Well the last time we reported to you, we had just returned from a trip down south to Jackson Hole, WY and were back in West Yellowstone, MT. We are now in Cody, WY the town founded by Buffalo Bill Cody. Here is what has transpired and happened since then.
We took a trip the next day back into the park and visited the Norris Geysers. This is one of Yellowstone's many thermal areas and has wooden walkways built through it to allow you to get up close to view the features. Most of these geysers don't shoot up in the air but generally bubble and throw steam into the air. There is a distinct smell of sulfur and hydrogen sulfide as you walk through the area. Not good for the senses but it definitely makes you appreciate the clean smelling air of Yellowstone.
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| That is Larry in white shirt |
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| The darkest blue is the hole the water is coming up through |
As we made our way back to camp, we came upon another of the 'traffic jams' we experienced in the park. Usually whenever this happens, there is wildlife that is available for viewing. This time it happened to be several Elk grazing and about to bed down by the river which runs right alongside the road. Of course, we needed to stop and watch them as well as get some photos from our photography team. A buck emerged from the woods on the other side of the river which caused a considerable amount of 'oohing' and 'aahing' from the assembled spectators. After several more minutes of shutter clicking, we decided to move on.
As we rounded the corner just where the river crosses to the other side of the road, we ran up on a scene of otters swimming upstream. How did we see this you ask, well it was another 'traffic jam.' Naturally we had to stop the car and let the photographers out to capture the images associated with such a display. The otters would swim as a group and occasionally one would hop out of the water and scamper along the bank before jumping back into the water to swim again with the others. Finally as they swam out of sight, we wished them adieu and moved along back towards the RV park.
We did not go very far before we came to the spot where Beverly (Bibi) spotted the eagle with the fish in its talons earlier in the week. Strain as we might and stare as much as we could, alas we did not spot any eagles here today. Of course, the telltale 'traffic jam' was also missing. So we proceeded back to the park for a grilled hot dog dinner and another round of Screwy Louie. Oh yeah, I forgot to explain what is Screwy Louie. This is a card game that is fun (especially when you win) and easy to play. Sophie Alston and Larry Quinn are the current reigning championship team in the local tournament against the other team of Brenda Soules and Beverly Quinn. Unfortunately, the not-so-lucky team of Brenda and Beverly again did not prevail this night against the champs, Sophie and Larry.
After lunch at the lake, we headed a little further down the road and made a sharp left turn that took us up to a marvelous overlook. What we found up there was a sight that cannot be described or photographed. It is only one of the sights that will remain in our minds and recalled as we look at pictures or talk about it.
There was also a fire ranger there that was 'storm watching'. We could see at least two different storms as they built and began raining, lightning, etc. in different areas. She would radio crews on the ground in the area of the storms to give them reports about the weather. We heard her tell them, one storm they could ride out but she did not think the other storm would allow them to stay in the area. Fires are started sometimes by lightning and they allow them to burn themselves out without too much effort or interference from the rangers unless their are lives, property or historic sights are threatened. There was an area of the road we traveled to and from the lake that was marked 'no stopping' due to the proximity of the fires in the park. After we left there, we actually drove through some of the rain we had watched from high above at the overlook.
Other than seeing some haze, listening to the fire ranger and the signs on the road, we could not see any fires or even know they were around. However, when we got close back to the RV park that day, we saw a huge plume of smoke that looked pretty ominous. As it turned out, the smoke was from a National Forest area to the west of Yellowstone Park. It was a pretty good distance from us but we could see and hear the planes that drop water and chemicals on fires making many runs toward the smoking area. The next morning, it appeared to be under control as we did not see much smoke or the planes anymore. That is about the extent of our exposure to fire areas. Of course, with 2.2 million acres in the park, it is pretty easy to hide a fire or two and we would not even know about them.
