Day 7 - 7/30/12 West Yellowstone, MT to Hardin, MT

West Yellowstone to Hardin, MT - 271 Miles

In doing some research I realize that the trip we had planned for today would have been entirely too long for our little peanut. We had initially planned to travel from West Yellowstone to Sheridan Wyoming. Because it is really slow going through the park the best route to get to interstate 90 is to head north into Montana and then back down into Wyoming bypassing the park. Once we actually mapped that out we decided we needed to stop earlier. We chose to stop in the beautiful oasis that is Hardin, MT. We did not know what a poor choice this was until we arrived…

It’s time to hit the road and we leave the Lovely Grizzly RV Park, of course we take advantage of the photo opportunity with the life size grizzly in the RV park. I wanted one of Katelyn on the bear, because if we are going to do this we might as well do it right, but the bear had been manufactured out of some sort of metal or plastic that after 2 minutes in the sun was 4000 degrees. We settled for standing in front of it. The flag was a nice touch too, must be a patriotic bear. It is so funny to me that the closer people get to actually living near wildlife, the more faux wildlife they like to display in their yards, places of business, McDonald’s etc. I am sure there are more carved wood bears in the town of West Yellowstone than there are actual bears in the park. We snap our grizzly picture and load up. Nothing says Christmas card picture like one of your kid in front of a ferocious fake grizzly and Old Glory!

Traveling north towards Bozeman, Montana we go through some really pretty areas, for a period of time we are actually still in the park. One spot we went through, named Big Sky, was just gorgeous. Just a small town that in a narrow valley along the river. Should have snapped a picture, you will just have to take my word for it. We weren’t lucky enough to have any other wildlife sightings, a bunch of ravens; those things are like pigeons around here. I don’t think we even saw a redtail hawk. We are traveling northeast towards Billings, Montana where we decide to stop and grab some lunch. I had an intense craving for a delicious crisp chicken burrito and decided to google Taco Time locations in Montana. Jackpot! The eagle has landed! Eureka! Taco Time, located in Billings Montana… By far this was the highlight of the day. I am dead serious about that, there was really not much else that exciting about today’s trip. I indulge in my delicious lunch, of course while feeding Katelyn some completely organic and possibly even homemade meal; I shovel a fried burrito into my mouth as if I hadn’t eaten in a month.

Just lovely...

Not much to do in Hardin but
play with beer boxes 

Our neighbor,
we made sure our doors were locked.

Time to hit the road and head towards Hardin, the route gets a bit less scenic. Katelyn is taking her afternoon nap as we pull into the Grandview RV Park in Hardin. More like Grandspew. This place was a no frills, bare bones, RV parking lot or as I immediately called it, a dump. The internet is never a true gauge of how these places can be. They managed to get the one tree on the property in every picture on their website. It’s a thousand degrees outside and the one spot with a tree was already occupied. Scott heads into the office to check us in, he described his encounter to me – It smelled like cat pee, the gal was rude and they have an ice cream social every night at 7pm. But don’t forget to bring cash because it’s $2.50 for a scoop of ice cream, though she assured him it is a generous scoop. I would rather get a 50 cent soft serve from the log cabin McDonald’s. Plus we might all spontaneously combust in the heat on the walk over and then who would they rip off with their $2.50 ice cream? We head to our area of gravel, they called it a pull-through spot but we may have side swiped the meth den trailer that was behind our spot, so we decided to back in. They do have spotty internet service and offered cable TV so we head into the trailer and decided we were in for the night. Save your ice cream, Grandspew.

Filthy, gypsy baby.

Katelyn harassing Oliver.

Day 6 - 7/29/12 Day two in Yellowstone

The morning has arrived with no divorce papers being filed so apparently Scott has recovered from the incident with the Truck. We have decided to get up early this morning to hit the prime wildlife sighting times. Our morning came earlier than we expected when Katelyn’s toy piano began to play in the middle of the night. When toys start to make noises on their own and wake you from a dead sleep it’s actually quite terrifying, in the same way that clowns (of any sort) are terrifying. I refused to get up in fear that some gremlin was in there tickling the ivories. Scott decides to check it out and discovers that Simon has fallen asleep with his paws and the piano, best part was that Katelyn slept through all of this.

These signs are posted throughout the park,
it was very interesting to the different stages of regrowth the area was in.

