Sunday 9-13-26 Leaving Yellowstone, New State & Campground

 

Beautiful Reservoir in Montana

We had a very windy day with gust up to 45 mph. It was a beautiful day with a lot of sun but windy. We started our morning with the temperature of 35 degrees in Yellowstone National Park. The high was 79 degrees in Ennis Montana. 

We had four spectacular nights in Yellowstone National Park at two campgrounds, Madison (one night) and Grant Village (three nights). Now it's time to move on. 

I woke up late this morning about 8:10 because I had a coughing attack at 2:00. The roads were wet because we had a rain shower come through. When Larry got up at 5:45 he said there was thunder and lighting. By the time I woke up the rain was gone.

I got dressed and we had a quick breakfast. After breakfast we put things away and secured. We were on the road by 9:00. We made a couple of stops before leaving Grant Campground. We stopped at the dump and dumped the tanks and filled the water tank with water. Then we stopped at the shower house to get rid of our recycling items (aluminum cans, carboard boxes and plastic containers) and got rid of our trash. They have a great recycling program in Yellowstone. They have big dumpsters marked for the items. After doing this we started our adventure towards West Yellowstone. 

We drove from Grant Campground to the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park. It was a beautiful drive. We saw a gorgeous river ride along side the road with fly fishermen fishing. We saw views of the mountains changing colors for the fall. We saw geysers and bison. At one point we had to stop to let a herd of bison cross the road. It was so cool because they walked right in front of us. One of them was going to go around us but the ranger honked at it and it changed it's mind. The ranger thought the bison was going to ram us. The herd caused a bison jam. After they crossed the road we were moving once more. About 10 miles from the entrance we pulled on the side of the road at a pull out by a river for a bathroom break. It was a beautiful place because hardly anyone pulls off here. You have a gorgeous view of the mountain with the aspens fall colors and a beautiful river. When we got to the gate there was a line of people stopped to enter the park. 

A herd of bison in a meadow at Yellowstone

Bison herd crossing the road in front of a tour bus and ranger

Flyfishing in Yellowstone National Park

Aspens during colors for the fall

Business across the street from the Exxon in West Yellowstone

West Yellowstone was just right outside the park. We are now we're in Montana. We stopped at a Exxon station to fill the Minnie with gas. It cost us $4.949 per gallon for gas. It was a quaint tourist town. We thought once we were in Montana we would see rolling hills and plains but we drove through a beautiful mountain pass with a reservoir running alongside the highway. The reservoir went for miles, there was a few national forest camping areas along the way. It was windy so we didn't see too many fishermen on the lake. Once outside the mountain pass we saw the rolling hills. We saw a lot of beautiful ranches and horses. 

Welcome to Montana Sign

We stopped at a rest area for lunch. It was a nice rest area. The restrooms were different they had three individual restroom for the men and three individual for women. We thought they should have had all of them for both men and women, that way no one had to wait. It had a map of Montana, things to do in the area and another map of the area, which showed you where the attractions were. We took a picture of this. When we got back to the Minnie we had a ham and salami sandwich and chips for lunch. After lunch we were back on the road.

Across the street from the rest area was a national forest day area, there was a boat ramp to get into the river. We saw a few boats in the river and a lot of fishermen flyfishing. There was a lot of current in the river so you basically drift down the river.

We arrived at our destination at 1:30, which was Valley Garden Campground. The Madison River runs by the sites. The campground is very small, it has 10 sites. It's a first come first serve campground. If you have a Montana fishing license it's $12.00 but we don't fish and we're not a resident of Montana so it cost $18.00 per night. If we were a resident and we're senior if would cost us $7.50. It doesn't have any hook-ups or water. It has a vault toilet. Each sire has a fire ring with a grill on it and a picnic table. But right now you can't have a wood or charcoal fire but you can have a gas grill.

Madison River

It's not a paved road. We walked around to pay for the night and look at the Madison River. We didn't stay out too long because the wind was too strong. For dinner I made tortellini's with tomato sauce. I ended up doing 3,000 steps. 

We spent the evening and day reading. Larry started a new book. I finished The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz. It was a great book about four siblings, who were test tube babies. Three were born first and the fourth one was born 17 years later. Then I asked Larry to pick me a new book. I started reading This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub. While relaxing with a book a doe and a fawn walked in front of the Minnie. We were surprised because we didn't see where they came from. This was very nice to see.                 

