September 6th, 2013
We woke up at 4am this morning, after doing most of our packing last night. We cleaned up, packed up our last minute items and were out the door and on the road at 5am.
We stopped for gas in Marathon, WI, and got a quick bite at McDonald’s and continued on. We made great time through Wisconsin and crossed into Minnesota.
Traffic increased as we approached the Twin Cities, but it wasn’t bad. We got most of the way around the metro area fairly quickly, but then traffic stopped. It was start and stop and very slow-going for a half-hour, but I was just thinking about where we were going and my excitement kept me from getting too frustrated.
We got through the traffic and were on our way again. We drove for a few hours and stopped at Fuller Lake Rest Area to stretch for a few minutes. A couple hours further down I-94 we stopped for lunch at McDonald’s (again) in Fergus Falls, MN. We were making good time and were eager to get as far as we could.
We crossed the border into North Dakota, drove through Fargo and continued on. At first, North Dakota was all fields, pastures and thousands of round hay bales. As we got further into the state, it got noticeably hilly, which was a nice change to the landscape.
It was getting close to 6pm. After almost 13 hours on the road, we decided it was time to find a hotel. In planning, I had targeted a Super 8 in Dickinson, ND, about 60 miles from the Montana border, and we were now entering Dickinson. We exited, found the Super 8 and parked the truck.
There were no cars in the lot and the road was all torn up, so I wasn’t sure what to expect at this hotel. We walked in the lobby and were greeted by a big smile and one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. She asked where we were from and when I said Wisconsin, she said she had family there and told us about them. It was certainly a warm welcome! Then she pointed out the nearby restaurants and gave us the room key.
We took what we needed up to the room and walked to the Country Kitchen just down the street for dinner. We ate and walked back to the hotel, where I looked at the plan for tomorrow.
I’m completely exhausted after driving 738 miles. It was by far the furthest I’ve ever driven in one day, and we have a long way to go tomorrow, but I feel good about our progress and I know we are more than half way there. Good night…
September 7, 2013
We got up early again this morning, about 4:30am. We checked out of the hotel and were on I-94 heading west by 5:30am. About 30 miles down the highway, we stopped at a scenic rest area that our friend Don Aanrud told me about. It was called Painted Canyon Rest Area. It was a beautiful area of bluffs, cliffs, hills and small mountains… part of the Badlands. Unfortunately, because it was so early, it was too dark to get a good picture, and I didn’t want to wait for the sun to come up, so we pressed on.
We crossed into Montana and the rolling hills became large bluffs, which then became the start of the mountains. We ate a quick lunch at Subway in Billings, MT, which was a nice city with the small skyline surrounded by mountains. We continued on I-90 through Bozeman and finally turned left on Hwy. 191 in Belgrade. Finally! On the home stretch!! Only about 90 miles to go! And we were making great time.
We got through Belgrade and this 2-lane highway became a 65 mph road. Wow! At this rate, we’ll be in West Yellowstone just after 3pm! But that wasn’t meant to be. Just up the road, the construction began, and continued for at least half of those miles.
The construction slowed us down, and at times, put us at a standstill. But this turned out to be not so bad. As we continued up Hwy. 191, we started to see a beautiful river alongside the road, and soon after, mountains rose above us on both sides of the road. We followed this river valley (Gallatin River Canyon) beneath the towering mountains for probably 20 miles and the views were spectacular! When we stopped for construction, we got a chance to look around a bit more, but there was too much going on to get any good pictures, unfortunately. This was easily the most beautiful road I’ve ever driven on.
Finally, the road leveled out, the construction stopped, we passed Big Sky tourist area and we were closing in on our destination!
We rolled into West Yellowstone, turned left at the stoplight on Firehole Ave. and pulled into the Evergreen Motel parking lot, just 2 blocks down the street. We are finally here! What a drive!
We checked in and I asked the desk clerk about where to get bear spray. He said that they rent it out and it doesn’t cost a penny if it isn’t used at all. I was amazed! In doing my research, one can of bear spray costs about $50, so I rented 2, which saved us about $100 (unless we use it, of course).
The Evergreen Motel is a small, quaint motel in the heart of the small, tourist town. The log furniture and rustic decor give it a cabin-like feel – very rustic and nice. With it being within walking distance to the main shopping and business district, and the fact that they rent bear spray, I already give it a thumbs up. The laundry facilities are a bonus as well, as we plan to use them later in the week. All in all, we were very impressed with this motel!
We unpacked the truck for our five nights here. As we unloaded, the couple next door was loading up to leave the next morning. In chatting, I learned that they were from Michigan. I asked the guy about the park and he gave me some pointers on seeing wildlife and other great info.
After driving 559 miles today, we wanted to stretch our legs, so we walked downtown to see the shops and restaurants. As we started walking, it started to rain lightly, so we ducked into the shops and looked around.
We decided to eat at Wild West Pizzeria and we ordered a large pizza with Italian sausage, onion and mushrooms. The homemade sauce was fabulous!! It was an excellent pizza and a great start to our West Yellowstone stay.
We shopped a bit on the way back to the motel and relaxed for the evening. I went over the plan for tomorrow, watched a little TV and now we are going to bed early. Good night.
