Saturday 9-14-24 & Sunday 9-15-24 Hiking at Devils Tower National Monument

 

Where we are headed next may not have cell service, so if we disappear don't worry, we will be back in a few days.

 

Camping at Devils Tower

We were at Devils Tower for the past three nights.

 Saturday 9-14-24  Hiking Red Beds Trails

 

We had an awesome day. 

I woke up at 7:00 and got dressed. Then I made cinnamon french toast sticks for breakfast. Afterwards we got ready to go hiking. We were ready by 8:00.

We did a 4.5 mile hike using the Red Beds Trail (2.9 miles loop). A lot of the hike was out in the open. We started by hiking the trail from the campground through the Prairie Dog Town. We were greeted by some of the prairie dogs. Then we crossed the park's main road. We hiked the trail to the trailhead, which was about a half mile. We climbed 700 feet in elevation. As we hiked we saw beautiful scenery of the surrounding mountains, the red rock mountains, ranches, park entrance, the campground and day area. We saw the river, that flows by the monument. It was very strenuous at times, it curves around the mountainside of Devils Tower. We saw the tower from all sides and it was different. We hiked by a beautiful red rock area. We saw a few hikers at the beginning of the hike and a lot more at the end. When we got tired we rested by sitting on downed trees or boulders. In August they had a big storm come through that knocked down a lot of trees. The rangers cut the trees and removed them from the trail. They did an excellent job. The trail took us to the visitor center. By the time we got to the visitor center it was starting to get hot. It was very small and had a lot of people there. They had a special place for the motorcyclists to park, this was great because they didn't take up parking for the automobiles. We walked through the visitor center and then hiked back to the campground, which was about 1.5 miles. The trail back to the campground was easy because it was all downhill. Everyone was very polite to people and got off the trail to let people around. Everyone was friendly and having a great time. When we got back to the Prairie Dog Town a bus had dropped a group of people off to take pictures. The prairie dogs were all over the place. They were going to have entertainment at the visitor center but it wasn't until 1:00 and it was 11:00 by the time we got back to the Minnie. We were too tired to return to the visitor center for the entertainment.

 

Campground from Red Beds trail

 

A couple of climbers

 

Devils Tower side the climbers we climbing

 

Red mountain and the river

 

Devils Tower Visitor Center (CCC)

 

A doe and her fawn we saw on the way back to the Minnie

 

The rest of the day we relaxed in our chairs and watched people climbing the tower. We continued reading our books. After dinner I walked around the campground for a half hour to get more steps. I ended up doing 17,000 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group. 

 

Sunday 9-15-24  Hiking The Tower Trail

 

I woke up a little earlier then normal, it was 6:45. We wanted to get an early start. We had a quick breakfast, cinnamon raisin bagels. Then we got ready to go on a hike. 

We started our 4.5 mile hike around 7:30. We started by hiking to the visitor center, which was 1.3 miles up the hill. We hiked by the prairie dog town, where saw prairie dogs, a cotton-tail and a flock of wild turkeys. Then we crossed the main road and took the South Side trail, which took us to the visitor center. This part of the hike was in the open, we had to hike around some boulders. Today this trail didn't seem as tough as yesterday. Maybe because we started a little earlier. When we got close to the visitor center we saw three people climbing the Tower. Once at the visitor center we took The Tower trail, which was a 1.7 mile paved loop trail. As we hiked this trail we went around The Tower and read about the history of the Tower. The Tower was known as the Bear Lodge by many of the Native Americans. The Native Americans still consider it very scared and do a lot of praying there. They tie cloth on the trees around the Tower. At places the trail goes in between big boulders. Each side is different. The Tower was made over 50,000,000 years ago by molten rock coming up from the ground. We were there early and there weren't many people hiking the Tower trail. We saw the three climbers on the Tower through binoculars, this was cool. You can also see them with your naked eyes. The Tower trail was very nice. There were benches all over the place to rest on. After doing the loop we got back on the South Side trial and went back to the campground. There were more people on trail than earlier. I started out with a jacket but when I got up the hill where it Yd off I took off my jacket. It was amazing, that the hike today was the same distance as yesterday's. We had another outstanding hike.

