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2021-09-05 Jenny Lake

Today was one of the Grand Tetons most popular hikes. It involved a boat trip and hike around Jenny Lake. Educational Moment: Named for the Shoshone wife of a trapper, Jenny Lake sits at the base of Cascade Canyon in Grand Teton National Park. A popular hike is Hidden Falls which is a 100ft cascading waterfall. One can choose to hike around the southern lakeshore 4.8 mile round trip or ride the shuttle 1 mile round trip. Which do you think Debbie voted for? It is important to get to the lake early for parking and to catch the boat which takes you to the starting point.

We got a parking place. Check. Unfortunately, we had to wait in line for the boat. We had to wait long enough for someone to discuss taking the longer route. (It was not Debbie. She just pretended that she did not hear the conversation). Luckily, an additional boat was put into service.

The boat arrived at the Hidden Falls trailhead and boat people took off like it was the Amazing Race. We did not but we did hike to Hidden Falls with many other people. After the Hidden Falls victory, we were feeling good and proceeded on to Inspiration point. (Another popular hike with stunning views. ) Unfortunately uphill for most of the hike. Inspiration Point was the turnaround point. Unfortunately, Larry and Jerry did not get the destination memo so they proceeded on. Debbie and Joyce waited at Inspiration point for the other two to come back. Larry and Jerry saw a moose. Larry swears the made eye contact pictures of a moose and they are friends now. Debbie and Joyce watched people at the point take pictures and learned many new poses. Debbie wants to try out the new poses but refuses to jump on the trail for a picture. Once reunited, we were able to hike down and catch the boat immediately.

We spent the rest of the day at various park sights. For the day, we hiked more than 6 miles.

Tip for the day: Take the boat

2021-09-04 Leaving Yellowstone

Today we left Yellowstone but before leaving their was more to see in Yellowstone. The first stop was Kepler cascades. This is a three-tiered cascade that drops over 50 feet as the Firehole River flows North. Next was on to the west thumb geyser basin which is located along the shore of Yellowstone Lake.

We left Yellowstone for the Grand Tetons. Did you know that the Grand Tetons are only 50 miles from Yellowstone? Debbie did not. We passed the continental divide and tried throwing water out the window to see which way it flowed (not really). Once we reached the Grand Tetons, we made lots of overlook sites and headed for Jackson Hole. Inside the park, we took the Lake trail hike. You can see how the lake receded in the pictures.

FYI – The valley is Jackson Hole but the town is Jackson. We made it to Jackson and ate Chinese food for dinner. We lasted 9 days before we ate Chinese Food maybe a vacation record.

2021-09-03 Geyser Extravaganza

Yesterday, we learned about the different geothermal types in Yellowstone. Remember? Geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mud pots. Today, we saw them in a great wayl

We ate our breakfast and were on the road early. We headed toward the lower and midway geyser basins and began seeing some awesome sights. We saw a wolf traveling through the basins. We stood at one geyser and watched another go off from a distance. The Park Services estimate the times that geysers will erupt but maybe off by several minutes or hours. We rushed over but missed it.

We drove to the Old Faithful area and began walking the Upper Basis trying to get to the Grand Geyser before it erupted and not have another miss. Cultural Moment: Grand Geyser is the tallest predicted geyser in the world with many eruptions reaching about 200 feet. The eruptions last about 10-12 minutes.

Grand Geyser went off just as the group got close. There was some running involved. Debbie is faster than she looks.

Once we had seen one geyser, we were ready to get serious and hiked to Riverside Geyser. The geyser shoots steam and water to heights of 75 feet in an arch over the river, sometimes causing rainbows. We saw some spectacular hot springs and then settled in for the eruption. We were told when the left pool starts to bubble it will erupt. Well that was sort of correct and we heard way more about fellow tourists than we wanted to during the hour wait. After awhile, the water started to bubble and eventually went off about 20 minutes after the predicted time. Once it erupted it went off for 22 minutes.

We went to Old Faithful Inn to sit on the balcony and watch. Unfortunately, Larry missed it standing in line for a drink. To console ourselves, we went to the Old Faithful buffet and ate lots of food. After the buffet, we finally saw Old Faithful erupt.

We ended the night staying at Old Faithful Cabins. If you stood in the driveway you could see Old Faithful. We did not do this as Larry didn’t know where we were and Debbie still thought a bear would get her.