September 8, 2013
We woke up early this morning, eager to explore the iconic Yellowstone National Park. It was a cool morning with fog in the air, but it was refreshing. We walked to Ernie’s Bakery and Deli and shared a giant cinnamon roll to start our day. After breakfast, we hopped in the truck and headed towards the park.
The park entrance was less than a mile from our motel. We bought our 7-day pass, good for Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks, and ventured into the park.
Welcome to Yellowstone!
Just a few miles into Yellowstone, we saw a couple dozen cars parked along the road. The guy from Michigan told me to look for wildlife if I see cars parked along the road. We looked to the left and saw a pair of elk grazing and drinking along the Madison River – fairly close to the road. It was surreal. 
Just minutes into the park and we were already seeing amazing wildlife! There were also several elk along the road just a bit ahead. How cool!!!
We snapped a few pictures of these early morning elk and continued on our way. Our first stop was Mount Haynes Overlook. It wasn’t a major stop on this trip, but I wanted to check out this mountain along the Madison River. Just before getting to Mount Haynes, we saw lots of cars again and there was a buffalo grazing along the road. (I was told that the official name is bison, but I like buffalo better.) I was excited about seeing these majestic giants up close and here was my first one.
I took pictures of this lone buffalo and continued to Mount Haynes.
I was already excited from our wildlife finds, and the view at Mt. Haynes just increased the excitement. We pulled into the parking area and saw the towering rock face across the foggy Madison River. The glare of the rising sun on the water mixed with the fog made for difficult pictures, but the area was gorgeous! I took pics of the mountains, fog and river and then we continued on our trek.
Madison River near Mt. Haynes
We turned left on the loop road at Madison Jct. and continued to Gibbon Falls. This was the first of many waterfalls planned for this day in the park. We parked in the crowded parking area and followed the paved path downstream to view the impressive Gibbon Falls.
I took pictures from several spots along the path and then we continued down the loop road.
Our next two stops were thermal areas that were close to the road. Beryl Spring was a steaming, boiling thermal that spewed steam hundreds of feet in the air. It really wasn’t all that interesting to me, though, and we didn’t spend much time there.
Our next stop was the Norris Geyser Basin. We pulled in the large parking area and walked up the path. We went to see the Emerald Spring first. It was a steamy, but colorful pool. I snapped a few pics and that was the only thermal feature I wanted to see in this area. We walked back and before leaving, we checked out the Norris Geyser Basin Overlook, which was a nice view of the area from above, where you could see steam shooting up from several distant geysers and pools. It was now time to move on.
Rustic Falls is a smaller waterfall with no signs marking it. There was supposed to be a small pullout at the beginning of the Golden Gate Canyon. We drove up the curvy loop road with our eyes peeled and found the tiny parking area. We got out of the truck and I immediately heard some rushing water. We walked to the edge of the turnout and looked down the steep canyon wall and saw the fan-shaped falls cascading down the rocky wall into the canyon below. We walked down the narrow road a bit to get a better angle and I snapped some pictures. I was excited because I read that this falls can dry up in the summer and fall. The water was low, but it was still a beautiful falls, and the view of the canyon and the road hugging the canyon wall were spectacular!
canyon below Rustic Falls
Next was another group of thermal features along Upper Terrace Drive. We headed north along the canyon and made the left turn on the Upper Terrace Drive. There wasn’t anything too exciting on this loop, but we stopped at the pullouts to see the thermal features and take pictures of the white and orange mounds and terraces, including White Elephant’s Back and Orange Terrace. Then we continued to Mammoth Village.
In the village, we struggled to find a parking spot, but did and we walked around this busy little tourist town. We checked out a couple shops before walking to the Terrace Grill for lunch. We both ordered a burger and they were surprisingly good and fairly inexpensive. We ate lunch at this busy restaurant and then continued on our route.
About four miles up the loop road, we stopped at Undine Falls. We parked at this popular attraction and I was amazed at the beauty of it. It consisted of several drops within steep canyon walls, which obstructed the view of the bottom of the falls a bit. But this was a gorgeous area.
I took several pictures from the overlook and I overheard someone say that there was a skeleton across the canyon. We looked around and found the skeleton of what appeared to be a deer or another large animal. It was stripped clean to the bones, but the question was, what stripped it? Who knows. Pretty cool though.
We left Undine Falls and went a couple miles down the road to our next stop, Wraith Falls. We hiked the half-mile to the observation deck below the falls. It was very dry and the water just ran down the large rock face, so it wasn’t really what you would normally think of a waterfall looking like. I was disappointed in the lack of water, but we snapped a few pics and hiked back to the truck.
Our next stop was the Calcite Spring Overlook, which was 8-10 miles away. We drove down the loop road, but a couple miles before our destination, the road construction began. We were stopped for a good 10-15 minutes and because of the torn up road, Calcite Springs was closed to the public.
We crawled down the torn up road to the next stop, Tower Falls. The construction ended just before Tower Falls, so I was happy about that. We parked at the Tower General Store, which was packed with tourists. We found the trail to falls behind the store. The paved path led to an overlook above the distant Tower Falls, a narrow column of water dropping beneath the towering pines, which obstructed the view of the bottom of the falls.