Saturday 9-12-26 Morning Hike, Showers & Camping

 

Grant Campground

We woke up to a brisk 29 degrees and the high was 68 degrees. 

I crawled out of bed at 7:15 and made a pancake for breakfast. After breakfast we got read to go for a hike. There's not much hiking here. They have one trail it goes to the Visitor Center and Grant Village. We did this yesterday and today we did it again. We hiked for 3.5 miles. We walked down to Yellowstone Lake and hiked the shore instead of the trail because we wanted to be in the sun. It was a little nippy. It was very sandy but it was in the sun. At the beginning of the hike we stirred up a flock of Canadian geese, they were the biggest geese I ever saw. We weren't sure if we could walk the shore all the way to the Visitor Center, not only did we make it to the visitor center but all the way to the restaurant and boat ramp. As we were hiking we saw a group of ten people kayaking on the lake and another couple behind them. The lake was very flat and they sounded like they were having a great time. We waved at them and they waved back. A couple of the kayaks in the group were double occupants and the other eight were single occupants. The couple were both single occupants. When we got the the boat dock and restaurant we sat on a beautiful stone wall to get the sand out of our shoes. The sand was a volcanic sand not the sand you see on the ocean beach. Before we got to the dock we hiked by the Visitor Center and Lakeview Pavilion. We hiked by the Lakeview Restaurant and it had a great view of the lake. The boat ramp is in a protected area and you have to drive your boat around big post to get on the lake. There were a couple of National Park boats in the boat ramp area. It was well built and beautiful. The restaurant was a beautiful building, it wasn't open when were there. In the parking lot at the boat ramp there were a few kayaking tours guide companies getting setup for the day. Then we hiked the road to Grant Village and walked through the gift shop and grocery store. We didn't buy anything. Then we hiked to the Visitor Center and took a bathroom break. Today we didn't go in. We picked the trail back to the campground. We hiked over the suspension bridge to get to the other side the river. It was about a mile back to the campground. A nice thing about this trail when it gets to the campground it has a sign with the loop letter. We took the loop H short trail up to the actual loop. We had a great hike.

Canadian Geese walking on the sand

 

Group of kayakers going for a morning adventure

Visitor Center 

Grant's Restaurant with a lakeview

Lake House Restaurant

When we got back to the Minnie we relaxed until it was time for lunch. It was still cold in the Minnie so we setup out chairs and read. Larry took his chair to the site next to ours because it had more sun. For lunch we had soup. After lunch we relaxed and read until it was time to go take a shower. We rode the motorcycle over to the showers. We could have walked but it was about a mile away. 

The showers are open 8:00 am to 9:00 pm. The showers were closed between 1:30 to 3:00 for cleaning. If you stay in the campground you get two free showers per site, per night. Otherwise it cost $5.45 plus tax, there is a laundry at the same place. It's a coin laundry. Grant has 12 men's showers, 12 women's showers and three family showers. Before going to the shower house you have to see the cashier in the laundry. It's a great facility and showers are great. The heads spray perfect and the water was adjustable for what temperature you want. There was a lot of hooks for your clothes and your clothes and shoes don't get wet.

When we got back Larry loaded the motorcycle back on the carrier. After dinner he put the cover on the motorcycle and strapped it down. I bagged the chairs. 

Then I went for a 45 minutes walk around the campground for 2.5 miles. I walked six loops, which were F, G, H, I, J and K. While walking K loop a gentleman said he saw a female elk. Another gentleman with him was very excited and had a big smile on his face. I told them she must live in this campground because I saw her last night. I had a super evening walk.

 

Elk

Larry finished his book and I continued reading The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz. I ended up doing 14,500 steps.

          

Friday 9-11-26 Hiking, Camping & Motorcycle Ride in Yellowstone

 

Kayaking on Lake Yellowstone

We woke up to a brisk 41 degrees in West Yellowstone and it got up to 64 degrees. A front came through early this morning and brought rain. When we woke up the roads were wet. We had wind all day. Not complaining because it was great weather.