At the end of the day, Debbie was impressed with geysers and Mud pots. Debbie also likes how people applaud at the end of an eruption.

Travel trip: We forgot yesterday’s – stay inside the park if you can. Today’s tip: There is a geyser hotline for the times that geyser should erupt.

2021-09-02 Yellowstone Geysers

We left West Yellowstone today and moved into Yellowstone National Park for a couple of days. We were in the park at 8:10 A.M. Another jaw dropper for those who know Debbie. The first stop was Gibbons Falls followed by Norris Basin. Cultural Moment: Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest, oldest, and most dynamic of Yellowstone’s thermal areas. It contains the Back Basin and Porcelain Basin. Porcelain Basin has no trees and bare ground and boardwalk trail accesses this area. We went to the Porcelain Basin first and it was a little difficult to see through the steam since it was so early. The Back Basin is more heavily wooded with features scattered throughout the area. A 1.5-mile trail of boardwalks and bare ground encircles this part of the basin. So by 10:00, the group had hiked about 2 miles.

What did we learn?

What is a geyser? (Debbie wanted you to know since she spent two miles walking around them) It is a hot spring in which water intermittently boils, sending a column of water and steam into the air.

What is a mud pot? a hot spring filled with mud agitated by venting gases. Debbie seems to be fascinated with these and it is difficult to explain why one would take several pictures of mud but she did.

What is a paint pot? A mud pot with color. Oh, good more mud pictures for Debbie

What is a Hot Spring? A spring that has real hot water? Well, almost – Springs produced by the geothermal heated groundwater.

What is a fumarole? The hottest emission. It is a hole in a volcanic region from which hot gases and vapor escape. It turns the water into steam.

We ended up at lower and upper terrace of Mammoth. We were able to go to the Upper Terrace late in the day and it was awesome.

We went to several areas during the day where the pictures do more justice than words.

That night we stayed at Mammoth Cabins in the park. At night, an elk herd came up by the main hotel. It is mating season and we heard the bull bugle to his harem.

2021-09-01 Harriman Park

Today was our last day outside Yellowstone Park. We decided to go to Harriman State Park in Idaho. It is famous for fishing. (So the park told us). It was formally owned by Union Pacific railroad investors from 1902 to 1977, There Is also a historic village. It was built by the owner of the Pacific Railway as a summer vacation home. If you’re an angler you can rent one of these homes to stay at. This is supposed to be a great angler fishing spot.

We saw lots of people walking around with fishing poles. Debbie says it didn’t really look much like a lake or a river to her.. The group somehow convinced Debbie to walk around the lake. She wasn’t too excited by this as there was not a lot of trees and not a lot of shade. She mostly just walked around in the sun, sweated a lot and became grumpy.

Debbie was promised ice cream if she would complete the walk with a better attitude maybe even huckleberry ice cream. Debbie is nothing if not goal driven so the ice cream got her up to complete the walk. She did give everyone in a group a stink eye and required Jerry and Larry to carry bear spray after yesterday‘s bear spray demonstration.

If you’re an angler it’s probably a great place to go. If you’re not but like Debbie and used to fishing under trees off the bank you may not be as impressed. We actually never saw anyone catch a fish while we were there. The fishermen all said that they were going to catch a fish but no one actually had. (Is this a fish tale?)

Tip of the day: Harrington State Park for angler fishing. Bring a hat for the sun and maybe ice cream for cranky travelers

2021-08-31 Virginia City

Today was another day outside the park. So we decided to go to Virginia city. Historic Moment: Virginia City and Nevada City lie along Alder Gulch about one mile apart, and is the site of the richest gold strike in the Rocky Mountains, with an estimated total value of 100 million dollars. Virginia City was designated as the new territorial capital of Montana in 1865 when Alder Gulch had gathered most of Montana’s population. The city has been declared a national landmark. You can ride a train, shop, pan for gold and visit the courthouse (I don’t think we were actually supposed to go in the courthouse – it is still a working building.)

But let’s talk about the real claim to fame? Does anyone remember what TV show was associated with Virginia City? Most of you are probably too young?

Debbie took a lot of flack because she thought Virginia City was in Virginia. Remember the burning map? Remember the Cartwrights? Remember Little Joe before he went to the little Prairie? Surely you can guess the TV show now.

Travel Tip of the Day: Don’t go to Virginia City on Tuesdays. W Most of the stores are closed. So we went in search of a new activity.

