Journey to the Dinosaurs

The past couple days have been less eventful as a whole, especially when compared with our normal excitement.  We’ve had a lot of ups and downs the past few days … up to 9000 feet and down to 5500 feet!  Driving south from WY, we passed over a long high plateau, oil fields and cattle ranches.  We made a quick fuel stop just before we crossed back in Utah on our way toward Dinosaur National Monument.

Entering the Flaming Gorge area of Utah from the border, we found plenty of significant hills to keep Rob on his toes at the wheel.  The campground we had chosen for the night ended up being down a steady steep decline.  Arriving at the bottom, we found essentially a parking lot for a marina – not exactly what we had hoped for!  And back up the hill we went!

We did find a nice campground down the road on a stream and set up camp.  We needed to stretch our legs after the drive so we walked the short distance down the road to check out the “big sheep creek geologic loop” drive.  Walking it just to get some exercise, we happened on some big horned sheep right along the road – and neither one of us had brought a camera! 

It just so happened that we were across from another campsite we hadn’t known was there and walked over to ask they only people in sight if they might take a photo for us and send it when they got back to service.  Sadly, as of this writing, the photos have not arrived BUT it was fun to meet Kyle and his wife (ugh, names!) and have a few laughs about our odd introduction.  Thankfully, the sheep were still around the next morning when we set out to tackle that 12.5 mile geologic loop on our bikes. 

Utah does an amazing job of educating in their nature areas.  With roadside markers for different geologic features throughout the state, it’s fun to learn little facts as you go along.  That’s what our bike ride was like.  The path was beautiful and interesting, both of which were particularly helpful because it was also ALL UPHILL!  About half way through the loop, when the road started to go down, we had had enough and enjoyed the ride back down the hill to the campsite.

With our exercise for the day out of the way, we got back on the road for the final grueling stretch of road before Dinosaur.  Notorious in the area and online, Hwy 191 south to Vernal touts a steep 8% grade decline for 7 or so miles.  Rob did an amazing job getting us down the hill (without burning up our brakes) and we stopped at our chosen campground for the night. 

The rest of the day was spent just taking it easy, something we have not really practiced on this trip!  We walked to the reservoir and I caught a few rays and we sat in the shade in our campsite and ate snacks and had a drink.  We had grilled tuna steak for dinner when an evening storm kept us in playing cards for the duration.

And today we spent at Dinosaur!  Wow!  I’ve seen the reconstructed bones in museums repeatedly but was never as impressed as I was seeing where those bones had laid.  With timelines dating back 149 million years and dinosaur bones in a pile on a mountainside, I found myself awestruck.  They’ve done such a tasteful job protecting this amazing site.  Having excavated a large portion of the wall providing skeletons for museums around the world, what is left is what was an old river bottom where dinosaur bones piled up when the creek ran dry.  In the jumble of bones the archaeologists do their work.  Numbering and logging the bones individually, each piece is identified.

After the quarry site, we drove further into the park for a hike and found the Sound of Silence trail up into an amazing sandstone canyon.  The mountains in the area have a look all their own and we enjoyed the hike through skinny passages and down sheer sandstone faces.  We surprisingly saw no wildlife other than a prairie dog and a few chipmunks but there were plenty of indicators that deer and mountain sheep had been in the area.

After a stop to see a small petroglyph site we were back on the road and headed south again.  With Capitol Reef park next in our sites, we had a few miles (and hills/mountains!) to travel before days end.  We made it to Ferron, UT almost in the exact center of the state.   We found a campsite at a big reservoir surrounded by gorgeous cliffs and buttes and a rainbow just for good measure.

For as hesitant as I was about the whole concept of this trip, it is turning out to be a journey hard to be beat!

The Big Date

June 1 marks the 33^rd anniversary of Rob and I getting married.  The day began early and cold as we opened the shades and looked out on the surrounding snow drifts.  The plan for the day was to finish the remaining sights and area of Yellowstone before heading out the east exit to Cody WY where we’d have a “night out” with Mexican food and the famous Cody Rodeo opening night performance.

After wrapping up the obligatory tasks, we went to the neighboring visitor center for the park video.  Another outstanding film (Yellowstone, Land of Life), we were ready to get out and be a part of the amazing surroundings.