I crawled out of bed at 7:15 and Larry had been up since 5:45. He had already lit the heater so it was comfortable when I got up. I got dressed and then made a pancake for breakfast. After breakfast we got ready to go on a hike to the Visitor Center and Grant Village. The hike was for 4 miles round trip.

We got on the trail to the visitor center from the campground. The trail took us through the trees and along the shores of Yellowstone Lake. It was an easy trail to hike. As we hiked the trail we got magnificent views of the lake and forest. We walked on a lot of pine needles and we saw a guy walking the trail. There were places you could get off the trail to get a closer view of the lake. We saw a couple walking their Golden Retriever by the lake. We walked over a big suspension bridge. The trail dropped us off by the amphitheater and visitor center. The visitor center was very small but it had a nice museum about Firefighters, the trees and plants in the area and the animals in the area. The firefighter displays explains how the firefighters fight the fires in Yellowstone. There a few rangers in the Visitor Center and they were very friendly. The Visitor Center had a gorgeous back porch, where you go outside and sit and have a great view of the lake. It had a beautiful Lakeshore Pavilion, that had a super view of the lake. After walking around the Visitor Center we walked around Grant Village, there are 600 lodging rooms across six two story buildings named after the wildlife in the area (Fox Lodge, Deer Lodge, Bear Lodge and Elk Lodge), two restaurants (one looks over the lake), a gift shop and a lounge. It also has a gas station Sinclair, General Store and a Post Office. We walked around the gas station to see what it offers. There's a dump station behind the gas station with fresh water. We took the road back to the campground. While walking the road when it came to bridges one side had a walkway for pedestrians, that looked over the river and creeks. We had a very nice hike.

Larry getting ready to cross over the river via the suspension bridge

Grant Visitor Center

Firefighter display

A couch to sit on in the visitor center

Lakeshore Pavilion

Yellowstone Lake from the visitor center

Fox Lodge

Deer Lodge

Grant Post Office

We were back to the Minnie at 10:15, time to relax before lunch. For lunch we had chili with corn chips. 

After lunch we went on a motorcycle ride. We drove to West Thumb Geysers Basin. The parking lot was full so we drove around the parking lot. There was no motorcycle parking but we were lucky someone was leaving so we took her spot. West Thumb Geysers Basin was very busy. We walked a boardwalk around the geysers. Some of the geysers were marked with a name (Black Pool, Surging Spring, Ledge Spring and Abyss Geyser). I was taking pictures of the geysers and didn't realize the phone was on video mode. When I realized it Larry took it off video but we were almost finished. So I only got one picture, which was Black Pool. After walking around we took a bathroom break. Then we got on the bike and drove towards Lewis Lake and Lewis Lake Campground, which was about 10 miles down the road. The motorcycle only has a 1.7 gallon tank for fuel and we can only get about 50 miles before needing fuel. We had driven 42 miles on this gallon so Larry found a place to turn around. We were almost to Lewis Lake Campground but we didn't want to take a chance of running out of gas. But we did see Lewis Lake. When we got back to the campground we drove through a couple of loops. We made it back with fuel to spare. We had a beautiful motorcycle ride.              

Black Pool Geyser

After dinner we went for a walk around the campground. We walked for an hour and did 3 miles. Larry walked with me the first mile. We walked loops I, H & G together. Then Larry went back to the Minnie I continued walking another 2 miles. I walked loops J, K, F, G & H. While walking I was an Elk. I probably would have must her if it wasn't for a jeep, where the driver backed up to take pictures. We had a great walk.

Elk during my walk

For the rest of the evening we read. I baked cookies. By the end of the day I had done 17,600 steps.

We had a super day. 

Thursday 9-10-26 New Campground, Old Faithful & Having Fun

 

Yellowstone Tour Bus at Old Faithful Inn

We had a super day. 

We woke up to a cool 30 degrees at Madison Campground and the high was 68 degrees in Grant Campground. 

I crawled out of bed at 7:15 am and got dressed. I started putting things away. I wasn't sure what I was going to make for breakfast. Larry suggested muffins so that's what I did. I made banana nut muffins using the new cups. Today I buttered one cup and put olive oil in the other five cups. I cooked them like last night. They came out great. They didn't stick to the cup except for a spot on the bottom and they didn't burn on the sides and bottom. The cups were easy to clean. 

