http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from North America , United States , Wyoming en-us Sat, 25 May 2013 04:37:32 +0000 Sat, 25 May 2013 04:37:32 +0000 We waited till 6 for Tanner the owner of the place to turn up with the wheel but no sign. Bob wanted to lock up so we hauled all our stuff back out of the garage and paid up for another night camping and set up the tent.Another windy night. In the morning we walked over to the garage and found the wheel waiting for us. Jim fitted it we packed our stuff and were finally on our way.Incredible r http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Riverton/blog-787509.html We will only see two states today but our drive is about equal to yesterday39s drive. It was nice having the separate rooms and somewhere to spread out and really relax last night.Our drive today went really well. We were at our hotel by 4pm MT. There is quite a bit of snow still around on the sides of the roads. Tomorrow we get to Provo and will actually be in the same hotel for a couple of n http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Laramie/blog-782050.html More photos at PicasaI started the day driving north making my first stop at the National Elk Refuge. The refuge is the winter range for elk living in the surrounding national parks and forests but being nearly July the elk weren39t there. From there I continued north through Grand Teton National Park. I took a lot of pictures of the mountains but I couldn39t tell you which ones were wh http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/blog-770592.html More photos at PicasaBelow Washington PassIn the past lack of respect for altitude has led to snowy surprises on previous trips but this trip was planned with the expectation that there was no way there would be snow at reasonable altitudes in late June. Turns out there would be. More on this later I didn39t note the altitude at the time I39ve decided I love having a GPS on outdoor t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/blog-770543.html The sign at the start of the walking trail told us to Carry Bear Spray at all Times...After 1 nights rest in Idaho Falls we were up at 6am ready for our drive through Yellowstone National Park. A continental breakfast and a coffee and we were raring to get the 3 hour drive to the entrance done so we could explore the worlds first National Park. We entered through the North West corner in http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/Old-Faithful/blog-766525.html Our next stop along the way is Devils Tower WY. This is the first National monument decreed by guess who President Roosevelt in 1906. You need to stop in a town before we stopped at Gillette WY our first couple of trips coming from the west and Sturgis this time coming from the east to stock up on groceries etc. There39s a little store at Devils Tower if you forget something impo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Devils-Tower-National-Monument/blog-762678.html Best Mountains EVERWords cannot describe how awesome these mountains are. I could stay staring at them forever. From the very informative visitor39s center to the scenic viewing points its all very well laid out. The mountains with their snowy peaks and blue color are amazing. What else could you ask for Oh yes a cabin in the mountains Maybe next time I visit. Id love to take Colby here http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Grand-Teton-National-Park/blog-751284.html Best Park....EVERSeriously what can be said about Yellowstone that hasn39t already been said I tried to see as much of it as I could and drive the whole loop. I started my dreary morning at Geyser Basin. I hope this is what Hell looks like because it is so pretty They have a boardwalk you can hike. The steam rises through the water as you walk. The sweat smell of sulfur runs rampant throu http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/blog-751283.html Thursday39s dawn was heralded by an alarm clock rather than the sun39s warming rays and we had slept soundly devoid of the sporadic resituating that came with camping. Down at the Lake House restaurant we rallied empty plates for the breakfast buffet and took in the nowlit lakeside view that had their large plentiful panes full up. The food was warm and generous the early atmosphere sle http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/Old-Faithful/blog-750611.html As the pilot started to approach Jackson airport he made an announcement to look out of right side windows to view the beautiful Tetons. All I could see were silhouette images of the Tetons. They were all covered in thick smoke that had enveloped the whole region for many weeks. Smoke was still billowing out of a few forest fires that were raging near Jackson. The smoke was evident the next day a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/blog-748630.html Day 9 Sunday August 26 2012After checking out of the hotel we had breakfast at Bubba39s Barbque. They served a good breakfast with reasonable prices. We left Jackson drove back to Yellowstone. We went out the east entrance of Yellowstone heading toward Cody. We stopped in Cody for lunch then headed on out of town. They have a Buffalo Bill museum there which I have heard is a great museum http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Sheridan/blog-748291.html Camping with the bears http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/blog-748259.html Wednesday was the midpoint of our trip and it was the only evening we would sleep under a manmade roof in Yellowstone. We had certainly worked for it and this dawn wouldn39t differ an amibitous hike out of Canyon lay before us. Camping two nights at the same site had us fixated on one familiar conduit and we were ready to branch off and explorewhich in this case would result in a longer http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/Grant-Village/blog-747463.html View Our Website HereWe broke down our bikes just in time for the storm. The brand new motorhome gleaming with new paint and shinny lights would be our personal traveling bus as we navigated towards Yellowstone from Jackson Hole WY. My mothers face was illuminated with a giant happy glow as we shoved everything into the bins and locked our naked bikes to the rear bike rack. This 25 foot shelter w http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/blog-744364.html NOTE Click on any picture to enlarge it.Day 8 Saturday Aug 25th 2012During the 2 days we had been in Yellowstone we had not explored the geysers near the lodge. We walked over to watch old faithful go off 1 more time and see some of the other geysers. When we arrived at old faithful a ranger lead program was just starting. We listened to her as she talked about old faithfuls history an http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Jackson-Hole/blog-744334.html NOTE Click on any picture to enlarge it.Day 7 Friday Aug 24th 2012We were scheduled to take a boat cruise of Lake Yellowstone this morning so we got up and left the lodge early. When I started the car it showed the temperature outside was 48. We headed to Bridge Bay Marina which is located on the bottom part of the lower loop on the east side of the park. On the drive over from the lodge t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/blog-744330.html NOTE Click on any picture to enlarge it.Day 6 Thursday Aug 23rd 2012The only bad thing about the Snow Lodge is it does not have air conditioning. We had to sleep with the window open. It was still warm in the room though. During the night I thought I heard a buffalo outside making a noise. I got up to looked out the window expecting to see one. When I didnt see one I was disappointed. I w http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/blog-744324.html NOTE Click on any picture to enlarge it.Day 5 Wednesday Aug 22nd 2012Today was the day we would finally be in YellowstoneWe got up early again checked out of the motel and then ate Breakfast at McDonalds. Outside of our motel room was a planter with a bunch of flowers. Mama wanted to take my picture with them. Later in the day mama was looking at the pictures on her camera and started l http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/blog-744319.html After crashing for the night in Small Town Montana we headed to the casino before driving into Yellowstone. There are casinos all over the place in Montana most of which are just tiny rooms with a few video machines. No dealers and you cant win more than 800. Its not quite Vegas but itll do for a free drink and good people watching. We spent about an hour just playing video slots an http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Yellowstone-National-Park/blog-744071.html NOTE Click on any picture to enlarge it. Day 4 Tuesday Aug 21st2012After checking out of the hotel we decided to look around Cheyenne. Since Cheyenne is the state capital of Wyoming I thought the town would be a lot bigger. I was surprised to see the population was only about 60000.We drove to downtown Cheyenne. They had a park area where they hold events. There was a banner over the entran http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Cheyenne/blog-743594.html