We woke early - it’s cold!! 49 degrees F and that’s inside the trailer! We put on the heat and crawled back into bed until it warmed up, thankful for the electric blanket.
Enough of being wimps, we’re up and ready to leave. Today we’re going to Yellowstone National Park to see Old Faithful!!
The park is only a few miles down the road, so we get there in good time. At the gate ($25 to get in) we are told that Old Faithful should go off around 11:15! It is an hour’s drive from the gate to Old Faithful, so we have plenty of time. We’re told about the wildlife there, but don’t see any until - a female moose, just as unconcerned about passing vehicles as could be! We watched her for a while, and then continued on. The park is surrounded by mountains, some snow-capped, and there are little streams everywhere.
Soon we see an area with lots of little steam clouds - actually small geysers! We’re getting close! Finally we reached the Old Faithful turnoff, with its large parking area, plenty big enough for our truck and trailer. There is a large Inn here, also a lodge for winter, with a converted van fit out with snow tracks instead of wheels sitting outside ready for snow.
When we got out of the truck - surprise! It is hot again! We’re glad we have the trailer along so we can change our clothes!
There is a trail surrounding Old Faithful which we took while we were waiting for the ‘blow’ - there are several small geysers there with water bubbling away in them. In the past, Indians would catch their fish and then attach them to a line and drop them into these pools to cook them. Good idea, but not allowed now (no idea why not, beats cooking them over a fire).
We sat on benches surrounding the geyser and waited. Soon the steam got much heavier, and everyone got excited, and then it waned. And then suddenly it started, and billowed steam and then water high up into the air! Our wait was rewarded with a huge display. Super!
We returned to the trailer and had some lunch, shared an ice cream from the on-site store, and then continued on our way to the east entrance. We crossed the Great Divide two more times! Once at some 6500 feet and another time at 8395 feet! At one spot we had to stop and wait for a buffalo to amble across the road (grass always greener on the other side), and saw a large herd of buffalo close enough to touch.
The scenery is breathtaking. Lakes, mountains, twisty roads.....
Then we are out of the park, but the roads continue to climb and descend. We are now in Shoshone National Park and then another park area before coming into Cody, WY.
Cody is named after Buffalo Bill Cody, and the whole area is ‘wild west’. Ranches, trail rides, mountains and valleys surround the town. The town itself is also ‘wild west’ with nightly rodeos, shops with western wear, a saddlery, upscale western furniture and decorating shops (for the log houses being built outside town), everything a cowboy or cowboy wannabe would want. After getting our trailer parked we spent an hour or so wandering through the downtown.
Tonight we opted for a KOA (a chain of RV parks we usually avoid) because we want power (for air conditioning tonight!), WiFi (we may not have any of either for a few days) and a laundry - the downside of today is the necessity of doing laundry and also grocery shopping, but there is a nice Albertson’s nearby so that isn’t too bad, and Mike helped with the laundry :)
We’re watching the hurricane developments on TV, sounds bad for a large area, and we hope everyone is OK.
Well, we have WiFi, and it is working well, but not for uploading pix - so still no pictures, but at least the blog is up to date!
Hurricane is expected here late tonight and tomorrow (at least the effects of it). Drove to Charlottetown this morning, back home this afternoon - some wild rain coming back through NB and western NS.
ReplyDelete