Despite the distant, somewhat obstructed view, it was a cool place, with stone pillars towering above the falls – giving it it’s name. Walking back, we noticed a few buffalo in the distance, so I snapped a few pics and we continued to the truck.
By this time it was getting to be to be late afternoon, but we only had one more stop on our first day trip. I turned left at Canyon on the Norris-Canyon Road and we found the one-way road to the Virginia Cascades and drove up the road until we saw the impressive waterfall from the truck. We parked in a pullout and admired the large cascade through the trees.
After taking some pictures, we walked up the road toward the top of the falls and checked out the views from there. We then left to go back to the motel. It started to rain on the drive back, but we lucked out on our stops and had good weather for all the fantastic scenery.
We hurried back because the Packers were playing at this time and I wanted to see the end of the game. We got back to see the 4th quarter (they lost to the 49ers) and then we walked to the Old Towne Cafe for dinner. I ordered a ribeye and the salad bar, and after making a nice salad, I suddenly realized that they only offered creamy dressing, which I can’t eat – no French or Italian dressing. I even asked, to no avail. So, I put some salt on the salad and ate it dry. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy! The ribeye was OK, but I left disappointed.
We left and went back to the motel to plan tomorrow’s adventure. We just relaxed for the rest of the evening. What a great day and a great start to this awesome trip! Good night.
September 9th, 2013
We got up early this morning to frosty windows on the truck. It was cool and crisp, but not too bad. We packed up and drove to the Woodside Bakery & Deli to get breakfast and a deli sandwich for lunch. The cinnamon rolls were warm and fresh and we each ordered a sandwich to go. After we got our sandwiches, we were on our way into the park again.
Today we headed to the canyon area to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. There are many scenic vantage points; we wanted to see as many as we could. I had a pretty good game plan to see the best ones.
On the way to Canyon, we saw a lone buffalo walking along the road. What a huge, majestic creature!
We drove a little further and saw a herd of elk grazing in a meadow. There were bulls, calves, elk of all sizes. Pretty cool!! We stopped, along with dozens of other cars to get our pictures.
We continued to Canyon and headed down South Rim Drive first. Our first stop was Artist Point, at the end of South Rim Dr. The short walkway lead to a beautiful view of the amazing Lower Falls and the breath-taking canyon. The distant view of the thundering waterfall and canyon was amazing, and attracted many people from all parts of the globe. There were several dozen tourists at the lookout area and it was quite noisy. I wanted to take a movie of this beautiful area, but these noisy people were so loud, I couldn’t hear the falls and it sounded like a bunch of squawking birds! And being that they weren’t speaking English, it would’ve been difficult to try to communicate with them. On top of the noise, they were cutting in front of people trying to take pictures and just being rude. Several were yelling at each other. I was getting mad as the minutes passed. I got several great pictures, but we left in disgust.
Our next stop was just up the road. Uncle Tom’s Trail was a grueling trek down into the canyon via 328 steel steps to a small lookout platform. We made our way down the stairs and I was delighted to see that we were the only ones there. 
This platform offered a fantastic view of the Lower Falls from inside the canyon walls. We took pictures and stood there in awe of this amazing vantage point.
Lower Falls at Uncle Tom’s Trail
Another couple made their way down to the platform and I asked them to take a picture of us. They kindly obliged and then we made the grueling trek back up the stairs.
Once back in the parking area, we headed across the lot to the Upper Falls overlook trail. There was an overlook near the beginning of the trail, where a large crowd was taking pictures and enjoying the view.
We continued on the path leading upstream and after a 10 minute walk, we came upon a wooden platform with a great view of the impressive Upper Falls. We were fairly close to the thundering falls here. I snapped some shots and again, wanted to get a movie of this amazing area. However, there we 5 or 6 tourists talking quite loudly right at the best spot for viewing. They weren’t speaking English and my wife informed me that they were speaking French. Here we go again! We waited for another 10 minutes to see if they would move on, but the coffee talk continued. I was even more upset here because they weren’t even looking at the falls or taking pictures. They could continue their chatting elsewhere, but did they? No! How rude. We left after I took a couple videos (that I know won’t turn out) and walked back to the truck.
Our next stop was the Brink of the Upper Falls, where the viewing platform is right at the top of the 109 foot roaring waterfall. We walked the short path to the brink and viewed the impressive plunge crashing below us. The deep canyon below created lots of shadows and it was hard to get a good shot of this thundering waterfall, but it was an incredible view.
View above the brink
One of the stops I was really looking forward to was Crystal Falls, a lesser-known and less crowded waterfall that plummets down the canyon wall from a side stream. We walked back up the road from where we were 
parked to where the North Rim Trail intersects with the road. We walked the North Rim Trail to the right for just a few minutes and took a short spur trail to the right, marked by an “overlook” sign. This led to a spot atop a high rock wall and across the chasm was a light-flowing but beautiful waterfall. Crystal falls started above where we could see from this point, but we saw a small pool and then the plunge of 100+ feet. This was a beautiful spot, probably my favorite so far on this trip. And the best part; there were no other people here!