We found our new activity at the Bear and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. The bears are rescued when the other option is to be euthanized. Most bears are there because they discovered it is easy to get food from humans. The bears take turns coming out into a large area to find food and play. Before the bears come out, food is hidden from them by the staff or visiting kids. At a scheduled time, the bears come out and hunt for the food. Ravens follow the bears and try to steal their food. The ravens aren’t very nice and try to follow around the people hiding the food to get it before the bears come out.

Debbie’s favorite bear was Bo. He had been caught and released 4 times for visiting campsites for food. The final straw was when Bo was found sleeping on the hood of a car that had people trying to sleep inside the car. (Bet that was an exciting night).

Most frequent question asked by visitors. Why don’t the bears eat the ravens? Answer: The bears are too lazy.

We also saw a bear spray demonstration. Larry and Jerry had questions. Debbie does not feel confident but was glad to read that bears are curious about the bells and investigate. Debbie keeps telling Joyce that the bears will come and take Joyce’s bells.

2021-08-30 Quake Lake

Today was a visit to Quake Lake. It is a sad story. None of us were aware of the earthquake that happened in 1959. Quake (officially Earthquake Lake) is a lake in southwestern Montana. It was created from an earthquake on August 17, 1959, right before midnight killing 28 people. Quake Lake is 190 feet deep and 6 miles long.

The earthquake measured 7.5 and caused an 80-million ton landslide. This landslide created a dam on the Madison River. The landslide traveled down Sheep Mountain, at an estimated 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), killing 28 people who were camping along the shores of Hebgen Lake and downstream along the Madison River.

Upstream the earthquake forced the waters of Hebgen Lake to shift violently. The lake dropped by 20 ft. There was a threat that water would overflow the dam backwards. An overflow spillway was quickly created to handle the additional water and flooding in the next few days. Several geysers in the northwestern sections in Yellowstone National Park erupted and numerous hot springs became temporarily muddied.

Within the immediate vicinity of the earthquake and resultant landslide, a few dozen cabins and homes were destroyed. Some cabins floated away with people jumping to the shore. It generated hurricane force winds causing more havoc. The landslide crushed some of the cabins. The highway dropped several feet.

The park is free and was tastefully done. It told the story well. The ruins from the cabins were still on the lake side. It was a sobering experience to think of what happened.

2021-08-29 Yellowstone

Larry and Debbie had never been to Yellowstone. Cultural Moment: Yellowstone was established as the world’s first national park in 1872. It has more than 2 million acres and is in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. The park is so large that it is divided into areas.

We entered the park through the West entrance with our Gypsy Guide ready to go (so we thought). After much anguish and reboots, we were ready to go 30 minutes later. Gypsy Guide uses GPS for an audio tour. We hit the gate at 7:00 AM. Yes, you read it correctly – SEVEN A.M. I know some of you had mouths that fell open in shock and well it should because Debbie forgot to set her alarm clock and still made it to the car at 6:30 (She didn’t admit this to her fellow travelers.) Guess what? No line at the gate at 7:00 AM.

The park is so large that it is divided into areas. The goal for today was to cover Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Lake Village – Fishing Bridge & Bridge Bay, and Hayden Valley and Mud Volcano.

The first stop was the Grand Canyon area. The trip began with an overlook of the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River. The falls is an impressive 110 foot waterfall. After lots of pictures at Lookout Point and other points, the group went to Uncle Tom’s overlook. (Uncle Tom was a ranger who built a trail in Yellowstone).

At this point, the group met an enthusiastic hiker who had just graduated from Sacred Heart and was working at the park this summer. He said that the South Rim trail was the best trail in the park. It was flat, it was shady, it was bear free – It was 6 miles, no 3 miles each way, no 3 miles round trip. It was fabulous! He took all his friends on the hike. The hike ends at Artist’s Point and then you just turn around and hike back. Yes, the four cried – it will be fabulous. We will go! What’s a few miles?

Wait! Cried Debbie. “We need water – I need a hat!” Oh, good idea said the other three then we must go – so they did. Off down the South Rim trail.

But it was not flat and started out downhill. Debbie said “doesn’t this mean we will have to go back up at the end? The others replied that It is just a little bit before it flattens out. Then there were switchbacks – multiple switchbacks. Yes, eventually the views were good and yes there was shade but we were also chugging water and puffing hard. Forty minutes later the group made it to the Artist’s Point which had great views. To motivate each other for the hike back, they promised each other huckleberry ice cream. The hike back was quicker than the first half but had not flatten out in the meantime. Going forward, the group decided not to deviate from the original plan and not go on any unplanned hikes. Total hike 3 miles round trip.

