Leaving Yellowstone and Grand Teton

After ten days at Red Rock RV Park, I was ready to leave it behind -- along with leaving summer behind. Today is Labor Day and I'm not ashamed to say I really dread the long holiday weekends as we have so much competition for campground space.  Don't get me wrong... I really love children -- especially when they're in school. 

We got a good start with a beautiful clear morning. Landon and Marcella pulled away just ahead of us and we followed them back into Yellowstone National Park, taking the large southern loop again, passing by Old Faithful and heading down to Yellowstone Lake.

Yellowstone Lake

Everything was going smoothly until we missed a turn that Landon had intended to take. We drove on until we found a long pull-out.  We eagerly jumped out and took BJ and Lexie for a short walk down toward the lake... which is, incidentally, bubbling and steaming around the edges.  Most unnerving.

Something about a boiling lake bothers me. 

Just before the awning catastrophe. 
Marcella taking a picture of me taking a picture.

About this time Wayne noticed our curb side awning was not securely rolled into it's "travel" position.  Now this thing is not one of those good ole reliable mechanical awnings.  Oh no. This is an electric awning that extends and retracts with the flip of a switch. Tightening the awning didn't work so Wayne though it might be a good idea to extend it a bit and then try retracting it.  I heard a solid "thump" and looked to see the huge 10' x 25' awning fully extended into the trees along the roadside.  Wayne's face was colorless.

Awning deployment here is NOT a good thing.

Manually rolling the motorized awning required all four of us. Using a ladder, Wayne managed to roll the awning while Landon and Marcella held it into place. Then Wayne climbed onto the coach roof to secure it somehow. Meanwhile I was scouring the operators manual for any assistance it would provide -- a useless exercise.  In the end we used velcro straps and duct tape to hold the thing in place until we could get a repair. Mind you now... we're in Yellowstone National Park and there's not a really large city near here. 

Wayne on top. Landon holds the forward awning arm.
Marcella at the rear.   I'm taking pictures -- very important role.

Getting the velcro strap put in place.

Marcella can do this with one hand.

Finished!   Duct tape is a necessity in the tool box.

Once the awning was secured we still needed to turn around and take the turn we'd missed.  While our coach is long at 40', Marcella and Landon are 42' and we'll need 40 acres to turn these rigs around. We think we've found it at one point...

It was right about here Wayne said to Landon on the CB, "You've got it. Plenty of room."

But there wasn't plenty of room.  It's not easy to back a rig but Landon "got 'er done"!

We tied up traffic for a few short minutes.  Once we got all straightened out, we moved on to the next wide spot.

Once we got on the right road we continued the drive south, crossing the Continental Divide several times between Yellowstone and into Grand Teton National Park where we came upon a Elks Ranch Flat and a huge herd of bison.  We stopped for pictures, a short rest and a look-see at our awning tape job.

Photo taken through the glare of the windshield.
We got to almost 8,000 foot elevation and crossed the Continental Divide three times.

The Rockefeller Memorial Parkway goes through Grand Teton National Park.

Tetons

One of two buffalo herds.

Our rig with the Tetons in the background.

Marcella, Landon and BJ in the far right corner.
That's their rig -- Tetons in the background.

It was nice to see the Tetons from the opposite side of where we'd seen them yesterday.  I was glad we hadn't decided to stay in the Teton National Park, though, as a fabulous view of the mountain range was all I needed for my "Teton fix". 

We drove on into and through Jackson Hole, Wyoming and then back into Idaho, yet again to stay overnight at a campground at Swan Valley before going on into Idaho Falls to see about our awning repair.  Marcella and Landon make the ride with us as they want to see about getting service on their coach washing machine too.

The Antler Arches are in Jackson Hole.

The Snake River going back into Idaho from Wyoming.

Trout Dinner, Visits to Mesa Falls and Grand Teton

Ready to cook.

Trout Dinner

Our Red Rock RV Park neighbor, Chet and his wife, Chris, made a mistake when they bragged about the wonderful trout they were cooking on the grill last week.  I love good fish.


After a minimal amount of begging from me, Chet brought over a huge bag of frozen cutthroat and brook trout and shared his grilling recipe.  I thanked him profusely and offered to pay for the fish but he refused payment.  

We kept the fish frozen until Saturday when we'd have plenty of time to cook and enjoy eating them.

Chet describes his cooking technique to Wayne.

The trout was delicious but could have fed a small army. We are, after all, just four old folks.  Marcella, Landon, Wayne and me -- along with our mutts, BJ and Lexie.