I snapped some pictures from this somewhat distant spot and then we went back to the North Rim Trail and continued a bit further, towards the falls. We got to the stream, just above Crystal Falls. This area was gorgeous!
Above Crystal Falls
There was a footbridge over the stream just above the top of Crystal Falls. The gentle stream poured over a small upper falls, ran under the footbridge and then dropped into a rocky chasm before the plummet of Crystal Falls. The trees, boulders, stream and waterfalls made this an amazing place. Plus the lack of tourist noise made it very peaceful and was a welcome change to some of the earlier frustration.
We explored this area a bit, finding great views of the area. After we got our fill of exploring this magical spot, we walked back down the trail and back to the truck.
We continued our Canyon area adventure by turning on North Rim Drive, on the other side of the canyon from where we started. The first stop on this road was the Brink of the Lower Falls. We parked and started down the trail This was a tough trail, with at least a dozen steep switchbacks. We descended down the canyon, right and left down the switchbacks, and finally made it to the observation area.
Me and Val at the Brink of the Lower Falls
Looking over the edge of the fence, we realized that the grueling trek down the switchback trail was worth it! Standing right above this thundering waterfall was a rush. The volume of water plummeting 309 feet over the falls was amazing, and you could feel the mist spraying everywhere! Also, the canyon below the Lower Falls was simply gorgeous! The rock walls were very impressive!
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Now it was time to climb back up the switchbacks back to the truck. At one point on the trail, we could get a distant view of the upper falls, which was pretty cool.
Near the end of the trail, we saw an animal in the woods, just off the trail. It was a marmot and I took a couple pictures of this interesting animal.
We hopped in the truck and continued to our next stop on the North Rim, Lookout Point. We parked here and decided to have our picnic in the car. We ate our sandwiches, which were amazing, and then walked the short path to Lookout Point. Here, the observation area offered great views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and a good, somewhat distant view of the Lower Falls. This was one of the best views of the canyon and falls, and I took lots of pictures and movies here! We returned to the truck and followed the North Rim Drive to Grandview Point. We parked and walked just a few yards to the lookout. The views here of the canyon were spectacular! The colored rock walls towering above the beautiful river were quite a site. 
Our last stop on the North Rim was Inspiration Point (left). We parked the truck and walked the steps to Inspiration Point. Of all the views we’ve seen all day, this one was my least favorite. The canyon was beautiful, but the lower falls was very distant and the other stops were much more gratifying. We didn’t stay here too long.
We walked around Canyon Village a bit, going in the shops, mailing some post cards and quenching our thirst. We started back towards the motel after our little break. The road towards Norris was beautiful, with mountains in the distance.
Road towards Norris
As we got closer to West Yellowstone, we hoped we would see more wildlife, and we weren’t disappointed. We saw a few cars along the road near Norris, so we stopped to see what the commotion was all about. I parked and we looked around, not seeing anything. Then I saw a huge buffalo in the woods, pretty close to us. I got out and took some pictures. He started scratching his massive head on a tree. That was cool!
Roadside thermal along the Gibbon River.
We moved on and shortly up the road, I stopped at a turnout next to the Gibbon River, looking for photo ops. Walking downstream, we saw a cone-shaped thermal feature spewing out water right next to the river. It was neat and we were the only ones there!
Again, we pressed on towards the motel. Just beyond Madison, there was a mass of cars and people just off the road and we stopped to see two elk grazing close to the road. I followed the herd of people and ended up just on the other side of a fallen tree from a grazing elk cow. I ended up a bit closer than I wanted to be, so I backed off (after snapping a few quick shots). It was quite a rush being that close. But a bit too close for comfort.
A short ways up the road, we saw a small herd of elk in the grass near the Madison River. One was laying down and the giant antlers rose above the tall grass; the others were grazing near the river. I took a few pictures and then we moved on.
We got back to the motel and cleaned up. We walked into town to find somewhere to eat. We settled on Pete’s Rocky Mountain Pizza. We both ordered pasta and it was good, but the portions were small and it was rather pricey. We shopped a bit after dinner and walked back to the motel. We relaxed, I planned tomorrow’s trip and now it’s time for bed.
September 10th, 2013
We got up, cleaned up and drove to Running Bear Pancake House for breakfast this morning. With hiking planned for today, I wanted to start off the day with a good breakfast, and boy was it!!! A big plate of pancakes for me and eggs, bacon and toast for Val. Good stuff! We stopped at the Woodside Bakery again for another sandwich for lunch and we were on our 
way into the park.
Heading towards the southern loop of the park road, we ran into some thick fog. As we were driving, I noticed a dark figure ahead of us near the road. We came upon a large buffalo walking near the road and he turned away from us and slowly disappeared into the thick fog. It was pretty cool!
We continued to Shoshone Point, where a high elevation overlook gave a nice panoramic view of the landscape with the distant Shoshone Lake in the center.
Though it was a nice view, we were only there for a couple minutes – just enough time to take a few pictures. Then we continued to our first major stop of the day; Lewis Falls.