After breakfast we slowly put things down and secured. We didn't have far to go about 40 miles to Grant Campground. This will be the first time we have camped in Grant Campground. It's usually closed by the time we get to Yellowstone. 

On the way to Grant we stopped at Old Faithful, which was about 16 miles from Madison. The drive was beautiful. It was a curvy road. As we drove the road we saw geysers. We were a little disappointed we didn't see any bison. We arrived at Old Faithful about 9:15 am. We went to the parking lot by the Yellowstone Post Office. Then we walked over to the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center. It had three different movies showing, which were Fire and Water,  Yellowstone Today and What Bison See. Fire and Water and Yellowstone Today are showed as a loop film. What Bison See was shown just a few times a day. It's a documentary where the rangers put a GPS tracker around a bull bison's neck so they could see where they migrate. It also has a camera on it and they see what happens while the herd migrates. It was very well done and interesting. It was 20 minutes long. We watched this movie and Fire and Water. They stop showing the movies when it's time for Old Faithful to erupts. We got there just in time to watch both movies. Old Faithful was scheduled to erupt at 10:24 give or take 12 minutes. We were there at 9:40. Fire and Water had just started and What Bison See started at 10:00. After the movies we walked over to where Old Faithful was located. We have seen Old Faithful erupt many times and it's still spectacular to watch. People cheer it on.

          

Old Faithful

After watching Old Faithful we sat on a bench and waited for the crowd to thin out before we walked the boardwalk around Old Faithful to see other geysers. The boardwalk had been replaced around Old Faithful from wood to composite planks. They did a super job with it.

 

Chinese Geyser

Another Geyser on the boardwalk at Old Faithful

After walking the boardwalk we walked over to the Old Faithful Inn and did the tour. If the tour is going to start when we're at the inn we do it. The tour is very interesting about the history of the Old Faithful Inn and how it has changed. Our guide today was Clara, we had her back in 2022. She is very good. She doesn't smile much but she does crack jokes. The tour was 45 minutes long. At the end of the tour we gave her a $5 dollar tip.

Clara our tour guide

Second and Third floor of the Old Faithful Inn

The old clock with eight fireplaces around it

Dining Hall

The old Crows Nest where the band played years ago

After the tour we went back to the Minnie and had lunch. After lunch we walked to the gift shop and snack bar. Larry bought us ice cream. We shared two scoops, which were Huckleberry and Moose Tracks. We sat in some cool wooden chairs to eat our ice cream. They were easy to sit in but hard to get out of. But it was getting crowded so we took our ice cream back to the Minnie. After we finished our ice cream we were back on the road. 

Huckleberry and Moose Track Ice Cream

It was about 1:00 and we had another 24 miles to go to get to Grant Campground. It was a beautiful drive to Grant Campground. We didn't see any wildlife but we saw beautiful scenery.

We arrived at Grant Campground about 2:00 and Larry checked in. Then we went to our site, which was site #229 in Loop H. The guy, who checked us in was very friendly and nice. 

Grant Campground is huge. It has 438 sites located in 21 Loops (A to K). They have two restrooms with running water in each loop. When you check in you get a card that allows you a free shower everyday you stay in the campground. This was a pleasant surprise. The sites are very small but they have a picnic table and fire ring. There a lot of trees so solar is going to be a challenge. I won't be doing my games while staying here.

For dinner I boiled potatoes and made gravy. I haven't done this in a long time. After dinner we walked down to the Yellowstone Lake. We saw a bird having a good time playing in the lake and a family was on the dike playing catch. It was a nice view of Yellowstone Lake. Then we went back to the Minnie. Larry went inside to read and I walked around for another 45 minutes for 2.5 miles. I walked Loops F through K. Loops J and K are tents only and Loop L is a group sites tent only. Loops A, B, C and D are also tents only. I had a great walk. When I got home I made apple cinnamon cookies for dessert.

Grant Campground Check-in Office

Yellowstone Lake at Grant Campground

By the end of the day I had done 12,000 steps.      

Wednesday 9-9-26 Yellowstone National Park, Madison Campground & Site Seeing

 

We had a super day. 

