June 9-Fishing Bridge RV Park Yellowstone

Thankfully it was an uneventful trip from Madison to Fishing Bridge, we have been blessed that our travels have been safe. We went by way of Norris and Canyon, instead of by Old Faithful since we wanted to travel roads we had not been on before. We didn’t stop to see a thing because we will venture back and see Canyon area from here after unhooking the trailer, we have a full day to do that and to also go south to Thumb, even allotting an extra day. We do have phone service. It was interesting when we checked in she told me if we had Verzion we had service but if not we must use pay phone located near the check in. I even discovered my “hot spot” on Verizon worked well enough to post my blogs current, even if it took a very long time. The weather is fabulous, especially when we heard it is 109*F at home! I think it is between 65-68*F with sun and a little breeze. After setting up we went back to the General Store to buy a hose we left behind at the last water filling station. We also went to the Visitors Center, which as a nice display of birds in the area. We also drove to the Lake area to see what was there. There is an Inn, a Lodge, cabins, a post office, etc. There is a lot of development in this area compared to Madison. It was a restful and relaxing day, back to adventure tomorrow. 

Our RV site at Fishing Bridge

June 8-Madison Campground Yellowstone

The town of West Yellowstone was our destination today. The scenery on the way is lovely even if there are no thermal areas along this route to see. We didn’t see animals either but several birds when we stopped at different places along the Madison River. For a tiny town there is a lot to see. There is a Information Center, IMax (we passed on the IMax), Museum, and a nice Historic Walk of the area. They town is quaint with painted Bison all over town. Tony thinks they are real and when John tried to take him over to one he went ballistic, he was terrified. A Ranger at the Information Center confirmed what we saw yesterday was indeed a Grizzly Bear when he looked at my photo. We did have my Verizon Hot Spot in operation for about 15-20 minutes and then it stopped. However, I did get some of the blog posted. At a stop in town a Marmot came out to say “Hi” he lives under that little ramp. We stopped along the Madison River and had some time of relaxation, it was so peaceful listening to the water course along.

West Yellowstone

A nice Information Center

My Favorite painted Bison in town

Tony is NOT sure about this at all!!!

A Marmot came out to say HI!

West Yellowstone Entrance

Relaxing along the Madison River

Tony the Wonder Dog

When John took Tony for his final walk of the evening they also walked to the recycle station. since there is a little, unofficial trail behind it to the river John thought that would be nice. It was dark but he had a flashlight. So they went about 10-12 feet and Tony growled and put on his brakes. He refused, without the use of force, to go any further. John shone the flashlight around and saw nothing, but yet Tony growled and then turned and headed back toward camp. John didn’t budge but shinned the flashlight again but this time about 50 feet away 2 shiny eyes looked back. From the size and placement of the eyes John figured it was a wolf of some sort, maybe a gray wolf. So Tony is “just a dog” but he has some pretty good God given instincts going on! Needless to say, he got two cookies before bedtime!

Tony Explorer by Day, Guardian by Night!

June 7-Madison Campground Yellowstone

Another full day of adventure. Today we went from Madison to Mammoth Hot Springs, which is a 1 hour and 10 minute adventure according to our book and we were gone about 9 hours this time, so we made good time. We even ate our wrap for lunch in the van to save time! On our way from Madison to Mammoth Hot springs we stopped Norris which has nice paths and a plethora of geysers to see. There is a very old building that now houses a tiny museum and a bookstore. We stopped at the Artist’s Paintpots and Lower Terraces and walked those trails and boardwalks as well. We slipped into Montana when we wanted to see the beautiful north entrance arch built in 1872. Such different terrain in this area from the South Entrance where there are evergreens everywhere. The North Entrance is more stark with grasses and rocky with cliffs. On our return trip we stopped in Mammoth and  photographed the Elk who have their young right in between the housing area on the lawn, we saw one about 2 hours old. They apparently feel safe there and stay there to raise the young ones for a time. From there we went through the Upper Terrace Drive seeing multiple terraces. When leaving that area a lot of cars were stopped so it’s a sure bet there is something to see. This time it was a bear! I thought it was a Black Bear but in retrospect looking at the photos it is a Grizzly Bear! Neither of us have seen one of these in the wild before. One can tell by the prominent hump at the shoulders even if you cant see the rounded and lower ear placement. It was a young bear and not huge. It gave quite a show to submerge in the water and put his feet up in the air. Next stop was Beryl Springs where there was NOT a “no pets” sign so Tony got to take a very brief roadside walk to the steam this time. He was very interested. John might have been more interested in the 2014 Corvette that stopped as well.  Nice guy, so friendly, maybe lonely since he was alone. We talked to him awhile. We saw additional Elk and Bison today as well, along with waterfalls and the beautiful scenery that abounds. The last thing we experienced was not so fun. An accident, a vehicle rolled down a cliff off the road, apparently not making the turn. Sort of took some of the joy from our day to know this. There were 6 police cars, 3 ambulances, and at least 3 fire trucks.  After getting back we played some cards until the sun dropped and the obligatory rain of the day arrived. It usually rains about 20-30 minutes but it rained pretty hard around midnight ending before 2-3am.