Lunch was at one of the Hayden Valley lookouts. We saw a couple of buffalo and then proceeded on to the original planned hike which was Mud Volcano. Cultural Moment: The Mud Volcano Trail in Yellowstone National Park is one of many boardwalk trails in Yellowstone that wind their way through a myriad of geological features. The first stop was Dragon’s Mouth Spring. Dragon’s Mouth Spring is a cave with gases and near boiling water that make booming sounds against the top of the cave. The cave appears to be breathing with water coming in and out of the cave like waves. The group continued winding through thermal spots such as Sour Lake and bubbling churning caldron. Warnings are everywhere about stepping off the boardwalk. No danger from Debbie on that point. She did wonder how buffalo wandered through the fields.

They traveled on to the Fishing Bridge for ice cream and found the Yellowstone Lake. On the way back through Hayden Valley, the buffalo were on the move. Approximately 75 to 100 were on the move stopping traffic. After about 20 minutes we made it through the herd and proceeded home.

Total hiked for the day – 7 miles.

Tip of the Day – Don’t add unplanned hikes to your day

2021-08-28 First Day

As often happens on our trips, we began with a parking issue. A big orange ticket on windshield telling us we parked in the wrong place. We dispute this.

Today was the first exploration day. We took the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway in Idaho. Cultural Moment: A scenic drive that includes the Lower Mesa Falls which is created by the Snake River squeezing through a gorge with a 65 foot drop over a cliff. The Upper Mesa Falls plunges 114 feet. We went to the Upper Mesa Falls and saw the Lower from afar.

First animal sighting raising the question “Do Bears eat Cows?’ Internet answer is it could happen. A grizzle’s favorite food is insects. We saw many cows today.

In the afternoon, we went to Big Springs and Johnny Sack’s cabin. Cultural Moment: Producing over 120 million gallons of water each day, Big Springs is a National Landmark, it is one of the 40 largest natural spring in the world. Cultural Moment: (Debbie’s summary) -Johnny Sack rented land and hand built a cabin and furniture. It is also on the National Register of historic places.

We finished the day by watching a cattle drive. Joyce asked what they were doing. Response from the cowboy: ” Riding a horse”.

Once the day was completed, Larry and Jerry were permanently assigned Bear Spray duty. They both practiced drawing from their bear holsters. (Debbie did go into another room from the practicing). There was much discussion about bear defense. Here are some highlights:

Larry: Make sure the wind is behind you. Larry’s plan if standing downwind? Ask bear to please step on the other side.

Jerry: You have 3 seconds to react if charging so don’t keep bear spray in your back pack

Joyce: Depress when 40 feet away when spray only goes 30 feet.

Debbie: It could go off in the car so cover it with a towel. (I don’t think they are doing this).

Traveler trip of the day: Gas in Wyoming is $1.00 cheaper per gallon than in Idaho

Does this look like a walkway? I think not

2021-08-27 Wagons West

Debbie and Larry began the day early for their trip to Yellowstone. Debbie noticed at the airport that most of their fellow travelers had cowboy hats and western wear. They didn’t see a lot of shorts. Debbie felt unprepared for the west. Larry did not.

Once they arrived in Bozeman, the group went ISO (In Search of) Bear Spray. Talk about how to make an entrance – get your car alarm stuck before going into Costco. (Seems the panic button doesn’t go softly into the night and wants assurances that you aren’t really in a panic.) After everyone’s attention was fully on them, they got it turned off. They were able to eventually purchase the bear spray among other things.

The group is staying outside the Yellowstone West gate in Island Park Idaho. Getting to our condo involved driving through Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Wyoming and back to Idaho.

That night, Joyce gave a quick bear lesson. Debbie is concerned. Joyce has a bell, Larry has a whistle and Jerry has bear spray. Debbie has nothing. They all agree Debbie can not have bear spray because she would want to read the instructions before deploying. Plus, she is the most likely to accidentally set it off (other than Lindsey – another story). Tomorrow, Debbie looks forward to reading the bear spray instructions and learning more ways to save herself.

Travel Tip of the day courtesy of Joyce: Did you know that you could order your groceries from home before you leave? Then the groceries will be ready for pick up when you arrive. We did it with Wal-Mart and it saved a lot of time.