Lewis Falls from the bridge
We crossed the bridge over the Lewis River and saw Lewis Falls just upstream. We parked in the parking area along the road and walked back to the bridge to get a look at the falls. We got a nice, but distance view of Lewis Falls from here and then we found the trailhead to the path leading to the falls. We walked the short trail and it took us to the top of the falls. I took a couple pictures here and a few downstream with a better view.
Lewis Falls
Moving on, our next stop was close to the southern boundary of Yellowstone. About a mile before the park boundary was the parking area for Moose Falls. We parked and walked the short hike to this beautiful waterfall. We stood just above this plunge falls and then worked our way down to the base of the falls. Mist sprayed the whole area, but I still was able to take many pictures and movies. Another good thing was that there weren’t many people here, so we enjoyed this falls at our own pace.
After really enjoying Moose Falls, we pressed on to our next stop. Our plan was to hike along the Snake River Canyon between Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, on a trail near Flagg Ranch. We stopped at Flagg Ranch and went in the store to look around first.
After looking around the store, we parked in a small turnout at a trail access point and got our gear ready. As we were getting ready to start hiking, another car pulled into the turnout and a couple got out of their car. They appeared to be in their fifties. At first, I wasn’t happy about their “invading” our hike, but then the guy said, “Bear bait!” I looked at him and we laughed. I repeated the phrase to him and thought, “This could 
be a good thing… more noise – less bears.”
We introduced ourselves and found out that they were Anthony and Diane from New York. They seemed nice and we started hiking, as a group.
We hiked the trail and talked as we hiked. They were very nice. We both took pictures along the canyon as the trail skirted the rock walls. The canyon wasn’t as big as I thought, and the trail left the river’s edge at times, but it was a nice hike, and the company was good.
A ways up the trail, we saw a deer standing on the trail. We took pictures as the deer just stared at us. It finally moved on, and so did we.
The canyon leveled out and we figured we were nearing the end. Just 
before the end of the hike, we noticed something just ahead. We walked up to a sign warning about bear attacks. We were already aware and on high alert, but this was another reminder.
We came upon a good lookout point along the Snake River. The trail here curved away from the river and we saw that the canyon had leveled out. We took pictures here of each couple and decided to turn around and head back to our vehicles.
We walked at a fairly brisk pace back to the parking area, stopping a few times to take more pictures along the way. It was a great hike, and Anthony and Diane were great company, which made the hike even better! Once at the parking area, we said our goodbyes and went on our way. After leaving, I wished I would have asked for their email address. Oh well.
After a great morning of hiking and waterfalls, it was time to find a picnic spot. On our way to Lewis Falls this morning, we drove by Lewis Lake, and there appeared to be several turnouts in the area near the lake. We drove back to that area and found a nice rocky beach along the lake, with no other people in sight.
It was a beautiful spot just off the road and the beach went a good quarter-mile in both directions from our spot.
We ate our deli sandwiches, walked the beach a bit, and took pictures of the beautiful lake. It was a wonderful picnic!
Our last stop of the day was the West Thumb Geyser Basin. We drove back into the park and found the geyser basin and parked. We walked the boardwalks around all the thermal features of this beautiful area, which was full of colorful pools and springs. And being right on Yellowstone Lake didn’t hurt either!
Abyss Pool
Black Pool
Seismograph Pool
Blue Funnel Spring
Bluebell Pool
We headed back towards the motel and as we were driving, we noticed lots of cars on the side of the road. We pulled off and saw four buffalo grazing nearby. We snapped a few pictures and continued on.
A short ways up the road, we saw a family of elk, including a small calf. We pulled over and took some pictures of this cool scene. There were a lot of people around and one lady in particular was quite close to the action. She kept creeping closer to the group of elk, to the point where I thought they might charge her, (part of me hoped they would). She spooked the baby elk and it got up and ran away and the other elk followed. The lady kept coming! What a moron. The elk left the area, and so did we.
On the way back, not far from West Yellowstone, I saw a side road along the Madison River, so I made the right turn on this road to check out the scenic views of the river. It was gorgeous, driving right along the river, but we didn’t see any wildlife so we continued back to the motel.
We got back about 4pm so we decided to do some laundry at the motel.
That worked out nicely. Then we went to eat at the Taco Bus, a giant bus converted into a restaurant. We walked down there, stepped up into the bus and checked out the menu. The kitchen was in the back of the bus and a long table with stools ran along each side of the rest of the bus. We ordered our food at the back of the bus and sat down. The cook was very nice. A few others came in and ordered as we were waiting.
We got our food after only a short wait and it was excellent! I was surprised. I ordered a big burrito with beans and rice and it was loaded with beef and toppings. I was impressed. Val loved her meal too.
After our unique dinner, we went across the street to the Dairy Queen for an ice cream treat for desert. We shopped a bit and then walked back to the motel. It was a great day. I’m now planning out tomorrow’s adventure and then it’s time for bed.
September 11th, 2013
We got up this morning fairly early and went to Earnies Bakery & Deli for a sticky bun and sandwiches for lunch. We headed into the park, eager for more adventures.
Driving along the Madison River, we stopped at a group of cars to see a pair of buffalo drinking across the river. It was really neat to see these massive creatures drinking in the river.
