Small town holiday

Currently In: Rawlins, ID
Will be in several locations in Colorado for the rest of July and early August

We're taking couple of days to catch up on life here in Rawlins, WY.  Resupply, hair cuts, car wash and the like.  Our RV Park is like a big parking lot - just a place to rest our head for a couple of nights.  I should be able to get current on the blog now since we won't be touring at all.

We finally hit the heat wave the rest of the country has been experiencing all summer!  It's been in the low 90's the last couple of days, but no humidity so not too bad.  We've been very lucky with the weather all Spring/Summer with very mild temperatures and only a couple of days of rain.

Our 4th of July holiday was very fun.  It started with a brunch sponsored by our campground in Victor, ID.

Because of the brunch we missed the parade in Victor.  We decided to drive to Jackson, WY for the day by taking the Teton Pass, 10% grade in our Jeep.  The town of Jackson sits at the southern end of Jackson Hole, a valley that is surrounded by the Teton and Gros Ventre mountain ranges.
The Jackson parade was just ending as we got to town!  We still had a great time looking around this tourist town.  And they were decked out for the holiday.  The first flag in the photo below is the Wyoming State flag and we saw it everywhere.  It's a big buffalo - kind of cool.

Traffic control was left to the local police on horseback.

There are a number of historic buildings that now house retail and restaurants.  And this museum.  Many sidewalks are something out of the old west.

I liked this old theatre that is now a restaurant.  I thought the entrance fit the theme for the day!

the lobby of the Playhouse Restaurant

The Teton movie theatre dates back to 1941 but is now a restaurant.  I liked the ticket booth.

We took a stroll through George Washington Park right in the middle of town.  All 4 corners of the park have the Elk Arch entrance - real antlers.  The cowboy statue is a tribute to the heritage of this region.

By this time of day we were ready for a beverage.  The historic Cowboy Bar seemed to be the perfect place! It was built in the early 30's  - the neon sign, the rotating cowboy on top - nostalgic.

The barstools are saddles.  Word has it that Meg Kerr, Johnny's cousin, enjoyed a cocktail or two from this barstool.

There is artwork all around the bar that depicts the life of a cowboy back in the day.

Other fun things we saw around town -

relaxing with a bear

Only moose we will see on this trip!

American Legion Monument and cabin in back - 1928

Corny stagecoach ride

These bears made me laugh!

Wildlife sighting for the day: trumpet swans.  We didn't see any in Yellowstone, but took a drive out to the Elk refuge in Jackson and saw this little family.

We made it back to Driggs, ID (next to Victor) in time for a little music in the middle of town - kind of like Ravinia, but not as many people.  We saw 2 bands- both pretty good.  And they handed out slices of watermelon - small town charm.

The final feature and showstopper - fireworks.  Around the corner from the bandshell.
They didn't start until 10:20pm because the sun goes down so late here.  The show was wonderful - as good as any I've seen.  A great finale.  The best part?  No traffic as everyone got on the road to go home! We were back at the RV park in 10 minutes.

Our last day in Yellowstone

Traveling to Rawlins, WY today - this is a short stop to catch our breath and get some supplies.
We will be in Loveland, CO on Tuesday.

A couple things about our experience in Yellowstone:
1.  Our RV park was in Island Park, ID so on the days we went to the Park, we traveled through 3 states - Idaho, Montana and Wyoming - before we got to the entrance.
2.  Yellowstone was very crowded - the height of the summer season.   That prevented us from seeing everything we had planned, but we got a good feel for the park.
3. When people spot wildlife from their cars, they immediately stop in the road to take a photo.  So traffic then just stops.  And you don't know why.  There was a 15 minute backup on our first trip in because people spotted an elk.  And they jump out of their cars for photos. It's crazy!

We got an early start (to avoid crowds at the entrance) on our last day and went to Hayden Valley to spot wildlife.  We were hoping to see moose or wolves.  To no avail - just a herd of bison grazing.  But it was a gorgeous and peaceful morning!

