new ear piercings. Coming up...we head up to Logan Pass, stop around the Weeping Wall, a wildlife surprise, a real nail biter, and wrapping up our evening in Glacier.

 

[Songbird76]

Well, hopefully when things get back to some kind of normal, maybe you'll be able to get back. It looks beautiful and that's such a stunning part of the world. I remember driving into the Austrian Alps in the dark and waking up to major WOW.

I know I can be annoying I laugh, but the reality is that it can be hurtful when people don't get my personality and I find out after the fact how they really feel. I tend to be very chatty and like to rally people together. I manage to weave it into my work to stay productive while being sociable. I've had enough instances where I've been asked to tone it down or scale it back...but when I do...they think something is wrong with me and question it in any number of ways. It's a no-win situation. I've even been asked to tone it down when it's someone else creating the social stir...just assuming it's me. I remember a few years ago getting an IM to please quiet down. I hadn't said a word in hours and had my headphones in and music blaring, but chatter was getting louder...so it had to be me.

Sounds like you were at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel. I know we also stayed in cabins in that area. No idea on the hotel pricing, but it was booked solid and I was just taking whatever I could get. We have eaten in the dining room at the hotel a few times and I remember spending a considerable amount of time in a hallway of the hotel back in 2005, because David needed to make a business call and the hotel's pay phones were our only option. We didn't go in this trip, but we did drive by.

The problem at my work with chatter is that the work doesn't lend itself to talking. You are walking back and forth from the conveyor belt to the shelving to get items you need to put in the boxes. You aren't standing still. If you are actually working, you only have a few seconds when both of you might be in the same place in order to say a few words. It's only if it's not busy and there aren't many or any boxes at your station that you have an opportunity to talk. This guy talks incessantly, which means HE'S not working, and he's keeping others from working, too. I can keep walking and kind of shout back a short answer to an inane question over my shoulder as I walk away, which you would think would hint to him that that's not the time for talking because I'm kind of busy, but he doesn't take the hint.

Yes, that sounds right...it was a beautiful hotel! We were primarily tent campers. We went camping every year and cooked over a fire, etc. We caught trout one year in South Dakota and mom tried to grill them and they were AWFUL. Burnt, dry, and practically inedible, but we had nothing else to eat. Anyway, the cabins alone were a huge splurge for us. We were so lucky on that trip.....we saw bears, moose, we found a thermal pool mom had always wanted to see but had never made it too....it was a great trip. But I remember thinking only rich people must be able to stay in that hotel because the dining room looked so fancy and mom said it was really expensive. We brought our own food and ate picnic style. I think we did one lunch at a restaurant and it was cafeteria style where you get your tray, decide which of the 3 options you want and just grab a covered plate from the counter and put it on your tray. I had never seen those plate covers and for some reason I was all excited about the fact that we got plate covers like a fancy meal. That's the only thing I remember about food at Yellowstone....plate covers.

 

[Sans Souci]

I am here and I have been here, quietly following along.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The problem at my work with chatter is that the work doesn't lend itself to talking. You are walking back and forth from the conveyor belt to the shelving to get items you need to put in the boxes. You aren't standing still. If you are actually working, you only have a few seconds when both of you might be in the same place in order to say a few words. It's only if it's not busy and there aren't many or any boxes at your station that you have an opportunity to talk. This guy talks incessantly, which means HE'S not working, and he's keeping others from working, too. I can keep walking and kind of shout back a short answer to an inane question over my shoulder as I walk away, which you would think would hint to him that that's not the time for talking because I'm kind of busy, but he doesn't take the hint.