At about 6:15am we head out to the park (yep, we were serious about spotting some critters) of course not before we stop at the log cabin McDonald’s for a McCoffee and McBreakfast. Here are pictures of our day –

No wildlife, though we were just sure there should have been some.

Brown spot right in the middle,  Large Bull Moose!

I am sure this is the same Elk that I have photographed 10 times now.

Black mound right in the middle? I promise that is actually a black bear.

Grizzly! A real one!!!

What could be better than breakfast, al fresco, with Elk?

So excited we saw a bear!
Actually she was asleep
but I told her all about it.

Ginormous Bull Elk.

I got to do some souvenir shopping
again today, much to Scott's
dismay. This pink Yellowstone
hat just called out to me.
Plus it has pockets on it for Katelyn
to put her fishing flies in, or Cheerios.

Second favorite souvenir.

Our last day in Yellowstone has come to an end. I am allowed to drive us back to the RV park but Scott backs the truck in. Interestingly enough when he backs in he lowers the tailgate down, now had he done that for me we could have avoided the incident from the evening before. When we get back to the park we decide to check out the actual town of West Yellowstone. We first hit the visitor center and museum. Thor, yep that's his name, or at least that is what he asked to have printed on is name tag, informs us of the ridiculous entrance fee to the museum. I can't remember the cost to get in it but it was insane for what was the equivalent of a middle school book report and poster board display, I even skipped the gift shop! The town certainly has no shortage of mountain themed gifts shops, I am of course in heaven, this is certainly Scott's hell. I peruse a few shops, checking out the same exact junk that had lured me into all the gift shops in the park, but you never know if you have missed something! I could very well need a sling shot that says Yellowstone on it. I considered buying that for our friend's son Jimmy Mac but figured that was a poor idea, at least for them it would be a bad idea. I definitely took the personalized pocket knife of that list as well. I now know how children end up with so much stuff, as parents it is very hard to resist the junior park ranger outfit or the giant stuffed bison, all while Katelyn is being entertained by an empty water bottle. After my shopping excursion we grabbed a bit to eat at a place called The Gusher, it was a reference to Old Faithful, in any other area I would never eat at a place called The Gusher. The food was to be expected at such a place but they had Moose Drool beer and we were happy. Decent way to end our time in Yellowstone.

                    

Day 5 - 7/28/12 First Day in Yellowstone

Day 5 Yellowstone Exploration day!

No travelling today, we decided to take two days to go into Yellowstone National Park.

RV Park - Sacred grounds for the retired, Caucasian, road traveler and us.

 

This morning we wake up in the lovely Grizzly RV park in West Yellowstone. This place is like a master planned community, our 28 foot fifth wheel is almost dwarfed by the ginormous RV's we are parked in between. I am sure they feel we are from the wrong side of the tracks in the recreational vehicle world, we don't even have satellite TV. We always get up based on Katelyn’s schedule which tends to be about 8:00am, so we really can’t complain. Babies are so resilient and she has handled things so very well. Poor little thing, we have plucked her up from her home thrown her into a trailer for a month and then forced her to drive around and look at things that don’t even compute for her, not to mention changing her pants at rest areas and truck stops. She has really fallen back into her normal schedule, which makes me feel better in my hope that I am not ruining her for life. As I am sure, most new moms can relate to, you are sure everything you do has the potential to totally screw them up. This morning she wakes up as she normally does, very sweet and talkative. Since she has been very little we have done “Eskimo Kisses” with her, this morning she leans over and tries to give Oliver Eskimo Kisses. amazingly I realize that I am now someone who adores and cherishes moments like this, when your precious, delicate,  infant daughter is rubbing her nose on the nose of your dingy dog. The best part was that Oliver tolerated it. We are in such close quarters that I think the dogs have given up on trying to avoid Katelyn, the mini torture machine. It’s nearly impossible to ignore her when they are crammed into the back seat of the truck or in the trailer together. 

Today we are heading into Yellowstone to check out the park. There are two loops of the park; we have decided to do the lower loop today which has the more well-known sites like Old Faithful. We didn't have as many adventures for me to re-tell, it was more just the sites there were to see. So this blog entry will mainly be photos of our day with fewer stories to share; well up until the INCIDENT of that evening that almost ended this entire trip. But I will get there, now back to the lovely national park we are visiting.