Mesa Falls

Sunday, September 4 is our last full day in Island Park near Yellowstone.  In addition to the National Park, there are several local sites I'd like to see.  While my com padres (Marcella, Landon and Wayne) were not interested in seeing Quake Lake, they do want to see Mesa Falls, a cooperative effort of Idaho State Parks and Caribou Targhee National Forest. It's a recreation area that begins at Bear Gulch and follows the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway and includes the Upper and Lower Mesa Falls.  Those falls are our destination today.  Once again, we're in two cars and taking a picnic lunch which we enjoy so much.

We'll travel along the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway that begins in Ashton, Idaho and travels through some beautiful farmland.  This is the "world's largest seed potato producing area" -- who knew?

I liked this sign simply because there's a moose on it.
I'm still on the moose hunt.

The first stop on this day is the 114 foot Upper Falls. The Big Falls Inn, built between 1912 -1914 by Mesa Power Company (probably as an office building) is on the property just above the falls. A dam and power generation plan were planned back then but they were never built.  The area became a tourist attraction and the Inn became a stagecoach stop and hotel for travelers going to Yellowstone.  Later the Inn was used as a restaurant, then a dance hall and later, a scout camp. The US Forest Service acquired the property in 1986 and began restoration of the building in 1997. This is how it looks on our visit today. 

Big Falls Inn is listed on the Register of National Historic Places. circa 1916

Marcella, Landon and their protective dog, BJ.

Inside the Inn I found another moose.  No live ones yet.

Nice wooden walkways have been built around the falls area.  We strolled, took pictures and fielded questions about Lexie and BJ.  Everybody wants to "pet the puppy" it seems.  It's tough to tell the little kids that Lexie is too afraid to let them pet her.

Fear the beard -- the Wayner.

This area is part of Henry's Fork trout stream. Eating our trout dinner last night, I didn't know, but learned today that Cutthroat Trout are the only native trout in these Henry's Fork waters.  Brook and Rainbow trout were introduced in the 1880's.

Lexie absolutely hates waterfalls but I kept her calm with one arm around her all the time.
The north side of the falls (left side of the picture) has a climate all it's own with the constant spray from the waterfall.
There's a nice rainbow behind me too.

This picture was taken just after someone approached me asking to pet Lexie. 
Poor dear, I had to decline as my little furbaby is so afraid right now.

After touring the Upper Falls, Wayne and Lexie waited in the shady car while I explored the historical significance inside the Inn (that's where I found the stuffed moose, a bear, porcupine and numerous other wildlife remains).  We ate lunch at a picnic table in the shade and then moved on to the Lower Falls -- just a short one-mile drive down the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway.

The Lower Mesa Falls is 65' high. A rock walled overlook was build here by the CCC in  the 1930's.

At the Lower Falls, we were attacked by very persistent flies so our visit was short.  Hitting the road again, we continued the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway to an area where we had a good view of the Grand Teton Mountains. Early settlers called this mountain range "Pilot Peaks". French trappers referred to it as "Les Trois Teton" or "Three Breasts".

Looking across the Warm River to the Tetons.
The Tetons are from left to right: 
Mount Owen, 12,928' - Grand Teton 13,770 - Table Mountain 11,106 - Middle Mountain 12,804 - South Mountain 12,541

Driving down into the farmland. 
Tetons in the background

You be the judge... is this beautiful?

Old Faithful

Today's plan was to take in the large southern circle of Yellowstone National Park. This route would take us through the Geyser Basins and around the edge of Yellowstone Lake, by Fishing Bridge and then north along the Yellowstone River before we'd return on a part of the route we'd already taken in our northern loop excursion a few days prior.

Because we have furkids (and BJ is a big furkid) we took separate cars. We also packed lunches. It's great to be with friends -- even if you don't ride together!

Marcella, Landon and BJ

Another lone bison bull. 
He is the fifth we've seen -- the first  today.

We pulled into the Yellowstone Information Station at Madison so the dogs could take a walk and Landon could get his National Park book stamped. We ran upon one of these great old tour buses.

The driver and the passengers were patient as we posed.

BJ wasn't allowed to go down into this area so Landon and Wayne went while Marcella and I waited with the furkids.

The Nez Perce War

I don't ever remember reading anything in school about the Nez Perce War of 1877.  The name of Chief Joseph was just vaguely familiar. We stopped along the road for a short "refresher" lesson of the event. It goes like this: In August 1877 (after the civil war) some 600 Indian men, women and children camped in this area. They were making their way to Canada from their Oregon homeland which had been taken by the US Government (sounds familiar). US Soldiers were close behind.  The US government had declared a "non-treaty" against the Nez Perce and pursued them to be forceably placed on a reservation. This elderly group of Nez Perce, led by Chief Joseph and several others traveled 1,170 miles and were just 40 miles short of reaching the Canadian border when they were captured. 