Yes, that sounds right...it was a beautiful hotel! We were primarily tent campers. We went camping every year and cooked over a fire, etc. We caught trout one year in South Dakota and mom tried to grill them and they were AWFUL. Burnt, dry, and practically inedible, but we had nothing else to eat. Anyway, the cabins alone were a huge splurge for us. We were so lucky on that trip.....we saw bears, moose, we found a thermal pool mom had always wanted to see but had never made it too....it was a great trip. But I remember thinking only rich people must be able to stay in that hotel because the dining room looked so fancy and mom said it was really expensive. We brought our own food and ate picnic style. I think we did one lunch at a restaurant and it was cafeteria style where you get your tray, decide which of the 3 options you want and just grab a covered plate from the counter and put it on your tray. I had never seen those plate covers and for some reason I was all excited about the fact that we got plate covers like a fancy meal. That's the only thing I remember about food at Yellowstone....plate covers.

Yes, it doesn't sound like a good environment for making a lot of conversation. So, he's just truly being disruptive and not responding accordingly to the environment. Has your management ever addressed it with him? Before Covid, our in-office time was cubicle world. Things could get pretty busy with chatter, but I never realized until trying to go for a different position that my personality and the chatter that came with it was being held against me.

It's still a very nice hotel and hardly a cheap place to stay. Honestly, cabins can cost quite a bit as well. So, I understand the splurge with those. We were in a different place in life when we first saw Yellowstone in person. We were early 30s, no kids, no budget issues, etc. So, we were viewing it with a different lens. I know a coworker in our Denver office at the time tried to help with tips, but she too grew up tent camping in Yellowstone and what we were planning was quite foreign to her. The crazy thing...you saw animals I would have LOVED to have seen. We didn't eat in Yellowstone this trip since most of the park hotels weren't doing dining, but I recall the spot at the Lake Yellowstone Lodge, across the street from the hotel, offers cafeteria style dining and they cover your plates with a large lid. You can see the lid/cover off to the side of Sam's food (from our 2018 trip)...

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I am here and I have been here, quietly following along.

It's all good I'm just trying to stay on top of it...or else it could be weeks before I get motivated to post again.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

July 21st continued...

I believe this is the part where I'm able to take some pictures of the Weeping Wall area that @cgersic previously described. No gorgeous starry night in mine, but it was kind of neat driving by with the windows open. Ultimately, this is our approach to Logan Pass.

Not the greatest pics, but here we are at the extremely popular Logan Pass area. I had seen a mix of stories about parking up here in recent days and wasn't really sure what we'd find. It had to have been between 3:30-4pm in the afternoon, which a lot of people were saying was a good time to try, but you never know until you try.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I tried to take some pretty pics while David hunted for parking...

We made at least two passes to try and find parking. I was even tempted to send David and the kids inside, so they could at least see something up there, while I circled. Unfortunately, parking just wasn't going to happen. Because the trailhead is there, people aren't just going into the visitor center and leaving. We saw and had so many near miss accidents in the lot and saw people going to great lengths for parking...from human shields to people acting as runners to find anyone headed to their car that might be leaving. Seriously, we saw these two women jump out of their car at some point on our first pass and start approaching everyone who might be walking back. I saw one eventually jumping up and down at the end of a still occupied spot to signal her driver that they'd found someone leaving. I'd later read that people were parking up to 2 miles away and walking to Logan Pass...just to get on the pass and hike. No thanks. So, we started heading back towards Saint Mary.

I'm not sure how far we'd driven from Logan Pass at this point, but I saw a pullout with some space and asked David to pull over to stop. If we can't park up there, at the very least, we can park as close as we can get and take in some views outside from a different area of the park.

It's a loooooooong way down.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

The haze and smoke was starting to build in a little, but the wind was still high enough to help visibility quite a bit.

Looking at these...I want to say we got out and stopped again. I think this may even be the area we looked at in more depth the day before.