 

Cotton-tail hiding in the grass

Mom and baby turkeys

The side of the Tower the climbers were climbing

 

Two people climbing the Tower

 

Some of the prayer trees

 

We were back at the Minnie early, about 10:00. We spent the rest of the day relaxing in our chairs reading and watching people climbing the Tower. It got hot inside the Minnie (89 degrees) so we spent a lot of time outside.

After dinner I walked around the campground for a half hour to get some steps. I ended up doing 17,000 steps, which put me in 1st place for the week with 121,709 steps. 

Then I finished an awesome book. The book was called Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. It was about scientist / astronaut Dr. Ryland Grace going on a mission to to save earth. A phenomenon is happening where the sun is going dimmer and eventually earth will be destroyed.  While in space he encounters an alien ship with an astronaut named Rocky who is trying to save their planet from the very same thing. The book describes how they become friends and work together. Andy is very talented and makes you laugh through out the book. Andy Weir also wrote The Martian, we don't have that book but we have the movie. The movie is very good and stars Matt Damon. 

We had another great day. 

              

Friday 9-13-24 Devils Tower National Monument

 

Devils Tower National Monument

 

We had a wonderful night at Mikesell-Potts Recreation Area. I woke up to a gorgeous sunrise over Lake De Smee. We had bagels for breakfast. We put things away and were on the road about 8:00. Today our destination is Devils Tower National Monument, about 127 miles away.

As we were leaving the county park we saw a few Pronghorns at the entrance. One was drinking water out of a mud puddle from yesterday's rain. We saw a couple of fawns.

Larry drove 101 miles on I90, and the rest on a couple of two lane highways. As we driving we saw a lot of ranches with cows and horses. While driving the interstate we saw where Wyoming had a big fire, the prairie was burnt on both sides for over 15 miles. We saw where ranch fences were replaced and much of it was still being replaced because of the fire. We saw a couple of workers replacing the fence. We also saw some Pronghorns in the burnt area. There wasn't much to eat but they were finding a little bit. The scenery was very nice because you saw mountains and rolling prairie. When we got to Gillette Wyoming we stopped at the Maverick right off the highway to fill the Minnie with gas. It had a free dump station and water in front by the gas pumps 3&4. We had dumped our tanks yesterday so we were fine with that but there had been no fresh water so today Larry topped the water tank off. After getting water we are in business for at least another week.

We were back on the road again. We had to stop for road construction along the way. We waited about ten minutes. While waiting we chatted with the lady holding the stop sign. They were oiling and graveling the road. The sign and pilot crew consisted of four women and one man. We didn't see any big trucks working on the road, We only saw where the road was done and the sign holders. The work went for a long time. Once out of the construction we had no delays. Today the road we took were very well maintained. 

As we were driving we saw Devils Tower at a distance. It was very cool. There is a KOA Campground right at the entrance of Devils Tower. There is also is a cafe and souvenir shop. The park ranger, who let us in the park was very nice and gave us a map. First stop was the campground to get a site, it is entirely  first come first serve. We had no problem. We found a great site right across the road from the restrooms and water. There is no power at any of the sites. By the end of the day there were only two tent sites left. 

 

Devils Tower National Monument entrance

Devils Tower was the first National Monument. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the Tower and 1,000 surrounding acres a national monument. During the Great Depression the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the camping and picnicking facilities and the log buildings that house the visitor center and offices for the rangers and entrance station. They improved the road to the base of the Tower and built a trail around the Tower. Over 20 Indigenous tribes continue to maintain sacred narratives about the creation of Devils Tower. There are white tail deer, black-tail prairie dogs, porcupines, chipmunks, cottontail rabbits, mule deer and different species of birds.

We arrived at 10:30, using binoculars we spent most of the day watching people climb Devils Tower. We read a bit. After dinner we walked around the campground and surrounding area. As we walked we saw the prairie dogs, turkeys and a cotton-tail. We walked to the day area and read about Devils Tower. We saw a beautiful sculpture, which was Circle of Sacred Smoke. We walked around for about 45 minutes. Then I walked around for a half hour to get some steps. I ended up doing 17,000 steps. We read. 