We headed for the Yellowstone Grand Canyon and Falls for a bit of hiking.  We wandered along the canyon and down to the “brink of the falls” where we stood over the precipice and experienced the power of water first hand. 

The park was incredibly crowded.  Although very early in the season, it was Memorial Day week and by the time we tried to get to our other chosen hike for the morning, the parking lot was a traffic jam with NO place for an RV to park, not to mention maneuver!  Disappointed, we headed down the road toward the final hot springs area, Mud Volcano.

This area of the park is less obviously active than the geyser area.  The springs are more murky, thick and belching.  With sulfur smelling steam and fumes emanating from the different pools and names like Sulfur Cauldron and Dragon’s Breath, it was definitely a different experience from the clear pools and colorful landscapes!

We stopped for lunch along the edge of 

Yellowstone Lake and began the drive out of the park the rough more gorgeous mountain scenery.  Much of the area was victim to the park fire of recent years and total hillsides were covered with charred and fallen trees but evidence of vibrant regrowth was everywhere.  Enjoying the amazing scenery through mountains and canyon, we made our way east.

As we neared the eastern edge of the mountain range, a powerful storm came down the canyon.  Parked along the Buffalo Bill State Park reservoir just over the dam, we stopped and watched the storm come in.  Rob took a well-deserved but 2 hour(?!) nap and all of a sudden we were short on time...

Rob’s nickname in college was Cowboy and he’s always been a big fan of all things western so the Buffalo Bill Wild West museum was a must do on his list.  Being much later than planned, we headed straight there and found an impressively presented museum.  With 5 wings from art to natural history to firearms to, yes, Buffalo Bill, there was far too much for us to see in our limited time. 

We had no problem finding parking and enjoyed the main drag of Cody, a cute albeit touristy little western town.  Being that Mexican is Rob’s all time favorite meal and that the rodeo was next on the list, we stuck to a casual dinner at Las Fuentes restaurant. 

And then the main event...the RODEO!  Unfortunately, the storm that stopped us in the canyon made it’s way to Cody by rodeo time and winds were ripping as the event began.  The equestrian drill team fiercely hung on to their banners as the wind looked to try to carry them away!  The rodeo began with the excitement of bronco riding as the skies let loose a torrent of rain.  But the show must go on and it did for over 2 hours in much the same conditions!  It was opening night so many (okay, MOST) of the performers were not “up” on their game quite yet and we saw a lot of misses vs success but despite that and the cold, wind and rain, we stuck it out til the end and had a good time.  Our big date night was spent in the rodeo parking lot as we watched and listened to all of the cowboys and cowgirls pack up their animals and gear at night’s end.

We woke up early and unsuccessfully tried our luck having lattes in Cody WY.  To its credit, the café looked to have some serious breakfast goods but their coffee DID NOT hold up to the menu!  Nonetheless, we were awake and back on the road to Thermopolis, WY with its petroglyph site and hot mineral baths.

The petroglyph site was a hit!  Leaving the highway for a stretch of dirt road we dodged the cattle and pronghorn to reach this remote attraction.  A 1500’ wall of rock along a riverbed had 15 different panels of ancient petroglyphs that dated from 2000 – 10,000 years ago!  It’s fascinating to get a glimpse into our past and put perspective on day to day life.

Pulling into Thermopolis, WY, we tried unsuccessfully to park and ended up at a hiking trailhead.  No better reason for an impromptu hike!  We climbed a mountain adding our chosen stone to the large cairn and signed the register.  Enjoying wildflowers along the way, we wandered the rest of the path before lunch. 

No day would be complete without a Holy City moment and four folks from Aiken, SC of all places showed up!  A fun group on a roadtrip to Alaska, they had a beer and we had some laughs before we all headed down the hill to check out the hot springs.

The final plan for the day was visiting the “world’s largest mineral hot springs” to which we added “20 minute pool” to!  Being that the deed to the hot springs property came with a stipulation that they remain free, the throngs are controlled with time limits.  The natural mineral hot springs were the perfect remedy for my recently kinked back and it gave us a chance to chat some more with our newly found friends.

Ending the day at a campsite along the reservoir at the Boysen State Park, we continue to marvel at how amazing this journey is.  After sharing yet another beer with lovely folks from Indiana, Harry and Arlene, we retired to our site.  Our campfire skills growing, we watched our expert fire turn to embers as we ended another chapter of this ever changing story.