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| Smoke from fire we saw from RV Campground - a long way off from us |
This evening we had a Roast Beef and gravy, potatoes, rolls, peas dinner. Our last big sit down meal prepared by the ladies. Boy it was good and offered one last chance for team Brenda and Beverly to prevail against the champs Sophie and Larry in another round of Screwy Louie. Well, I will not disclose the final score of this game but let me say, Brenda and Beverly were the winners this night. Of course there is great controversy in the entire campground as to how this could possibly occur. Let's just say, I am not so sure there wasn't some shenanigans afoot during this so-called game. Of course being the ultimate sportsmen they are, Sophie and Larry took the defeat in a true and gracious form.
The following day was a lazy day for us. We decided we must have one more meal at Ernies in West Yellowstone. This is a little hole-in-the-wall place that makes its own bread. They have a Super Burger on the menu that is to die for (literally if you eat too many of these during your lifetime) but is so goooood!!!
Of course, fast food it is not. You must wait longer than it takes to eat your order before you get your food but really delicious it is. We all took a trip into the park to sit, relax, snooze, watch for wildlife and generally talk by the river's edge close to the western edge of the park. I made the comment that I would not mind having this area as my backyard. Being our last trip into the park as a group, it was hard to leave but we had to eventually head back. Having eaten so much at Ernie's for lunch, it was decided we would stop at the local fountain (dating from early 1900s) to have a meal of ice cream for supper.
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| L-R Larry, David, Sophie and Sam with Jack resting on his pillow |
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| Beverly took a picture of us from the river |
All things must come to an end they say, and so the trip to Yellowstone has ended and it is time to say our goodbyes to our friends, tour guides and wildlife spotters, Sam and Brenda Soules. They are heading back to Texas for a grandson's birthday and we are heading to Wyoming to continue our travels and see another friend in Cody, Wyoming, Bart McCoy.
Bart lives in Longview now and goes to church with us but grew up in Wyoming close to Cody. He goes back to Wyoming yearly during the summer to visit family and escape the heat of Texas. As we leave the RV park, we head into familiar territory but this time in the RVs. We retrace the drive from a couple of days ago back to the lake and as we pass the turn to the overlook we are now in unfamiliar territory headed out of the park's East Entrance.
Of course, not having been this way before we are very excited about seeing new venues. Boy, did we ever! We had to climb in altitude for awhile and then came upon a sign that said, 8% grade ahead use lower gear. Of course that makes Beverly very nervous and I have to sing to her to calm her down. I never had to sing so many verses of Ole MacDonald before and completely ran out of animals. I thought we never would get off of that mountain and away from all those switchback curves. Leaving today we saw many, many Buffalo and even had a trio walking on the road on that 8% grade. We thought we would never get around them.
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| Buffalo leaving Yellowstone with us, David and Sophie in front of us |
Eventually we made our way out of Yellowstone and noticed the landscape begin to change. Where we were in West Yellowstone was somewhere around 8,000 feet and Cody, WY is around 5,000 feet elevation.
As we approached Cody, we pass a huge lake and the Buffalo Bill Dam. The Bureau of Land Management or Reclamation manages the water in Wyoming. There is a good deal of farming that takes place here that is dependent on the water from this impoundment. Water is released from the bottom of this lake into canals that feed irrigation areas for the farmers. Interestingly, the land owners own the land around the rivers and the soil beneath the rivers but the state owns the water and the fish in the water. So you can float anywhere you want to fish and catch fish but you cannot step out of your boat onto private land (even in the middle of the river) without the land owner's permission except in case of an emergency.
Cody seems to be a fairly large town in a state whose total population is only about 500,000 people. There is a whole lot of land and not a lot of people up here. Cody is a historic site and has some touristy type things and museums. We plan on taking in some of these sights plus Bart is taking David and I fishing. We spent part of our day today getting ready for the fishing trip by purchasing the tackle recommended by Bart. Yesterday was a rest day and we restocked our supplies at a local Wal-Mart (Sophie and Beverly were very excited because they had experienced Wal-Mart withdrawal while in West Yellowstone). Later in the day we grilled steaks (ribeyes for the guys and new york strips for the girls) plus all the fixin's.
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