OK, I can tell we're driving again and heading closer to the exit.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We weren't too far from the park exit when I noticed several cars in a pullout with their scopes and cameras pointed up into the grassy areas of the hills. I knew this part of the park was a really good spot for both moose and bear and I swore I saw something. David tried to dismiss it and said I was seeing nothing...just a bunch of people looking. I remember getting very serious and in a firm voice quickly asked him to please stop. He obliged, but the entire time I was putting the big lens and extender on, he was muttering about not seeing anything and wasting time. The only thing...it wasn't nothing. It was a bear. We're pretty sure, after looking it over with a bunch of parks people, that it's a cinnamon colored black bear (alternately, a juvenile going through color shift)...no hump, ear shape, etc. The pictures are no good, but he was also at the very least 300-400 yards away...maybe more. At this point, I was also regretting not buying the lens with a max telephoto of 600. Oh well, this is what we saw. I'll spare you the ones where it could also pass for Bigfoot.

He eventually disappeared into the trees. A couple of guys with a huge lens and tripod setup were also saying bear, so I'm confident that's what we saw.

This is also a good time to point out why I'm so obsessed with having the big camera for wildlife stuff. One of the kids took this on my phone. You can't even see a hint of bear. Not even when you crop. Digital zoom vs. optical, I guess.

Upon leaving the park, we had the crazy idea of taking the mountain road back to our hotel...the one that looked faster, but really wasn't. Let me preface this by saying that David and I have driving battles. We hate how the other one drives and while I tend to just go with it with him driving in most cases, he likes to side/back-seat drive with me. It makes me nuts. This drive back to the hotel was one where we all got on his case. I generally have a lead foot, but I've very slow and careful in the mountains. He has the tendency to speed through the mountains...but it's not like race car driver speeding. He'll either coast on the downhills to a point that makes us really uncomfortable, or pushes it above the speed limit enough to also make us uncomfortable. We had similar issues with him in 2018 in Yellowstone. This mountain pass we were on had sheer drop offs on my side. There were times where he was coasting up to 47mph in a 25! There was one time where he said "But I'm not even hitting the gas!" I was so anxious that I forgot gas vs. brake and told him to press it. The laughter helped diffuse some of the fear. Unfortunately, I bit off all of my nails in a nervous fit. Thankfully, we got behind one of those red park vehicles that was going a much more sensible speed. They were headed to that historic lodge near our motel. I have never been so thankful to be slowed down by a park vehicle.

We all rested and napped a bit when we got back to the motel, but eventually everyone started asking about dinner. I had this crazy idea to make one last attempt to see moose and/or bear and to hit this St. Mary's section around dusk. So, that meant heading back to where we'd just been. On our way back toward the park, we were passed by a car...absolutely flying. We eventually got behind her...I guess this is how the modern cowgirl rounds up the herd when they get out.

We'd even see people's horses out like this. We saw one guy having a showdown with one of his. Thankfully, the herd of bison being farmed near our motel area were well fenced in.

On to dinner! We tried stopping into a pizza place we saw when we were over in the St. Mary's section earlier. It had great reviews online, but when we arrived, it had dual signage that involved a bar and a chalkboard that said no minors allowed in today and no food being served. An employee saw us standing there and confirmed...today, they were a bar. I don't get it. We wound up going back to the St. Mary's lodge we hit on the first night. We even had the same server who remembered us. We didn't tell him we met another server the night before who worked there as well. I just wanted to relax and have a drink.

I had this white bean risotto that was absolutely delicious!

Our server did at least confirm we were heading to a good spot to see wildlife. After dinner, we hit an area called Two Dog Flat...and we waited and watched and waited and attracted the attention of others and waited some more.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Sadly, we never saw anything.

On the way back to the motel, we had the most spectacular moon rising. I tried taking a few pics on my phone even though I know better.

I said to heck with them and got out at a pullout on the way back. I was in such a rush that I didn't even notice the gunk on my lens nor did I have time to play with focus. It's too bad, because these could have been amazing moon rising pictures.

I'm pretty sure it was after 10pm when I was approaching the town before our hotel, and I was still in awe of how much light there was in the sky.