 

Turkeys walking to the amphitheater

 

One of the many Black-tail Prairie Dogs

 

A cotton-tail rabbit

 

Circle of Sacred Smoke and Devils Tower

 

We had a super day.               

Thursday 9-12-24 Errands & Mikesell-Potts Recreation Area

 

Camping at Mikesell-Potts Recreation Area

We had an outstanding stay at Sibley Lake, now it's time to move on. 

It appears Larry has fixed our refrigerator. We have been running it via propane for many days, including four days at an elevation of 8000 feet and it has not failed once.

We had also been without cell / internet service for the past four days.

A rain storm came in late last night about 11:00 and stayed until early morning 6:30. Larry was already up when it stopped. I crawled out of bed about 7:00. I got dressed and made waffles for breakfast. After breakfast we put things away and secured. The campground road was a little soft but we still decided to leave. We were on the road at 8:00.

Our first destination was Sheridan Wyoming, which was 41 miles from Sibley Lake. After getting out of the campground we got on the two lane curvy mountain road. Larry said it didn't seem as bad as it was coming up. He drove down the 20 miles of mountain road. It was a gorgeous ride with outstanding vistas of the Bighorn Mountain. Once on the bottom we were on a two lane highway. As we drove we saw a lot of cattle ranches. We saw cattle and horses. The ranchers were irrigating their fields. We drove through a few small towns. Larry got on an interstate about 15 miles before Sheridan. 

When we got to Sheridan we stopped at the local Community YMCA to take a shower. It was very nice and bright. Diane took care of us. They had a new system and it wasn't cooperating with her so she took our information to put in the system when it got up. She said because the system wasn't working our showers were free. They were suppose to be $2.00 a piece. She said we could either use the family showers or the ladies and gentlemen showers. We decided on the family shower. It was a big room with a shower, sink, bench to sit on, toilet and hooks to hang your stuff on. In the shower they had soap for you to use. The shower allowed you to adjust the water temperature. We had a great shower.

 

 Sheridan YMCA

Next stop was at Wash Yer Wooleys to do laundry. We have been on the road for three weeks so it was time to do laundry. It was located in a strip mall and had a big parking lot. The laundry had a lot of machines, some were top loaders, some were front loaders and big load machines. The ladies who worked there were very helpful. I forgot to put the laundry detergent in one of the machines, one of the ladies tried to stop the machine. When she couldn't she got some liquid detergent and put it in the machine. We thanked her. I was disappointed in the dyers because they didn't get our clothes completely dry in 35 minutes. Overall I had a great experience.

Last stop was Walmart to do a little grocery shopping. The store had wide aisles and was setup very well. It had a lot of self checkout stations. 

After putting the groceries away we went to a Wyoming rest area that had a free dump. While Larry dumped the tanks I went in the welcome center and got a Wyoming map. When the tanks were done we were back on the road. Our final destination was Mikesell-Potts Recreation Area, 31 miles from Sheridan.

Mikesell-Potts Recreation Area County Park is a beautiful park with a big reservoir (Lake DeSmet). It has 8 electrical sites for $20 a night and over 60 non-electric sites for $15 a night. It has 2 boat ramps, volleyball court, Horseshoe pits, picnic area by the beach, 4 vault toilet restrooms and a playground. The sites have a picnic table and a fire ring. Some of the sites picnic tables are covered. It's an honor system to pay.

We got to Mikesell-Potts Recreation Area at 3:00 and had no problem finding a site. All the electric sites were taken. Our site was very level and it looked over Lake DeSmet. After setting the Minnie up we relaxed. Larry looked out the window and told me to look. We saw four Pronghorns right behind the Minnie. They didn't stay long. 

A riverboat 

 

The playground

 

The campground from on top of a hill

 

A front came through about 3:30 and didn't last long. It had heavy wind and a steady rain, it lasted about a half hour. The wind was out of the north so it cooled things off and made the lake rough with whitecaps.

We had internet so Larry did some research to see where we're going next. He got caught up on his e-mail and Facebook. While Larry did this I walked around the campground for an hour. Then I stepped in place to get my 17,000 steps. This put me in 1st place in my group.