Many Faces of Yellowstone

We wasted no time getting on the road yesterday and heading to Yellowstone.  We hadn’t been able to secure a campsite reservation so we were on a mission to get to our desired campground in time to score a “first come first serve” site.  Entering the park, it was hard to bypass the famed attractions but we had a task to accomplish.

Our determination paid off.  Despite being told no sites were available, our new friend Sandy worked through the system and pulled off the perfect site!  With a place to stay secure, we headed back the way we came and went to see all Yellowstone had to offer.

Geysers were the order of the day.  The southwest quadrant of Yellowstone is laden with multitudes of colorful, steaming, spouting geysers.  Everywhere we went, the ground and water had clouds of steam rising from it.  Stopping at one after another, we saw magnificently colored pools, bubbling cauldrons of mud in all colors of the rainbow, spewing geysers shooting their spray to all heights. 

The geology and chemistry behind it all is so fascinating.  The colors are created by bacteria, algae and chemical reactions of various sorts.  The orange, red and brown tones are usually chemical while the blues and greens are bacteria.  We saw blue, pink, bright orange and deep rusty red.  Pools of water were crystal clear or thick as mud and some were deeper than you could see while others showed a maze of holes, nooks and crannies throughout.  Rivers of algae in different colors moved with the water and the water moved in countless ways from bubbling to spraying to oozing to flowing.

Parking with the RV proved to be a challenge in the Memorial Day week traffic but we made it work.  When we found a backcountry bike path that led from one geyser basin to Old Faithful, we happily jumped on our bikes and experienced the steaming country on wheels of a different kind. 

Old Faithful was everything I remember from my childhood and more.  Still as predictable and magnificent as ever, we arrived with over an hour to kill before the scheduled eruption.  We were able to check out the beautiful lodge and wander the countless other geysers in the area before viewing the spectacle of Old Faithful before a thunderstorm had us riding hard to get back to the RV.

When we arrived back at the campsite and started to get settled, a neighbor came by to see what Holy City was all about.  Low and behold, he was a close friend to our great friend Steve Thompson who bought Moonshadow, our sailboat!!!  He has been touring the country this year as a stay at home (well, stay on the road) dad with his two beautiful daughters.  His wife was in for a visit and we all ended up spending a great night together.  Dinner, cards and a walk kept us occupied and by the end of the night, we had great new friends to connect with when returning home in the fall!

Day two had us back on the road to see the more northern area of the park.  The first stop was the Norris Geyser Basin which is the hottest spot of the park with ground temps in many areas exceeding 200 degrees!  With steam rising literally from just about everywhere, it was a magical and actually a pretty spooky landscape.  It is very clear that the earth is active and in control as you walk through the seething grounds. 

With highway work being done on the road, we ended up waiting for our turn to go for half an hour and were entertained by two buffalo that were on a grazing mission within feet of our RV.  Thankful for the distraction, we joined the others out of their vehicles with cameras in hand to get some up close shots.

Back on the road, we headed for Mammoth Springs another mainstay of the Yellowstone legacy.  A landscape I remember from a childhood visit, the multi terraced flowing hot springs did not disappoint.  We wandered and climbed and hiked the springs and the town, visited the visitor center and dodged some elk to get to the post office.  Crazy, this wild wild place!

Before getting back on the road to take in the northern and eastern areas of the park on our way to our next campsite, I decided the bright sun and warm temps were the perfect excuse for an ice cream (not to mention trying huckleberry, the local favorite!).   As fate – and the magic of this trip - would have it, our new friends showed up at the same time!  I had the treat of sharing my ice cream with Elsa and Josie, the two delightful daughters, and we shared a few more laughs.

Tearing ourselves apart again, we all went our separate ways and Rob and I got on the “high road”.  Known for wildlife viewing, the northern route was more remote and so beautiful.  We stopped at waterfalls and other sights along the road.  

People stop in their tracks when they see wildlife so we had lots of opportunities to be distracted.  The count for the day – a baby owl, a baby black bear playing, a momma black bear and 3 babies sleeping, countless buffalo (including one that was not pleased with the sound of a passing motorcycle!) and some elk.  Not a bad showing for a single day!