When we got back, I posed a very serious question to the group. Do we get up early, pack up and give it one more try in this Saint Mary's area to see moose and bear, or do we move on? I'm not sure if it's just because they were restless and ready to move on, felt like it was a lost cause, or a bit of both...but everyone agreed...MOVE ON. I know wildlife is never guaranteed, but we saw so little and tried in a number of good spots, that I think everyone was just done with Glacier. It's a really stunning park, and I know many people put it ahead of other mountain parks...like Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain. I wouldn't mind going back...at some point...but I was sad that a bucket list park didn't wow as much as I'd hoped. It wasn't even the animals, or lack there of...it just didn't resonate with me and speak to me like some places do. This will come up several times in the trip...in a much more positive way.

Coming up...we drive to YELLOWSTONE!

 

[Songbird76]

Yes, it doesn't sound like a good environment for making a lot of conversation. So, he's just truly being disruptive and not responding accordingly to the environment. Has your management ever addressed it with him? Before Covid, our in-office time was cubicle world. Things could get pretty busy with chatter, but I never realized until trying to go for a different position that my personality and the chatter that came with it was being held against me.

It's still a very nice hotel and hardly a cheap place to stay. Honestly, cabins can cost quite a bit as well. So, I understand the splurge with those. We were in a different place in life when we first saw Yellowstone in person. We were early 30s, no kids, no budget issues, etc. So, we were viewing it with a different lens. I know a coworker in our Denver office at the time tried to help with tips, but she too grew up tent camping in Yellowstone and what we were planning was quite foreign to her. The crazy thing...you saw animals I would have LOVED to have seen. We didn't eat in Yellowstone this trip since most of the park hotels weren't doing dining, but I recall the spot at the Lake Yellowstone Lodge, across the street from the hotel, offers cafeteria style dining and they cover your plates with a large lid. You can see the lid/cover off to the side of Sam's food (from our 2018 trip)...

Yes, it's been addressed with him multiple times, which is why they now put him at a station by himself if they can. Some stations tend to be really busy and others not at all. When they have issues with someone, they tend to put them at either station 1 and 2 where they have a direct line of vision on them, or at 7 and 8 that's all the way at the other end and usually not as busy because it's winter coats and accessories. People usually only buy one coat where they buy several pairs of jeans and several tshirts, so 7/8 doesn't get quite as much traffic and they don't need as many people at those stations....UNLESS there's a sale or a new person who is still learning the ropes. I often get put at 2 to train new people....it's not as busy and they can keep an eye on the situation. Anyway, he's been talked to, but as long as they don't make lots of expensive errors, they won't get rid of someone, they'll just shove them over into a different place. Someone who isn't very fast with orders might get shunted to returns where speed isn't necessary, but that's not a good fit for this guy because the tables are all next to each other and he'd never get anything done because he'd be talking and he'd keep everyone else from working as well. They could put him at a packing station, but then he's kind of loud and would distract even the supervisors. They rarely let someone go because we always need more people as it is.

I have no idea where the cafeteria style dining was. Weird how some things stick....like why in the world do I remember a plate cover?? I need to start planning again. If we are going to make it to Wyoming next summer, I'll need reservations, so I should probably get my rear in gear. Plans will have to be different because I think we have the earliest vacation next Summer and we'd need to be back so the kids can get over the jet lag before school starts again, so we probably won't be able to do State fair next year. That's disappointing. But maybe we can hit Cheyenne Frontier Days instead....same kind of a thing, but on a larger scale. I doubt they'll care to go to the rodeo, so we can skip that, but they'll like the carnival. It's just such a huge undertaking to plan around all the things like Sturgis Ralley, National High School Finals Rodeo, etc when everything it booked up and roads are packed with out of staters looking at antelope or bison on the highway. I had it all worked out for this year and then we couldn't go. Now I have to do it all over again. Is it weird that I'm kind of dreading it?