First Elk of the day.
She was actually really close to the road, Scott didn't want me to get out to take this picture,
but I left the door open so if I had to run I could just jump right into the truck (that was my master plan)
Though that put me steps above the parents who actually sent their two children down the hill to be photographed in front of the elk. If that thing charged those kids were on their own...

The different colors would indicate different temperatures

Thermal pools and hot springs

You can't tell but Katelyn is as amazed by this as we are.

Yellowstone Grand Canyon and Artist Falls

We call this one -  "Asian Lady, Hidden Elk"

Bison, chillaxin'

Bison stalkers

More than one Bison

Old Faithful

Waiting for Old Faithful, Katelyn made a friend. Which kid is cuter?
If you choose the wrong kid your computer will be infected with a virus, choose wisely.

Katelyn giving her "This is super awesome" face

So our long day of seeing the sites has ended. Scott has decided he wants me to drive us back to the RV park, the driving can be very tedious as it can take 45 minutes to an hour to go 20 miles in the park. I am sure it's from all those fools getting out of their vehicles to take pictures of the Elk eating on the side of the road. Sadly I think that Elk fooled me again, I am pretty sure I got out and took another picture of the same stinking Elk on the way back, oh well. I SAFELY transport us all back to the RV park (here comes the incident). When we get to our spot Scott tells me to back the truck in towards the trailer, I do as I am told. As I back it in, Scott gives me some sort of fist pump signal, possibly even a Black Power fist, ignoring his odd gestures I continue to back in waiting for him to tell me to stop (possibly by putting his palm up facing me, in my world that means stop) Answer me this, when  you see police officers directing traffic what gesture do the make to the cars they would like to have stop?? It's not the Black Power fist. Anyway I am sure you can see where this leads. Suddenly Scott is yelling and swearing loud enough for that stupid Elk to hear, I quickly look back to make sure I have not run over his daughter, because that is what his current reaction seemed to warrant. I have not run over Katelyn or even the dogs so I fly out of the truck to make sure I have not run over some AARP member enjoying the RV park. There is fire in Scott's eyes so I can only imagine what I have done, he yells that I have hit the trailer hitch with the back of the truck. Really, that's it?? Well gosh darn - it that's a bummer!?!? I decide that I need a little air and go see if the weirdo is walking his cat. When I get back I inform Scott that I will call the insurance agent and will get the truck fixed. He then informs me it's not that bad, I didn't bother to even look at it. I head over to inspect the damage -

I am more upset about how badly my nails look.

The Damage. Oh really? You can't see it?
Let me help --->

Day 4 - 7/27/12 - Alpine, WY to West Yellowstone, MT

Travel day - Alpine, WY to West Yellowstone, MT -152 miles

Today we head north to our landing spot for Yellowstone National Park. I am incredibly excited since this will be my first visit to the park. Scott’s parents had recently been in the area and recommended an RV park that is about 5 minutes from the West entrance of the park. Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone are close neighbors, sort of like Reno and Sparks; brings to mind the old saying - Reno is so close to hell you can see Sparks. Anyway, Yellowstone sits just north of the Grand Tetons, when you purchase a pass for the Tetons you can use it to enter Yellowstone as well; we decide to go back through the Tetons and travel into Yellowstone to get to  our destination of West Yellowstone in Montana. You can take routes that bypass the parks but we figured we should take in as much as we can.

Final picture at the Tetons

We say our goodbyes to Alpine and travel north again into Jackson Hole. There are tons of Osprey in the area and they can resemble Bald Eagles, they duped me several times. We also spot a few red tail hawks on the way up. Traveling back through the canyon to Jackson Hole I am pretty sure I see the business end of three Elk, Scott did not see them so I think he doubts what I saw. Again who knows it could have been three port-a-potties. Taking the route through the parks, we pass the Tetons again and snap a few more pictures. It’s time for a lunch break and we decided to hit Colter Bay Village for some lunch, it's one of the stops still in the Grand Teton National Parks. Katelyn again makes friends with everyone that passes her by; it can drastically slow down the pace of lunch (or any outing). But really when your kid is as cute as mine what can you expect? Our waitress was from Nevada and actually lived near Quincy, California  for a short period of time (Quincy is pretty close to Reno for the non-Nevada readers). If I am not mistaken Scott was Prom King one year at Quincy High School... Not sure how, since he was not a student there, but I am sure his picture is still up in the VA hall where the dance was held.