We made our way over the pass at over 8900 feet still buried in snow and finally arrived at Canyon campground and our home for the night.  A side benefit of a night in this campsite is an untimed hot shower which was fully appreciated and completely taken advantage of!  Now we’re sitting and watching people walking by the RV and handing out beer to those that stare (grin).  We’ve met couples from Holland, South Carolina and Tennessee and it’s another perfect end to a perfect day!

A Memorable Memorial Day

The night of the previous post we managed yet another Holy City Brewing encounter with Adrian and Corey, two engineers from Utah.  It’s been so fun sharing the Holy City story and their beer…we find very few people unwilling to take us up on our offer…(wink)!  Along with the beer experience, we also have an opportunity to meet great people from all walks of life and circumstances that have so much to share in return. 

But I want to get onto what’s fun to report!  The next morning we got up early and headed for Grand Teton National Forest.  The guide books talk about the majesty of seeing the Teton Peaks for the first time and they aren’t lying!  We stopped at the park entrance sign as is our custom and took the obligatory photo which may just be the best shot we’ve gotten so far!

Enjoying the view all the way, we drove from the entrance visitor center to Jenny Lake where some hiking was the order of the day.  We parked and picked our path and headed out along the lake with spectacular vistas at every step.  Being Memorial Day weekend, the trails were busy but the soft forest ground, the surrounding snow-topped mountains and the lake buffered the sound and made for a peaceful, gorgeous hike the whole way. 

Unafraid mule deer

A marmot mid "flight"

Without much in the way of elevation change, it was an easy hike and we went over 3 miles before stopping for lunch and remembering that the only way back was the way we came and we best not get carried away!  We stopped streamside for lunch and spotted several mule deer and I got a mid-flight shot of a fleeing marmot before we got back on the trail.

The next stop was our campsite for the night and we got ourselves settled and enjoyed wandering the area.  Poised on yet another foot-of-the-mountain lake, there was plenty to wander, watch and experience.  We made an early night of it after a rousing game of Scrabble where Rob won when I ended up with a Z and a J leftover!  Man, so close!

The big story of the park was to be made this morning, however.  Being that it’s moving toward the solstice and we’re pretty far north at this point, the sun woke me up some time after 4 and I laid there thinking it would be a great time to get out to see some wildlife (that’s what they say anyway!).  So at 6 I finally chanced waking Rob and started getting dressed.  Of course he wasn’t about to let me wander the wilderness alone (it IS bear country!) and he got ready too.

We were on the trail by 630 and poised for viewing.  Little did we know that Mr. Grizzly was doing the same!  Within the first mile or so, we ran into said bear right in our path at the turn!  Man, I wanted to see wildlife but it got “real” quick!  We followed protocol and quietly backed off the trail keeping our eyes locked.  He – well, apparently it was a momma, so SHE – sized us up and came our way.  We peaked around the path and so did she.  We did this for a while (quick movements are not the best move they say) and she finally decided there were better fish to fry and headed the other way on the trail.  That’s about when I regained my composure enough to snap a shaky “bear butt” photo!

We waited a while and for some reason didn’t have the sense to leave the trail altogether and slowly worked our way around her path and onward.  Of course it wasn’t long before we both realized that we weren’t exactly comfortable being the only people we’d seen all morning on this trail with a bear between us and our origin. 

Solving that problem, 4 young park employees who had spent the entire night hiking in the area happened on the path.  We warned them of the bear.  They thanked us and headed on their way … and it wasn’t but minutes later when they were making a BIG ruckus!  Rule one, back away.  Rule two, make a LOT of noise … which is what they were doing!  We stopped in our tracks and listened for signs of serious trouble.  Everything went quiet for a couple minutes and then it started again.  Rob and I were spellbound, holding our collective breath wondering how bad it was going to be.

Minutes later our four friends quickly were headed back in our direction!  Apparently, our initial encounter had Mr/Mrs bear in a dither and she was NOT happy to have this second group interrupt her morning foraging!  She was clearly agitated and was acting aggressive and the four guys were wide eyed and full of stories when they arrived.  They told of #399, the code used in the park for the momma grizzly who was the biggest, oldest and most established in the area.  Apparently, she was our girl.

Very long story short, we had 4 new hiking partners which turned to 7 within the next mile as others changed their direction after hearing what lie ahead.  We had a great albeit alert hike around the back side of the trail with many eyes out for our nemesis.  Arriving back at the hike origin, several folks peeled off and we said our goodbyes.  Realizing, however, that they had missed the employee meal time for breakfast because of their detour, the park staffers decided that beer for breakfast was in order!