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yes, it's been addressed with him multiple times, which is why they now put him at a station by himself if they can. Some stations tend to be really busy and others not at all. When they have issues with someone, they tend to put them at either station 1 and 2 where they have a direct line of vision on them, or at 7 and 8 that's all the way at the other end and usually not as busy because it's winter coats and accessories. People usually only buy one coat where they buy several pairs of jeans and several tshirts, so 7/8 doesn't get quite as much traffic and they don't need as many people at those stations....UNLESS there's a sale or a new person who is still learning the ropes. I often get put at 2 to train new people....it's not as busy and they can keep an eye on the situation. Anyway, he's been talked to, but as long as they don't make lots of expensive errors, they won't get rid of someone, they'll just shove them over into a different place. Someone who isn't very fast with orders might get shunted to returns where speed isn't necessary, but that's not a good fit for this guy because the tables are all next to each other and he'd never get anything done because he'd be talking and he'd keep everyone else from working as well. They could put him at a packing station, but then he's kind of loud and would distract even the supervisors. They rarely let someone go because we always need more people as it is.

I have no idea where the cafeteria style dining was. Weird how some things stick....like why in the world do I remember a plate cover?? I need to start planning again. If we are going to make it to Wyoming next summer, I'll need reservations, so I should probably get my rear in gear. Plans will have to be different because I think we have the earliest vacation next Summer and we'd need to be back so the kids can get over the jet lag before school starts again, so we probably won't be able to do State fair next year. That's disappointing. But maybe we can hit Cheyenne Frontier Days instead....same kind of a thing, but on a larger scale. I doubt they'll care to go to the rodeo, so we can skip that, but they'll like the carnival. It's just such a huge undertaking to plan around all the things like Sturgis Ralley, National High School Finals Rodeo, etc when everything it booked up and roads are packed with out of staters looking at antelope or bison on the highway. I had it all worked out for this year and then we couldn't go. Now I have to do it all over again. Is it weird that I'm kind of dreading it?

I guess while you know you're kind of stuck with him until he chooses to move on, it's proof of the job security where you are. At least they have options for moving more challenging people to different areas to help with the work environment.

I was just thinking since you went through the Lake Hotel, it might have been the Lake Lodge right behind it since I know they serve food in this manner. I think the only other place we've eaten in the park that offers this kind of cafeteria style meal is over near Old Faithful. Canyon did for our 2018 trip, but it wasn't like that for our 2005 visit, and I don't remember covered food at Canyon. Oh well. If you are trying to stay in the park, I'd look and book ASAP. Unlike Glacier, that opens up once a month, the entire next season of Yellowstone opens up around Memorial Day. So, not sure what it looks like after being open for booking 3 months. That being said, I don't think we've ever booked Yellowstone right on the dot. You also have options outside of the park as well. Jackson Hole and Cody are a bit far IMO, but Gardiner and West Yellowstone are good options if you stay outside of the park. Maybe it's because bikers were looking for different kinds of lodging options, but we didn't have many issues with lodging and planning around Sturgis. Yes, it added to crowds on the roads and attractions, but it wasn't awful either. We drove through Cheyenne during Frontier Days in 2019, but it was a Sunday morning, so I don't think we really saw the big picture of what it does to traffic and crowds. I can understand the dread if you had it all worked out and it fell apart due to the stupid pandemic.

 

[cgersic]

Absolutely loving the photos!!! And I'm so glad you got your bear sighting. We got skunked by moose and elk during our vacation up there as well. And we never got actual bear sightings, but we saw lots of evidence they were around at our campsite! I think Logan Pass is one of the most serene areas I've ever had the good fortune to visit and your photos brought a lot of that back. Thank you for that!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Absolutely loving the photos!!! And I'm so glad you got your bear sighting. We got skunked by moose and elk during our vacation up there as well. And we never got actual bear sightings, but we saw lots of evidence they were around at our campsite! I think Logan Pass is one of the most serene areas I've ever had the good fortune to visit and your photos brought a lot of that back. Thank you for that!