It is not uncommon to have traffic pulled over for various wildlife,
this time we were able to watch these horses
 as they were herded to a pasture across the highway

 After lunch I FINALLY get to do some souvenir shopping. I had not gotten a chance to do any real shopping and I was starting to get the jitters. Memories are not enough for me, I need stuff! I could have a 32 minute layover in an airport and I will feel the need to purchase something to memorialize my visit.  When I was a child my grandparents had a home in the Florida Keys, we would visit every year. I know the dread my Mom and Sister felt when I would beg to go to the same gigantic tourist trap souvenir stores every time. I could spend hours going up and down every aisle, several times, searching for that perfect piece of junk to prove I had been to the Keys.  I would bet I am still the only person that purchased the shellacked puffer-fish riding a bicycle. Not much has changed.  I finish up my shopping; Scott can no longer take it and has gone outside for some fresh air. We hit the road again, now stocked with Teton themed trinkets.

So excited to go see the Elk!

The South Entrance of Yellowstone is really not far from Teton National Park and the road up there is very scenic. As we head into Yellowstone, we immediately notice that the forest is obviously still recovering from a huge fire. In 1988 a fire ripped through the area, it was amazing to see how long it takes for it to regrow.  Traveling towards West Yellowstone we get our first official Yellowstone wildlife sighting! There is a decent size group of Elk. We lucked out that there was a great place to pull off with the trailer and snap some pictures.  I was thrilled; it was really beautiful to see. As I stand there watching the Elk I am almost in tears; at this very moment my dear husband says “That is what you ate at Davis and Regina’s house.”

Elk.

Scott - Baby Wearer/ Wildlife Viewer extraordinaire.
   

These two fly fisherman got a very close visit from the
 Elk as they traveled across the river

Look closely, that is the weirdo who walked his cat,
and did so each night. 

Simon and Oliver checking out Montana

The day’s travels finally end when we head in to lovely West Yellowstone, Montana. This city also capitalizes on its mountain town feel; they had the nicest log cabin McDonald’s anyone could ask for. We get settled into the park and need to take the dogs for a nice long walk; Normally I wouldn’t share such an unimportant piece of information, though some may feel most of what I share is unimportant information. But while on our walk there was a guy walking his cat out in the middle of this field = Giant red flag for total weirdo. It’s time to head back to the trailer.

Day 3 - 7/26/12 - Jackson hole and Grand Tetons exploration day

7/26/12

No travel today, just sightseeing

Redtail sightings - Honestly we have no idea, when there is the potential to see things like Black Bears, Redtails fall pretty low on the list

When Scott and I planned this trip to Pittsburgh we knew that we wanted to take advantage of the amazing and interesting areas we would be passing through. We actually tweaked our route to match where we wanted to visit rather than the most direct path. No schedules, no time frame, we just chose to make this an adventure and we knew this was a once and a lifetime opportunity (though we hope not!)

I had never had the opportunity to see the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone so we made sure to take our time in these areas. Scott had been to the area but it had been years and I think as you mature you appreciate things on a different level. We know that Katelyn is entirely too young to appreciate or actually remember any of this, but we don't want to be parents that choose not do things because they have children (as long as it’s appropriate) Actually we realized very quickly, once into the parks, that if you have the right equipment babies are very portable and as everyone knows there is no shortage of baby equipment available!

Wyoming Humor.

Antlers arches at the town square

Today we are going into Jackson Whole and The Teton National park.  We traveled north still along the Snake River, it’s really pretty country and just as you head out of the canyon and into Jackson Hole you can see the very peak of the Grand Teton. Jackson is a great mountain town, but of course with no shortage of your tourist trap shopping centers, I will openly admit I one of those who gets trapped. It is well maintained and they certainly cash in on their mountain town notoriety, even the Kmart looks like a log cabin. We head into town and hit the Chamber of Commerce, well actually I head into the Chamber of Commerce and Scott keeps walking because he pays no attention to what I say.  Not unusual, I am sure he feels the same way. The woman there was incredibly helpful and told us about more off the beaten path spots to hit. She recommended a restaurant in town that would be good to take our little Peanut (Katelyn has about 10 nicknames; the most commonly used in my blog would be Peanut). We make our way into town, passing the town square which is home to the famous antler arches of Jackson Hole. We also pass more mountain themed gifts shops than I could count, each one cried out to me but I held my ground and resisted (for the time being.) Katelyn enjoyed a fabulous lunch at the Sweetwater restaurant as did Scott and I; it was really a great recommendation. If you happened to be traveling through the Jackson Hole area it’s worth a stop, the restaurant is actually an old cabin and is a historical landmark with the Teton Historical Society. You can’t beat good food and good history.