A ways up, we saw a pair of elk grazing. Another good morning for wildlife!!!
Our first destination was the waterfalls along Firehole Canyon Drive. We parked in the small lot for Firehole Falls and looked at this nice waterfall.
After taking some pictures we walked down the road heading downstream because driving in, we drove along the river and noticed some nice cascades and views before getting to the falls. We found a couple nice spots downstream and took some pictures.
We then walked back to the truck and drove to the end of Firehole Canyon Dr. and parked there. There was another waterfall there and I took a few pictures of that too.
Now it was time to see some geysers and other thermal features. I wasn’t too excited about that, but Val wanted to and that is what Yellowstone is famous for, so we had to, right?
First up was Fountain Paint Pots. Just before getting there, we saw another buffalo but I didn’t get a good picture. We pulled into the parking lot and walked the path around the
Clepsydra Geyser
thermals. The only notable features were the Clepsydra Geyser and Red Spouter, which I really enjoyed. Red Spouter was a mud pot that boiled and bubbled and there was a loud, hissing steam vent right behind it. It was pretty cool, but all in all, I was disappointed in this stop.
Just up the road was the Midway Geyser Basin. We parked and walked across the footbridge to the boardwalk. 
The water from the thermals flowed into the Firehole River here and the ground was a rusty orange color in these areas. It was quite interesting.
Once across the bridge, we went to the left to the huge excelsior Geyser Crater. The steam and the size of this massive crater was quite impressive.
Part of the crater
Next we saw the Grand Prismatic Spring, which was even bigger. It was so big that we couldn’t get that close and thus, we couldn’t see all of the amazing colors that aerial views I’ve seen online offer. I was quite disappointed in that. After seeing some of the smaller pools in the area, we moved on.
Grand Prismatic Spring
Next was the Biscuit Basin, which is also the trailhead for the Mystic Falls hike. I was really looking forward to that. We ate lunch in the truck first and then walked the path into the Biscuit Basin. We saw several colorful springs and pools, including the Sapphire Pool (below).
We also got to see the Jewel Geyser erupt. That was pretty neat.
We kept walking and came to the trailhead to Mystic Falls.
We walked up the Mystic Falls trail, which followed the Little Firehole River. It was a fairly gentle stream for most of the hike, and very scenic! About a mile up the path, we started to hear the rumble of whitewater. Soon after, the bottom of this multi-tiered falls came into view.
We walked a little further and there was a big log along the river that made for a great photo spot. We snapped a few pictures of each other and continued up the trail. I took pics along the way and the trail was getting steeper and rougher. I took my last pictures and we turned around and started back towards the truck.
About half way back, I twisted my ankle on the uneven trail and took a fall. I skinned up my knee and the blood started running down my leg. I was mad at myself, as I was trying to be careful with my weak ankles, but one moment of distraction resulted in a tumble on the trail.
I found a spot on the trail that was very close to the river and I rinsed my bloody knee off, but the blood kept flowing. I limped back to the truck, periodically wiping my knee with Kleenex I had in my backpack. When we finally got back to the truck, I wiped it with paper towels and put some sanitizer on it. Ouch!!! But at least my ankle wasn’t too bad. I could live with a scraped knee. It could have been a lot worse.
Despite my injury, we kept going. Next up was the iconic Old Faithful Geyser. I knew there would be a lot of people there, so I wanted to stop the bleeding first. I got it cleaned up somewhat in the truck and the bleeding was much less, so we parked at the bustling little village at Old Faithful. We walked towards the visitor center, checked the time of the next eruption and found out we had about an hour before before it was supposed to erupt. We shopped a bit and then walked out to the viewing area at the famous geyser.
There was a couple hundred people sitting and standing, awaiting the eruption. After standing for 10 or 15 minutes, it finally started to steam and then the water and steam shot way up in the air. This lasted a few minutes but to be honest, it was kind of boring, and the crowds here took some of the thrill out of it as well. I was anxious to leave as soon as it was done, as my knee and ankle were both sore and I wasn’t in the best of moods because of that. We left after the action was over.
Just down the loop road from Old Faithful was Keppler Cascades, which was our next stop. We parked in the parking area and walked the short distance to the lookout, high above the falls on the canyon wall. It was a beautiful spot. I took some pictures and then we started heading back towards the motel.
We stopped at the Black Sand Basin, which was full of cars on our first attempt a few hours prior. We found parking this time and walked into this thermal area, which included the Emerald Pool and the Cliff Geyser, which we saw erupt. I’m glad we went back to the Black Sand Basin and didn’t miss it!
Emerald Pool
Cliff Geyser
Iron Spring Creek in the Black Sand Basin
We drove back to the motel and I cleaned up my knee. It was sore and scraped up, but it looked worse than it actually was. We walked next door to Kiwi’s for dinner and we were greeted by a friendly, energetic lady. She informed us that she was from New Zealand and she was almost over-friendly, but it was fine and the food was good. I had my first buffalo burger and it was fantastic.
After dinner, we walked back to the motel and packed up our stuff, as this was our last night in West Yellowstone. Tomorrow we move on to Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons, and I can’t wait!!!