Ends up Ben, Rob, Chris, Eamen and Ariana joined us at Moonshadow for beer and breakfast.  I managed some pancakes while Rob handled beer entertainment with the 20 somethings.  I can’t say we’ve had quite as appreciative or enthusiastic a test market before!  With such an amazing experience to share, there was no shortage of tales to tell.

I’ve already far exceeded my post length allowance but none of you is surprised when I get long winded, are you?!  Well, to sum up quickly then, the rest of the day certainly couldn’t live up to the start but we did enjoy a spectacular 12 mile bike ride, picnic included, to another area of the park (all the while still looking for OUR bear), time in the gorgeous afternoon sunshine and another 2 mile hike through the amazing scenery later in the day.  

We finished the day with sunset Holy City encounters and another amazing dinner ala ME!  The blog is written and waiting for posting and we can put another park and another day behind us with no regrets.  Memorial Day or not, this was one MEMORABLE day!

Craters of the Moon Indeed!

As I write, we are in a campsite surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges, a vast meadow, a meandering creek.  We are in a National Forest campsite that has a level parking area, a campfire ring, picnic table and gentle breezes through the trees.  It will cost us $6 for the night.   To top it off, we have internet access (a most valuable but unusual commodity for these remote parks). 

Today, we have just come from Craters of the Moon National Monument where we were off the grid for the past few days.  Off the grid and out of this world, is more like it!  What an unusual and intriguing park!  Standing on endless miles of lava fields, Craters stretches over a good-sized chunk of Southeast Idaho.  We got settled in our site amongst the chunks of lava and wasted no time getting on the hiking trails. 

We walked around on a’a (big, chunky and sharp) and pahoehoe (smooth and river like) lava then up a volcano and along the ridge.  We learned about spatter cones where at the end of an eruption cycle when the lava has begun to cool, the still hot magma below plops up to the surface and leaves cones of debris behind.   Hours later we wearily returned to our campsite to settle in for the night.

We again had our share of interesting neighbors who were willing to join us for a beer and we had 8 new acquaintances by night’s end.  Especially fun were our Alaskan neighbors who wore shorts, sandals and tank tops as we added layer upon layer as the sun set! 

The next morning we woke to rain on the roof which quickly turned to flurries which then turned to SNOW!  We thought it was an anomaly but it continued for hours!  We bundled up and ventured out to the visitor center to watch the movie provided (thus my extensive and impressive knowledge on lava!) and ran into our Alaskan friends once again.  With an offer to venture further in the park via their car after lunch, we had our means of afternoon entertainment.

With Jennifer, the mom, and daughter Jessica in front and son Andrew in back with Rob and I, we all headed out for the lava tube caves at the far end of the developed park.  Lava tubes are where the upper surface of a river of lava hardened while lava still flowed beneath leaving sometimes huge tunnels and caves below the surface.  Having two college kids as added entertainment, we wandered through the caves until our hands were numb – even the Alaskans had extra layers on by then!

Back at the campsite, we warmed up until the clouds finally broke and we jumped on our bikes to conquer the 11.5 mile road through the park.  The first 2 miles were a steady and very challenging climb up the crater before the road plunged down the back side.  The final 6 miles were up, down and around and a great way to burn off some energy before we gathered the traditional evening crowd for … well, BEER!

We enjoyed the company of a couple from Boise (Dominique and Dave) and their wine rep friend (Carsten) from San Francisco who showed up with designer Manhattans to share in return (a big treat for me!)  We all parted for dinner with plans to reconvene for the rhubarb crisp I had planned to share.  With the delicious aroma filling the RV, the rain began again and Rob and I enjoyed the finished product alone with everyone holed up in their tents!

This morning we packed up and once again said our goodbyes.  On the way out we climbed Inferno Cone and the tree mold trail where imprints of trees caught in the lava’s path left their imprint.  We found lots of elk tracks in the moist ground along the trail and watched the minimal plant life open up with the fresh dose of rain. 

And we’re back to where this post began.  The campfire is now set for lighting and there’s corn on the cob and burgers on the grill.  The sun is sinking toward the horizon and it’s time to put these hands in some gloves!   Moonshadow, out!