Animals coming into our campsite is one of the things that truly scares me with tent camping. Even here, I get freaked out if we have coyotes wind up in our campsite. Glad it's brought back good memories

 

[HouCuseChickie]

July 23rd

I think I labeled the vast majority of the 22nd as the 21st...so we really didn't lose a day. I just got stuck on typing a date.I guess with a long trip, it makes sense to lose track of time a bit.

It was tempting to sleep in a little while still in Glacier, but I wanted this to be more than a travel day and after 3 nights in one spot, I think we were all ready to get on the road. In fact, I think we were out the door before 7:30am. It also was only a 5.5-6 hour drive to our hotel in West Yellowstone. Drive time is a funny thing. Our drive from home to Wichita, KS (minus stops) was about 8-8.5 hours. Our drive from Wichita to Fargo, also not including stops, was 10-10.5 hours. These aren't short drives, nor are they the longest pt A to pt B drives we've made over the years. Yet, for whatever reason, today's shorter drive felt soooooo much longer.

The first part of the drive took us through some really quiet areas. It was pretty to see the hazy mountains of Glacier way off in the background as we drove through all of this farmland. We saw lots of deer along the way too...although not quite as funny as the deer we'd seen on the way to Medora. I recall some of them were hanging out on the tops of hay bales. Oh well, it was just one more thing for me to keep an eye out for on the road. The big thing was slow traffic. Much of this trip would involve driving on roads where I'd have to play chicken to pass the slower traffic ahead of me. And with all of the hills and curves, it was a rather frustrating process. Maybe this is why I was feeling ultra annoyed with the drive. We passed through several really cute little towns, but we'd wind up stopping in Helena to grab some lunch. It was just before 11am, but David's gotten pretty good at using Google Maps to find well rated dining in new areas for us...so he found this pizza place opening at 11. It was also kind of funny, because they were in a vintage Pizza Hut building. It's also kind of funny how Pepsi seems to be the soft drink of choice in the west.

Caught this as we were heading out of town...

David took over driving after lunch and got into a battle with my navigation. He didn't understand what she was telling him and he couldn't understand the map. He's very odd when it comes to NAV. When in his own truck, he runs it through his phone and refuses to use the audio. Meaning he's always visually referring back to the map. I will admit that the verbal directions were unclear, but the map based directions show up in the heads up display and I suspect he wasn't using that tool. We eventually were able to turn around and go in the right direction. I'm not sure if it was my allergy meds or the food (which was creating all kinds of issues), but I fell asleep shortly after we got out of Helena. This happened to me quite a bit when we were driving. I'd just get so insanely tired and David would have to drive. As I dozed off, I recall hearing K ask for a bathroom. When I woke up...over an hour later...David was still trying to find her a bathroom. I guess after Helena...there was just...nothing. It wasn't until we made it to the town of Ennis were we able to find a bathroom. And in case you forgot where you were...Montana door stops.

While I was waiting to check out (snacks...need snacks) a woman came in and asked if they had worms. I don't know why, but it struck me as ridiculously funny. We were in fly fishing country...it's a very common and valid question, but when he said they have worms out in the rear...I almost lost it. At least the town was super cute and kept me from laughing all day.

Cute river area...

Getting closer...

I didn't bother messing with these pics, but hopefully, you can see the faint outlines of all of the mountains in the background. The smoke was just that bad!

I decided to play with this one a little. The mountains are still so hard to see, but at least you can kind of now see them.

Now, I didn't mess with this...

I also wasn't sure which way it would take us into West Yellowstone. There were about 3 or 4 different ways, but we ended up being routed in a way that really interested me. I've always been fascinated by the seismic activity in the Yellowstone region and had read up on the Hebgen Lake quake, Earthquake Lake, and the casualties associated with it. The mountains around us may have been heavily obscured by smoke and haze, but there was no hiding that we were driving along Earthquake Lake and then Hebgen Lake. It was exciting and sad all at once.

The sign at the hotel/motel in West Yellowstone pretty much said it all with how hot, dry and smoky everything was.