We woke up to 43 degrees in Cody, Wyoming. The high in Yellowstone National Park in Madison Campground was 71 degrees. There was a little breeze.

We are very excited, we started the day out in Cody, Wyoming and ended up in Yellowstone National Park. Larry drove 120 miles from the Walmart in Cody to Madison Campground in Yellowstone National Park. We left Cody at 8:00 am. The drive to Yellowstone was beautiful.

We drove through a beautiful mountain pass and by Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir. We drove through three tunnels. The third tunnel was very long and it brought out to the Visitor Center of Buffalo Bill Dam. We stopped here last year so we passed it by. The reservoir was gorgeous and almost full. We entered into Yellowstone National Park at the East Entrance. We hadn't done this entrance in a long time. 

The lady who helped us was very friendly and asked if we wanted a map. Larry said yes. As we drove to Madison Campground we saw a few lonely bull bison and a herd of them in a meadow at Hayden Valley, a Grizzley bear climbing a hill at Grizzley Peak and a swan. The scenery was gorgeous. We saw tall pine trees, rolling hills, mountains and a small waterfall on the side of the road. We drove through Hayden Valley, by Fishing Bridge, along the banks of Yellowstone Lake, Norris Geyser Basin and did some site seeing.  We stopped in a parking lot we hadn't been in before and did a short hike 1.5 mile one way along the rim of the Yellowstone River. We stopped at the Upper Falls of the Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone. Then we continued walking the trail to the main parking lot to see the Upper Falls, which was about 1.5 miles. Then we turned around and went back to the Minnie. 

When we got back to the Minnie. We saw three cars behind the Minnie, they belonged to a group of people from Alberta Canada. One was an old Woody Wagon, a Porsche and a Corvette. Larry talked to the group. They said there was a group of 50 people, who belong to the club and travel around together. They just finished doing a four day run.

After talking to the group we had lunch. Check-in at Madison is 1:00. After lunch we drove to the parking lot for the Lower Fall of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It was a lot busier. We walked around a little and took pictures. Then we continued our adventure to Madison Campground.

We arrived there at 2:00 and check-in. We are staying here for one night in site #A24. It's a pull through and very small. We setup the Minnie for the night. We have no internet service so Larry setup the Star Link. It works very well but slow. We don't have any hook ups and we have lots of trees so no solar. I probably won't play all my games while we're in Yellowstone.

After relaxing a little bit we walked down to the river. It's a great place to go fly fishing and just sit and relax. Sometimes you can see elk and bison at the river. We didn't but we saw 10 people flyfishing. 

For dinner I barbecued seasoned pork. While doing so I saw a couple of elk in the trees and pointed them our to Larry. While watching them one showed up at the campsite in front of ours. She was just eating the grass and wasn't worried about us being there. How cool is that?

After dinner we went back to the river and relaxed on a bench. Two gentlemen from Austin were sitting on the bench and we asked if we could join them. They said sure. They had been coming here for many years and told us the history the the area. They were very friendly. About 7:00 they went back to their RV to have dinner. Another gentleman came and sat on the bench with us, he was from Chicago. About 7:30 we decided to go back to the Minnie because it was getting cold. We were going to stay until sunset, which was 7:47 to see if any elk or bison will show up. We didn't see any.

On the way back to the Minnie we saw three elk walking by the trail to the river. We really didn't have to go down to the river to see them. They were right in the campground. When we got home I baked muffins in the new cups we bought. I didn't realized you had to butter the silicone cups so they stuck to the cups. They did come out tasting good.

I played the daily event of Solitaire, which was Event: Experts Only of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 19 minutes and 23 seconds to complete, which put me in 3rd place in my group.     

     

Tuesday 9-8-26 Dentist, Visiting Cody & Having Fun

 

The Old Cody Post Office

We had a wonderful day hanging around Cody, Wyoming. We woke up to a cool 46 degrees and a warm 75 degrees as the high temperature. We had a breeze so it didn't seem too warm.

Last night while eating pizza Larry chipped a tooth. He was worried it was going to get worse. He decided to get it looked at by a dentist. He found there were six different dental offices in Cody. He picked Taylor Dental because it had three dentists on site and they took walk-ins. 