Artist’s Paintpots

At Norris, Porcelain Basin Trail Ledge Geyser

Lower Terraces Palette Spring

Lower Terraces Minerva Terrace

Travertine Rocks called the Whoodoos

Upper Terrace Drive Orange Spring Mound

North Yellowstone Entrance in Montana 1872

Elk with baby 2 hours old

We didn’t even know this!

Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear Bathing

Beryl Spring

This is what $68K will buy 2014 Corvette

June 6-Madison Campground Yellowstone

Today we thoroughly explored the road and side roads from Madison to Old Faithful. The book suggests the time of the drive is 35 minutes, it took us 8+ hours with side road adventures. We saw fumaroles, mud pots, geysers, volcanic tableland, bacterial mat, sinter, cone geysers … just too many sites to mention! Our favorites were the Firehole Lake Drive, Fountain Paint Pot Area, and of course Old Faithful. Oh the Firehole Canyon Drive was great, we saw bison again as well. We also liked the Midway Geyser Basin where the clouds poured in and gave us a freezing rain/hail storm for about 15-20 minutes. The problem with the cloud cover was the Grand Prismatic Spring pool did not give off the colors we saw yesterday from the road. I guess I can’t say what our favorite thing was because it was just fascinating and other worldly. We gave a try at the Wi-Fi at the Old Faithful Lodge area but gave up with no success. However, our timing was great to see Old Faithful erupt! Great day but we are exhausted tonight, the beds felt really good. 

Firehole Canyon Drive, Firehole Falls

Fountain Paint Pots, Clepsydra Geyser

Old Faithful

Midway Geyser Basin, Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Lake Road, Black Warrior Lake

June 5-Madison Campground, Yellowstone Nat’l Park

We packed up, used the dump station and departed Signal Mountain Campground just before 10am. We didn’t drive far, only to Colter Bay Village because we wanted to do laundry. Now we are set for at least 10 days or so we won’t do laundry again until we depart Yellowstone. After laundry we headed out and passed a lot of lovely sites after entering Yellowstone. The most remarkable were Lewis Falls, Lewis Lake (with some ice and snow still on it), the Continental Divide (we crossed it 3 times), several geyser basins we will visit later, and a herd of Bison relocating to an unknown destination right down the road! When the traffic completely stopped we hoped it was something concerning animals and that we would see something eventually. The Bison didn’t seem the least bit aggravated by cars in their way, simply ignoring them, and even walked in between stopped cars and right up next to cars on both sides. There is no zoom used in these photos. It was astonishing! We guess there was about 100 head. Soon the traffic begin to move again and presently we arrived at Madison Campground. Shortly before 4pm we were enjoying a cold drink after setup. Sadly there is NO CELL PHONE service at all in Madison Campground. At our last place there was very little but I could still make calls and check maps and such most of the time. It will be old school now! As the sun dipped in the west the temperature dropped and there is a little wind. We are at a lower elevation here in Madison and there is no snow to be seen.

Yellowstone National Park

Lewis Lake with ice and snow

Continental Divide

Bison

More Bison

Our campsite at Madison in Yellowstone

We’ve wanted to come here for 13+ years!

What Tony does while we set up camp!

All setup, time for a cold drink!

June 4-Last Full Day at Signal Mountain Campground

This is our last full day in the Tetons and we will move to Yellowstone tomorrow. We used the Wi-Fi again, checked several things and had lunch at the Trapper Grill again. We heard many stories about the nachos so it was time for that! After lunch we took a trip out to the Potholes or Kettles made in the ground by the glacier formations. I saw at least 4 different wildflowers I had yet to see. The sky grew darker and we made our way back to camp and cleaned out the van and reorganized things, it somehow got out of control. We have the van ready to leave tomorrow and we will finish up a few things in the trailer in the morning. We just finished outside before the spattering of rain for the day arrived. It doesn’t last long and then the sun is bright and shining. However, today is the first day we saw waves and whitecaps on Jackson Lake. When we leave tomorrow there is a dump station here for us so that is great we can empty and refill before heading to Madison in Yellowstone. When we were cleaning in the trailer a mule tailed deer slowly walked through then empty, neighboring camp. It was cautious when it saw us but not afraid.

Nachos at Trapper Grill (Half Order!)

Potholes or Kettles

Down inside the Potholes or Kettles

Mule Tailed Deer in Campsites