Cheerios at Sweetwater

A piece at the
 National Museum of Wildlife Art

After lunch we decide to head into the Grand Teton National park. Jackson Hole provides a small peek of the Tetons, but you really have no idea what is to come. Before you access the entrance to the park there is the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Some of you may know that my Grandfather was a zoologist. He was a very important part of my life and sadly I lost him when I was 15. My Grandfather had a passion for wildlife and he left that impression upon me. With that, I could not pass up a chance to see a museum dedicated to wildlife art. The museum was very well put together and had some stunning pieces. They also had a great little children’s portion and though Katelyn was too young to really enjoy it she was just happy to be out and about.

Katelyn exploring the different pelts, just to the left was preserved poo.

The Tetons

Katelyn's maiden voyage

Peak of the Tetons on the way to Jenny Lake

Once we leave the museum we head north into the Moose entrance of the park, at this point you really get the full magnitude of the Tetons and they really are breathtaking. Per the Chamber of Commerce lady (sadly I can’t remember her name) we hit an area called Jenny Lake. You can take a short boat ride across the lake and then hike up to some falls. We have the baby backpack and figured we would check it out. Ms. Katelyn takes her very first official boat ride! As usual Katelyn makes friends with everyone on the boat and is the star of the show, I figured if this dingy goes down that could benefit me. We start hiking to the falls, along with everyone and their brother, many of whom who would have trouble hiking the steps up into an Applebee’s so it was slow going in parts. We all made it safely up to the falls and it was well worth the trip. Katelyn seemed to enjoy the hike although I think she spent most of her time chewing on various parts of the backpack, scenery can be lost on her. As we were heading back down we saw several families watching as their children enjoyed drinking water straight from the stream, I am sure they will enjoy that week of diarrhea as well.  The boat shuttles us back to shore and again Katelyn makes friends with the family sitting in front of us. One of them thought Katelyn was about 4 months old; she is presently 9.5 months old… Not sure if that means I have a scrawny kid? I think they were from Iceland and aren’t those giant power lifters from there, they just breed em’ big I guess.

The Falls (they have an actual name but clearly I am bad with names)

Hike to the falls

After leaving the lake we decided to drive the loop around the park, this is the wildlife spotting time. It almost seemed harder to actually spot things when you were really looking for them. I think my eyes would play tricks on me. I would think I saw a black bear, Oh, nope, that’s a Starbucks.
We do finally spot some Bison and then more Bison and then lots more Bison; they have such a distinct shape that once you've seen them it’s much easier to spot them again. Soon after we saw a herd of Antelope right on the side of the road, they were about to cross in front of us and I have an incredible picture taking opportunity right from the truck! BUT those stupid child locks are on to keep Oliver from flinging himself on to the highway; I desperately pound on the window control but it’s too late.  They cross right in front of us so I toss Scott the camera and I have posted the photo outcome.

If you look very closely you will see some white dots in the distance, that is the rear end of an Antelope.

There is a less known loop off the main road that the no name lady from the chamber also recommended. We decided to take that and we were so glad we did. As we head down the road we see a ton more Bison and as we come around a bend we see several cars stopped on the side of the road. Looking out to our left and there was a Mama and Baby Moose!! Those are the scientific names and they were squealed at the top of my lungs when we saw them. It was so exciting to see, I grab the camera and we head down to take some pictures.  I have a nice little camera, that takes nice little pictures, but I am sure people giggled when I was able to put it in my pocket and these folks showed up with their tripods and 7 foot lenses. I did feel better than the people taking pictures with their cell phones. Either way it was incredible to see. We were told there were 2 Bull moose just up the road, we went up that way but were never able to see them. 

Mama and Baby Moose, how do you not squeal when you say that???

It’s time to head back, as the hounds have been locked up in the trailer for longer than they wanted.  The dog rules are pretty strict at the parks and our two buffoons are certainly not behaved enough to risk it.  Not to worry they have AC and I even try to leave the radio on for them but the only thing I could find this morning was Rush Limbaugh and I won’t even do that to my dogs.