The Summer of Busted Trips

The is the year of the COVID-19 Pandemic which has closed everything down since March. Now, in mid-June, things are opening up a bit, but not entirely. We had been scheduled to visit Yellowstone in late May but nothing was open, so that trip was canceled. Knowing how hard it is to get Yellowstone reservations, we looked at mid- June and lucked out, with three nights at Mammoth Hot Springs, our favorite place. 

Yellowstone facilities are only partially open. The cabins are open but all the hotels and their restaurants are still closed, as are the gift shops.  Even at Mammoth, only the fast food place is open and even the "Map Room" is closed. So, we're not sure what we'll find! We're taking lots of food in case we have to fend for ourselves.

And, the weather looks "iffy". Forecast is for partly cloudy/showers high in the mid 50s. Here in Boise this morning we had nearly an inch of rain!

We'll leave around noon tomorrow, right after our two "Zoom" church services. We plan to be home Thursday or maybe Friday.

Sunday June 14 Craters and Pickles

We left home at about noon. The weather had cleared after morning rain showers but it was cool - mid 50s. We took the Scenic Route 20 from Mountain Home and made the obligatory stop at Craters of the Moon. Of course, I had to take a few minutes to scramble up to the top of Cinder Cone for a spectacular view. The wind was howling at hurricane force so one could barely stand up!

We stopped for early dinner at Pickles Place in Arco and enjoyed a so-so meal. The road from Arco on down to Rexburg is really nice with no traffic. We arrived at our hotel by 7:30. Tomorrow we head north, going the long way around to Mammoth Hot Springs.

Monday - Scenic Route to Yellowstone

We left Rexburg about 9:00 and headed north to West Yellowstone. Instead of going right into the park, we headed north on Rt 191 through Big Sky up to Bozeman, then a bit east on the interstate to Livingston, then south to Gardiner.  That route from West Yellowstone to Gardiner is beautiful! Sure, it’s the long way around to the park, but we love it!

Lunch break at Montana State parking lot behind athletic center.

After the obligatory photo op at the Roosevelt Arch in Gardiner, we drove up the hill to Mammoth Hot Springs, arriving a bit after 3:00. We were lucky that they honored our request to have cabin #C51, the same on we had for pour anniversary party last year!

The weather had been good all day but seemed to be deteriorating. So, after checking in, we took right off into the park to accomplish our mission, which was to find the new Grand Prismatic Spring overlook on the Fairy Springs trail. We found it! It was about a two mile round trip hike on a gravel trail which afforded a spectacular view of the Spring.

On the way back, we detoured on the Firehole Lake Drive and got there just in time to see Great Fountain Geyser go off! Lots of boiling water blasting skyward!

Back on the main road, in the open area near the Mary Mountain Trail, we had to most exciting wildlife sighting of the day – a giant grizzly bear foraging for stuff in the ground, not 100 yards away! Spectacular! He was huge! (see video below)

By the time we got back to our cabin it was well after 8:00 so for our dinner we just grabbed a sandwich at the Mammoth Grill.

Tuesday - Lamar Valley

Our day started in the rain. My morning walk ritual took me up toward the terrace boardwalks,where I managed to get a great shot of a Mountain Bluebird.  Since the weather forecast indicated rain both today and tomorrow we decided a trip out to Lamar Valley would be our best bet. So after breakfast in our cabin, we headed out.

It turned out NOT to be a rainy day!  Overcast and threatening at times, but only a brief shower early afternoon. The views are spectacular. Everything is so green and lush and we were surprised at the balsam root flowers everywhere!

Lamar valley is way out toward the east entrance to the park. That was our turnaround point. The bison herds in the valley seem to be much larger than we remembered. There are many thousands of them! Of course, we got stuck in the usual “bison in the road” event, which is always fun. Fun to see the calves.

Our best wildlife siting of the day was a pair of BADGERS rooting around in a bank quite close to the road. We’d never seen those before!

We returned to the cabin late afternoon. The sun was shining so I took two mile hike up/down the Old  Gardiner Road which starts at the end of the parking lot. A great walk except just as I reached my turnaround point it started to rain and I got soaked!

Dinner tonight at the Iron Horse Bar & Grill in Gardiner.  A fun place, local hangout, Americana stuff hanging everywhere! Sam has a Shepherd’s Pie made with Elk meat.

Tomorrow we’ll do the lower loop around the park.

Town of Gardiner - Gardner River

 

Wednesday - Drive the Loop

Cold and rainy again this morning. I did my 2 miles around the boardwalks of the lower terraces. Tomorrow I’ll do the upper parts. Breakfast was a McMuffin from the snack bar.

Today we did the circle route from Mammoth, to Norris, to Canyon, Lake Village, West Thumb, Old Faithful and back to Mammoth. (Note: the road from Tower to Canyon is closed for major construction, so one can’t do that circle). About 150 miles. Today’s weather was a mixed bag, including some real snow in the upper elevations. We spent a lot of time above 8000 feet; temperatures ranged from 32 to 40. It was cold!

At Canyon we stopped at most of the canyon lookouts and the magnificent water falls. Most impressive was the “Brink of Upper Falls”; such power! (see video below) We had our lunch on the parking lot overlooking Yellowstone Lake at the YL Hotel.

Our best wildlife siting of the day was a WOLF in the area about ten miles south of Mammoth. We didn’t even know there were wolves in this area. We also saw two male elks with huge racks of antlers!

Dinner tonight at Rosie’s in Gardiner. Tomorrow we head home, maybe going only so far as Pocatello, or Twin Falls. (We’re retired – we don’t have to do 500 mile days anymore!)

We hope this COVIDF-19 Pandemic ends this summer. It’s a shame what “Social Distancing” has done to the tourism industry. Here in Yellowstone, the major hotels are all closed, all but one campground is closed, the hotel restaurants and lounge areas look bleak since they’ve removed all the furniture! We don’t see a lot of compliance with the mask wearing protocols. The number of customers allowed into a gift store is limited so you have to wait your turn.

In spite of the nasty weather, it was a good day! Once again, we conclude that Yellowstone is a special place!

Thursday - Leaving for Home

The weather finally cleared by afternoon, although it’s still cold! I got my two miles in this morning by hiking around the boardwalks on the upper terrace. (The video below is Canary Spring) It’s very peaceful since there’s nobody around. The tourists arrive in the park later in the morning as they are driving in from West Yellowstone, not staying in the park.

We stopped at a few places on our way out of the park via Madison and West Yellowstone. Sam saw a black bear, but I missed it!

Lunch break at Henry’s Lake State Park.  We noticed large expanses of balsam root in THREE different colors - orange, pale yellow and white! We took Rt 20 down to Idaho Falls then picked up I-15 to Pocatello.  We stayed at the Quality In and had a nice dinner at Perkins. We’ll be home tomorrow by early afternoon.