We took the opportunity to walk around Lake Yellowstone Hotel while we were in the area.  The Colonial Revival style was retained in the renovation that was completed in 2014.

The inside somewhat reminds me of our house in Downers Grove with the white woodwork and the yellow walls.  And these big windows!

Ok, this beautiful fireplace is not like the one in our old house.

I love the wildlife theme at the Hotel.

Yellowstone Lake is the largest freshwater lake above 7000 feet in North America.  This is the view of Yellowstone Lake and the Absaroka Mountains from the Hotel.  

We moved on to Gull Point Drive in our quest to see a moose!  We checked out the moose habitat, but no moose.  Lovely scenery, though.

There were still a lot of hydrothermal features to see in the Lake and West Thumb areas.  On the way to Lake we saw Dragon's Mouth Spring (it was loud and smelled bad), Mud Volcano (used to have huge eruptions), and Grizzly Fumarole (in its dry season now).

In the West Thumb area we got to see pools and geysers against the backdrop of the western part of Lake Yellowstone called West Thumb.  Some features were even in the lake themselves!

Black Pool

Bluebell Pool

Big Cone Geyser

this is just run off from a geyser

Mimulus Pool

I didn't get the name of this one, but pretty!

 We couldn't leave Yellowstone without another hike!  We decided to do the Storm Point hike in the Fishing Bridge region of the Park.  It was a pretty straightforward hike, but had a cool view.

This is another view of Lake Yellowstone.

On our way back, we ran into a bit of an issue.  The footbridge was uncrossable.  

We found this other way to get to the other side of the water.

We started on the road out of the Park, surprise! Several cars were pulled over and we got a glimpse of this beautiful, majestic elk.

If that wasn't enough, we got in another one of those long traffic jams.  When we got to the front we heard that people were watching two grizzly bears.  Johnny pulled over immediately and I unrolled my window.  There she was - 25 feet from me!  I could hear the mama rooting around looking for food, and the baby was right behind her.  We watched for a couple of minutes before she moved on.  Here is the photo I took - she was in the woods and I was so nervous I didn't hit the focus.  But believe me, she's in there.  It was a great way to end our time in Yellowstone!

Wildlife Sanctuary

Currently In: Victor, ID
Moving south to Colorado with a short stop in Rawlins, WY


We spent one day wandering around West Yellowstone, MT just outside the National Park.   Before we went to the refuge, we walked around and learned a little about this town's beginnings.
West Yellowstone grew after the Union Pacific Railroad was built near the Park to support the tourism.  The old depot is now the Historical Museum.

This guy sits outside ready to greet everyone. There are all types of wildlife artwork around town.

The Dining Lodge was an impressive size.  It fed all the tourists as well as railroad workers back in the day but doesn't appear to be used at all anymore.

This is the generator facility that housed first gas, and then diesel, engines for the railroad.

The historic walking tour was much longer, but we decided to switch gears and spend some time at the Grizzly and Wolf Center.  All of the animals at the Center were determined to be unable to live in the wild.  They were brought to West Yellowstone to help the public learn more about the animals and their habitat.
The bears are released into the outdoor habitat at specific times.  When one group is finished, the next group comes out.  The backstory for each grizzly bear is posted - for the most part their past interaction with humans contributed to their inability to live in their natural habitat.

Sam

Corum, Roosevelt and Grant

Roosevelt and Grant are brothers playing in the pond

This bear's name is 101.  She was tracked in the wild for many years and her tag number was 101!  She is getting up there in years now, but still enjoys the pond.

Manufacturers of bear proof containers send them to this Center to determine if a bear can destroy it.  It's the only place in the country to provide this service.  Corum working on this container below.  He eventually rips it open to get a reward - a piece of fish!  Not bear proof...

There were also 3 bald eagles that were rescued.

As well as a turkey vulture, rough legged hawk, and other birds of prey .

We also watched a really informative video about re-introducing wolves back into Yellowstone.  Summit was part of the Granite Pack but failed to form his own pack when the alpha wolf pushed him out.

Since we spent so much time looking for these animals at the Park, it was interesting to see them up close and learn more about their life in the wild.