Marcella, Landon (aka Curtis) and the Wayner. 

This western part of the circle takes us through the Geyser Basins and inside the Caldera Boundary. I've learned more about how the Caldera effect works and it's reminiscent of baking a cake.  If the cake rises but is taken from the oven too soon, it will "fall" and leave marks on the surface. Same principle with the Caldera.

Approaching the Geyser region, we saw the first signs of coming attractions:

We stopped at the Lower Geyser Basin's Fountain Paint Pots for these pictures:

Boiling mud  makes a "smacking" sound.

I'm holding Lexie pretty close right now.

We stopped for lunch at a picnic area and found yet another lone bison bull grazing. 

Fearless women.

After lunch we made one more stop -- this one at Midway Geyser Basin where Wayne announced that he was "all geysered out" and opted not to take the lengthy walk to see more boiling water.   I took the walk while he and Lexie stayed in the car.

This is Excelsior. It's most recent eruption was in 1985 when she roared back to life for forty-seven hours!
Impossible to know when it will happen again.  I'm outta here.

These geyser basins are not small areas. They cover large spaces as seen here.

Wait!  I know these people!
It's Marcella and Landon.  BJ waits patiently in the car ... again.

Colorful mud and mineral deposits.

Okay.  We're off again!

Next Stop:  Old Faithful

Gift Shop, Ice Cream, Bathrooms and Old Faithful.  Our activities included all of these in addition to being with good friends. BJ stayed in the car, but Miss Lexie rode in her Outward Hound to see the eruption of Old Faithful.  

Shopping for souvenirs, we missed one eruption of Old Faithful and shopped another hour until near time for the next one -- they occur every 92 minutes.  

Marcella and Landon have just missed the eruption of Old Faithful (in the background)

Landon waiting for Old Faithful (no I not referring to Marcella)

We ran upon a very nice ranger, I forgot his name. 
He let Marcella wear his Ranger Hat so she can be a "Junior Ranger" today!

Pop and Lexie wait while Mom shops.

The Old Faithful Lodge

Thar She Blows!

Because it was so late in the day, we all decided to just backtrack to West Yellowstone instead of trying to complete the remaining  half of the southern circle drive through the park. 

We stopped at the park sign to snap a photo of ourselves as we left.

Marcella, Landon, Wayne and me.
Protection provided by BJ the "wonder beagle" (sitting in front)

The next day, Landon told me he heard on the news that someone had been killed by a bear in the park the day we were there.  It happened near where we were.  

Moral:  Yellowstone can be dangerous.

August 17, 1959: Earthquake!

On August 17, 1959, a beautiful moonlit night in Gallatin National Forest was interrupted by one of the most powerful earthquakes recorded on the North American continent. It was in the Madison Canyon, Montana area. The epicenter of the quake was at what's known as the Duck Creek "Y".

I would have been a child then but oddly enough I have never even heard about this deadly earthquake. 

The 7.5 Richter scale quake triggered a massive landslide that sent 80 million tons of rock crashing down the Madison River Canyon in Montana.  High velocity winds and a gigantic wall of water swept through the area. The Madison River was blocked -- water backed up behind the rocks.

In a matter of seconds, the earth's crust dropped 19 feet. The land under nearby Hebgen Lake tilted upward. There were cabins on the north shore -- they were all consumed by the water.  Meanwhile, the south shore lay high and dry.  Water sloshed -- waves crashed. Waves crested over nearby Hebgen Dam. The earthen dam cracked but did not break.

Three sections of US Highway 287 fell apart, Hundreds of vacationers were trapped. Twenty-eight lives were lost. A new lake was formed.  Fittingly, it became Quake Lake. The lake itself filled in three weeks. It is 190 feet deep and 6 miles long.

Our campground at Island Park, Idaho is less than 20 miles from this specatcular natural disaster. We learned about the occurance from a tourist brochure in the campground office. 

Surprisingly, from my group, nobody wanted to see Quake Lake except me so I didn't see it.

From:  www.smate.wwu.edu

From: www.serc.carleton.edu

Visiting With Friends

On the fourth day at Island Park, Idaho, our friends from Yuma, Landon and Marcella, along with their beagle, BJ rolled in to join us. We've not seen them since last March but Marcella and I stay in touch regularly. 

Keepin' the coach clean.  Marcella (ladder) and Landon (watching) drove nearly 700 miles in 2.5 days to see us.
They were exhausted -- but not enough to leave those bugs on that windshield!

Wash woman.

Just before they arrived.  They parked beside us here at Red Rock RV

Our nearest neighbors

Landon