They opened at 8:00 am. As soon as it opened Larry called to see if they could look at his tooth. The gentleman who answered the phone said they could look at it at noon. 

We had four hours to kill. I was going to make pancakes for breakfast and was getting stuff ready. We decided we would go in town and park the Minnie somewhere near the dentist office. We put everything down and went to downtown Cody. We found a great place to park. It was a free public parking lot. We parked the Minnie at an end spot that had a sidewalk, perfect. Then I made breakfast. We shared a pancake and a shake. 

Larry has been communicating with Ron from Tucson. Ron sent him his e-mail address. Ron is in South Dakota visiting a friend and planned to head straight back to Tucson. Larry told him it would still be hot in Tucson and since he is already this far north he might as well stay where it is cooler and see some sites. Larry took some time and composed a long note on places to go and links to the places, that would give him more information. One place he strongly recommended was Yellowstone National Park.  Once he had written the note he send it. Ron responded, he loved the information and he is now planning on going through Yellowstone.

While Larry wrote the note I walked around downtown Cody for a half hour and took pictures. I walked around the City Park, which had a beautiful band stand and a bronze sculpture of Sor Capanna, who is a musician. There a city run miniature golf course, that opens at 11:00. The holes have buildings, that tells the history of Cody. It's very nice. I took a picture of the Cody Visitor Center and Cody Arts. I took a picture of the Buffalo Bill Center of the Wild West, we have visited a couple of times but not this trip.. I walked around and took a couple of pictures of the bison sculptures around town. I took pictures of businesses around town. They have a Cody Heritage Museum but it was closed but there were a display outside about the Site of the Halfway House Stage Stop, which was at the spot in 1903. This spot was a rock dugout, that was near a fresh-water spring. Where you can change out your horses and have a fresh meal. The have a nice auditorium and a big old post office. Cody is a cool touristy town with shops, coffee shops and restaurants.             

City Park Bandstand

Sor Capanna by Harry Jackson (1924-2011)

Miniature Golf Course

Sculpture of bison in front of the Cody Visitor Center

Cody Visitor Center and Cody Art

Bison sculpture in front of a business

Buffalo Bill Center of the Wild West museum

Sculpture in front of the Buffalo Bill Center of the Wild West

Another bison sculpture

The sculptures at the entrance of the Moose Creek Lodge & Suites

Sculpture at the  Site of the Halfway House Stage Stop

Cody Heritage Museum

Cody Auditorium

Mural on the building at the visitor parking lot

When I got back we read a bit until it was time to go to the dentist. We walked over to Taylor Dental, it was only a few blocks away. Their office is an old house, that was converted into the dentist office. The staff was very friendly and thanked their patients for coming in. Larry dentist was Dr. Eric Shultz. He numbed Larry up and filled the tooth. He told him the filling should be fine but to be careful eating anything hard where that tooth is and to see his dentist when he gets home. He said the tooth really needs a root canal and a crown. Larry was in and out within an hour.

Taylor Dental

After Larry's appointment we walked around a bit. Cody isn't, that big. As we walked we saw a beautiful bronze sculpture of a cowboy and his horse drinking water. It was called High 'n' Dry by T.D. Kelsey (b. 1946). In 1995 they made the sculpture into the bronze edition and this one was the 4 of 7. We had a great time walking around.

High 'n' Dry by T.D. Kelsey (b. 1946) 1995 Bronze edition

When we got back to the Minnie it was 2:00. We could have moved on to a campground about 30 miles down the road but Larry wanted to wait for the numbness to wear off to ensure the tooth felt fine. The dentist had to adjust the bite and there have been a few times over the years where Larry has had to return to have the bite adjusted. We read for a couple of hours and then moved back to Walmart for the night. While sitting there we read. Larry made reservations for us in Yellowstone. Yesterday he made a reservation at Madison Campground for tomorrow night, it was the only opening. Today he made reservations at Grant Campground for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. We are very excited that we're going to Yellowstone National Park for four nights. 

For dinner we had soup. For dessert we shared a mini apple pie. Larry finished his book. I played my games. 

Apple Pie from Walmart

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong from yesterday and today. I did the event, which was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 41 minutes and 26 seconds to complete, which put me in 13th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

After playing games I read. By the end of the day I had done 7,000 steps.