September 12th, 2013
We got up early and packed up our last minute items before checking out of the Evergreen Motel. We drove down to the Woodside Bakery for one last cinnamon roll and deli sandwich for our picnic lunch and we were waiting for our food and guess who walked in? Anthony and Diane, the couple from New York that we hiked with two days ago, walked in for breakfast. We chatted for a while. We were excited to see this nice couple and in our conversation, they told us that they heard reports about fresh bear tracks in the mud on the trail we all hiked not too long after we were there. I guess we went at the right time!
We got our food, said our goodbyes and were on our way. We were driving out of Yellowstone and on to the Tetons. We saw a buffalo and a huge elk grazing on the way out of Yellowstone.
I also got an interesting shot of some elk on our way out of the park.
Elk mooning me on the way out of the park!
We stopped at Flagg Ranch, between the two parks , where our plan was to hike to Terraced Falls. However, the forecast in the mountains was for thunderstorms and the local radar proved it. With that hike being in the back country, we decided to skip it and not take our chances. I was bummed about skipping it, but it is better than hiking several miles soaking wet and risking another injury or wrecking my cameras.
So we continued on to Grand Teton National Park. It was a cloudy day, so the mountains were somewhat hidden, but I was very excited to see them. Starting at the northern end of the park, we stopped at:
Lakeview Picnic Area (below, where the water was very low)
Willow Flats Turnout (gorgeous!!!!)
the Signal Mountain Lodge area
Potholes Turnout
Mount Moran Turnout
Mountain View Turnout
and the Cascade Canyon Turnout.
Next, we turned down Lupine Meadows Road, which went along the base of several mountains and was supposed to offer a view of two cascading waterfalls. The water was low, but we found them!
Broken Falls, Lupine Meadows Rd.
Glacier Falls, Lupine Meadows Rd.
Continuing south, we stopped at:
Teton Glacier Turnout (below),
Windy Point Turnout,
Moose Village,
and on to Jackson, WY. It was an unbelievable drive!! I couldn’t wait to see more mountains over the next few days.
We got into Jackson and the traffic was heavy and as we got to the downtown area, it was a standstill. It was this way for about a half-hour, but then we passed the construction that was causing the chaos and we continued to the hotel we were staying at.
We checked in to the Super 8 and relaxed a bit. We were hungry, so we decided on a Mexican restaurant nearby. We walked in to El Tlaxcalteca, ordered our food and waited. I ordered a Mexican plate, stressing no sour cream and when it came, I was disgusted to see the food drizzled in sour cream. Rather than complain and wait for another meal, I decided to eat what I could. I took a bite without sour cream and the sauce on the dish was one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten! I’m not sure if that’s what mole sauce normally tastes like, or if this restaurant was that bad, but either way, this meal was awful. I left hungry and with a bad taste in my mouth.
We got a snack on the way back to the hotel. Now it’s time to relax and plan tomorrow’s adventure. Good night.
September 13th, 2013
We got up this Friday the 13th pretty early, got the continental breakfast from the lobby and drove to Grand Teton N.P. It was quite foggy but the fog thinned out once we got up to higher elevations.
We hit all the scenic turnouts starting in the southern end of the park. First was Albright View Turnout (below),
then Blacktail Ponds Overlook,
Glacier View Turnout,
Teton Point Turnout, where we saw a huge elk in the area,
Snake River Overlook,
and Elk Ranch Flats Turnout.
Next we stopped at Oxbow Bend Turnout, a beautiful spot where the 
towering mountains reflect in a bend in the Snake River. It was pretty clear at this time, so the reflections were perfect! As I was taking pictures of this gorgeous spot, I saw two familiar faces.
After a double-take, I saw Anthony and Diane smiling and walking towards us. What a surprise, again! What are the odds?! We chatted and caught up a bit about each others’ vacations, and then we took turns taking pictures of each other in front of this amazing backdrop. When we were done, we exchanged email addresses and wished each other well.
Oxbow Bend
We continued on our adventure by returning to Willow Flats Turnout,
and Potholes Turnout again,
because today was a much clearer day than yesterday and the mountains were beautiful and majestic. Next, we stopped at the Cathedral Group Turnout.
We stopped for lunch at Moose Village at Dornan’s Pizza and Pasta Co. I was looking forward to eating here and it didn’t disappoint! We both ordered the spaghetti and we ordered “moose bread”. Thinking it was cheesy garlic bread, we were surprised when they brought out a gigantic order of cheese fries. It was huge!! We each ate our pasta and a bit of moose bread and we had enough left for another meal. It was all very good!
Since the weather was clear, we decided to do the Hidden Falls hike next, since there was a chance for rain the next few days. We drove to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center and walked out to the boat dock behind it. This hike starts on the other side of Jenny Lake and you can either walk around the lake or take a 15-minute ferry ride across the lake. To save time, we chose the boat ride.
We paid for the round trip ferry ride and got on the boat. We took off and the boat ride was gorgeous!
Jenny Lake from the boat
We got to the other side and started up the trail at the base of the mountains to Hidden Falls. It was a gradual uphill trail, but it wasn’t too bad. The trail followed the stream and the hike was beautiful! We saw some nice rapids as we got closer to Hidden Falls and as we kept going, we saw more people ahead. This must be it!