Funny, in all of our times at Yellowstone, we never have made it to West Yellowstone. It was really bizarre to have all of this civilization so close to the park.

Check in was pretty simple. The hotel and motel were connected to a little store and restaurant, and that's where I also had to go to check in. At least, on the way in, I found their cocoa and coffee station. Three words...huckleberry hot cocoa! We got our keys (more physical old school ones) and moved into our room. Unlike the Whistling Swan, the doors at the Historic Madison Hotel/Motel locked behind us. Hey, I at least asked...since the ones at the last place had to be locked like a home door.

The room itself wasn't bad...well, in some ways. It was cramped, but we could make that work. The bathroom really looked like it needed a refurb. It was just that level of old where no matter how much you clean it, it always looks grimy. My biggest issue, there was a moldy/musty/mildewy smell in there and it was triggering my allergies. It was so bad that I had to resort to wearing a Covid mask in the room- even to sleep. This was before Delta blew up, so we were going more mask free. So, I was just happy I had something.

I had one goal in the park today and a whole lotta laundry that needed to be done that night. So, we finished unloading our stuff and then drove into the park. Thankfully, the west entrance to Yellowstone was literally a block and a half away.

Coming up...we get a little bit of Yellowstone time before laundry with opening ceremonies and dinner 50s style.

 

[ladydi]

I am really enjoying your trip report! Our family drive from the Chicago area to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons last summer during your same dates. Interested to see if your animal sightings increased. We saw everything on our list-including a bear walking to a lake in the Tetons that was a little too close!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

July 23rd continued...

I honestly cannot recall what time it was when we got to the YNP west entrance, but I kept trying to remind everyone that we didn't have a tone of time. I'm nearly certain it was after 3pm...maybe closer to 4pm, and on top of my singular park goal for the day, it was also laundry day. It figures that all of the places we were staying with laundry facilities were either several days before or a few days after when I could see us really needing to do laundry. I had to laugh every time I thought about how this part of the trip research also involved finding the best laundromats in town. Well, laundry would have to wait...I had park goals!

There were only two lanes open for entry via the west entrance. I jumped back and forth a few times at the very beginning but just decided to deal with whatever wait our current lane had. It wasn't too awful and we were in the park pretty quickly. The west entrance takes you along the Madison River to the Madison Junction. If you go left, you head towards Norris and Mammoth. If you go right, you head towards Grand Prismatic and Old Faithful. Before hitting the junction, we slowed down to about 5-10 mph. We were so scarred from our construction waits in Glacier that we actually forgot for a moment that it could be an animal. No pictures, but it was a large bull bison heading west along the road. Shortly after that...we turned right. My goal...the Fairy Falls trail to access the scenic overlook for Grand Prismatic. Traffic wasn't too bad, but nobody in the car would take pictures...so I snapped a few a couple of times we came to a stop.

We passed by the actual Grand Prismatic parking area before getting to the Fairy Falls lot. While it was late in the day, the crowds didn't seem as bad as we've seen in the past. I also could have sworn I saw a sign either prohibiting or limiting RVs. After that battle I had in 2018, it felt kind of nice to see something that might curb some of those issues. In any event, we parked at Fairy Falls and started heading towards the overlook. I honestly can't recall the hike length. It wasn't too long, the surface was much nicer than that trail we were on in Glacier, and the elevation gain wasn't awful...but for whatever reason...I wasn't doing well. Lugging the backpack didn't help. Next time we do one of these trips, I'm investing in a photography pack so that the weight is better distributed and cushioned. Still, I was stuck with what I had...so I just took it slow and took pics as I went.

It occurred to me pretty early on that I should also be using my filters for my smaller zoom lenses. My glasses are all polarized, so why not add that for the lenses?

It would have to wait until the next day, but I think I put my polarizing filter on one and the UV filter on the other for the rest of the trip. Oh well, still walking...slowly...and taking pics...