We got to a clearing and saw a beautiful waterfall through the trees. I snapped some pics and then we walked a little further up the trail to the main lookout point for Hidden Falls. How gorgeous!
We turned around and walked back to the boat dock. I walked very deliberately, trying not to take another fall. We reached the boat dock without incident and got on the boat once it returned. We rode back across the lake and snapped a few pictures from shore and continued on our way. What a great hike!
Jenny Lake from shore
We decided to stop in Colter Bay Village to shop a bit. We bought a couple things and as we viewed the mountains from here, we saw that there were storms in the mountains. They hid the mountains a bit, but it was a different view, so as we started back towards Jackson, we stopped at Elk Ranch Flats Turnout again for some stormy mountain views.
We returned to the hotel after this incredible day and cleaned up. We drove to a bar/restaurant called Sidewinders for dinner. My buffalo burger was good and after dinner, we went back the the hotel and watched some college football and relaxed.
Tomorrow is our last full day of this amazing trip, so it’s off to bed after planning what we still need to see. It’s sad to see it ending, but what a trip! Still one more day! Goodnight.
September 14th, 2013
We woke up this morning and after packing and cleaning up for the day ahead, we grabbed some fruit from the lobby and had fruit and leftover moose bread for breakfast. After this big breakfast, we were ready to hit the Tetons again.
We drove into the park and shortly after entering, we noticed a lot of cars parked along the road. We parked to the side and I asked a lady what was going on. She said there was a couple moose that had just walked though. The moose were walking down the river bank here and all the people were waiting to see if they would reappear. We waited as well, but never saw them.
We turned on Jenny Lake Rd. and saw a large herd of elk start to cross the road, but a car raced by from the other direction and the elk all turned around and quickly went back.
Scenic Jenny Lake Loop Road
We stopped at Cascade Canyon Turnout again (below),
on our way to String Lake, where we were going to hike along String Lake and Leigh Lake at the base of the mountains. We were a little wary because we didn’t have bear spray (I couldn’t bring myself to fork out the cash to
buy some), but we started down the trail. About 100 yards up the trail, we saw a sign indicating a very recent bear sighting – being a mom and cub. We continued up the path, but with caution. We made noise and kept our ears and eyes peeled. About three minutes further down, we were walking and looking at the lake and mountains when all of a sudden we heard a loud grunt and branches breaking nearby. It startled us and we stopped dead in our tracks. We couldn’t see anything, but we were pretty sure it was a bear! We didn’t hesitate in turning around, since we didn’t have bear spray (even if we did, we probably would’ve turned around). We walked back towards the car and we met a family with young kids. I told them about what we heard and they decided to turn around too. Better safe than sorry!
String Lake
We were disappointed about missing the hike, but we continued with our day. We stopped at the beautiful Jenny Lake Overlook (below),
and a couple other stops on our way to Colter Bay Village. We stopped in the shops again and then found the Colter Bay Nature Trail behind the visitor center.
We started the hike, which skirted Jackson Lake, but the water level was so low that we had to walk quite a ways before we saw any water. We walked for about 15 minutes, took a few shots of the mountains and dry lake bed and then walked back to the car.
Dry marina at Colter Bay
Jackson Lake, dry but beautiful
Jackson Lake
We drove a couple blocks to the Ranch House for lunch. It was pretty good, but not out of this world. I had a brisket sandwich.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Oxbow Bend Overlook again, which was not nearly as clear as the first time.
Then it was on to Teton Point Turnout,
and Glacier View Turnout again.
It was a cloudier day, so the views weren’t as good, especially at Oxbow, but they were still pretty amazing!
We went back to the hotel early, after striking out on our String Lake hike. We took a nap to catch up on sleep from the long week of adventures. Plus, we had a long drive home ahead of us. After our little nap, we watched a little college football before going to another local place (I can’t remember the name) and had an interesting dinner. We had a pasta dish that was fine and we ordered a small pizza with buffalo mozzarella cheese and meatballs. It wasn’t too bad, and very unique.
We walked back to the hotel and packed up our stuff in preparation of the drive home. We walked to the nearby Kmart to look around and stretch our legs. We walked back and now I’m watching the WI Badger football game and soon, I’ll be going to bed. Long drive tomorrow. Good night.
September 15th and 16th, 2013 – The drive home
We got up early, packed up, checked out and started our journey home. We drove north from Jackson into Grand Teton N.P., and then headed east from there. It was rainy and very foggy, so we didn’t get to enjoy the mountain views one last time on the way out.
Being that our National Park adventures are over, there really isn’t much more to report. We drove about 12 hours today, through Wyoming and South Dakota, and stayed in Murdo, South Dakota at the Super 8.
We got up the next morning and raced home, making great time on the highways, which were posted at 70 or 75mph most of the way. Being that we were pressed for time, we didn’t make any interesting stops on the way home. If we go back, (and I’d love to) I’d like to have a couple extra days for stops on the way to and from. But this was the best trip I’ve ever taken and both my wife and I will remember it for the rest of our lives!
Adventures in Waterfalling 