       

Monday 9-9-24 to Wednesday 9-11-24 Hiking at Sibley Lake Recreation Area

 

Sibley Lake

During our stay at Sibley Lake the morning temperatures were in the 40's and the highs were in the 70's. Our site was super with pine trees and power. All the sites were very roomy and had a picnic table, grill, fire ring with a grill and a tent pad. The camp hosts Mary Beth and Dixon were very nice and kept the bathrooms and sites clean. Every evening I walked around the two loops to get my steps. We did three outstanding hikes on the cross-country ski trails for a total of 13 miles. They all were challenging and fun. We barbecued once and had pancakes or waffles for breakfast. We sat in our chairs and read. Deer walked through the campground. The lake was gorgeous.

The first hike was on Monday morning for 3.75 miles. We hiked the Prune Creek Loop, which was a 2.5 mile loop. The trail was a moderate trail and had blue triangle markers for the trail. There were trail maps posted on trees when the trail Y’s. This was great because it helped keep us on the trail and not on another trail. The trail took us up the mountainside and through the forest. There was a lot of down trees but they were on the side of the trail or under the other trees. Parts of the trail was a little swampy so you had to figure how to get around the wet part or use the fallen trees as bridges. We used a few bridges to cross Prune Creek, which flows next to the trail at places. We didn’t see any wildlife but we did see hoof tracks (elk, deer and horses). We were the only ones on the trail. We hiked to a gorgeous warming hut with a lot of cut wood. It had tools for people to use to chop more wood. There were two wood burning stoves. There were benches on all three walls. There was an outhouse close by. The trails in this area are all cross-country snow ski trails. We started our hike by the day area and ended it at the boat ramp. It was a gorgeous hike through the forest and got your heart pumping at time.

 

Beautiful meadow we hiked

 

Trail through the trees

 

Warming hut for skiers

 

Stocked up for the winter at the warming hut

 

The second hike was on Tuesday morning for 5.25 miles on four different trails, which were Tie Hack, Prune Creek, Dead Horse Park and Flume. All the trails were marked blue so they were moderate. We started at 8,000 feet and hiked up to 8,515 feet. We walked to the lake, where we picked up Tie Hack (.3) mile trail. There was a trail sign, we could either go to the warming hut or Dead Horse Park Loop (3.9 miles). We took the Dead Horse Park Loop to The Flume Loop (1 mile). As we hiked Dead Horse Park we hiked through a marshy meadow. We had to be careful not to step in the creek. Our shoes still got wet but they dried fast. It was a beautiful trail. They had made a few bridges from huge logs for the cross-country skiers to get over the creek. We hiked through the trees. As we were hiking Dead Horse Park we stopped and talked to two hunters. It is archery season for elk. They said they didn’t see any but it’s early in the season. They were very nice. We wished them luck and continued our hike. We hiked to the Y and picked up The Flume Loop (1 mile). Then we were back on Dead Horse Park the way we came. It wasn’t as wet because the sun dried the moister off the plants you still had to watch for the creek. Then we picked up Prune Creek trail by the lake. We hiked it for .75 mile back to the campground. When we got to the lake, the lake was flat and there were no fishermen. We didn’t see any wildlife but we had a great hike.

 

The creek that runs by the trails

The third hike was on Wednesday morning for 4 miles. Before the hike we saw three young bucks walking through the campground. On the way to the trailhead we saw them again going towards the lake.Our hike started at the trailhead by the boat ramp, which was Prune Creek. We only hiked it for a half mile, then we picked up the black trail, which was Blue Creek Loop (3.4 mile loop). The first mile and a half we hiked through a field of tall grass. As we were hiking this part we were wondering why the trail was black, which means more difficult but it was easier than the hike we did Monday. While hiking the filed we saw where wildlife had laid down and fresh droppings (probably elk). One sign for the trail was in the middle of the field and Larry thought maybe it was best we continued along the trees because at places the field was soft. He made the right choice because we joined the main trail at the other end of the field. We hiked through trees and up a steep hill. We probably went up 500 feet, now we knew why the trail was a black. As we were hiking in the trees we scared a big herd of elk, they ran through the trees. They were bedded down and grazing. It was beautiful to see them run. The hunters yesterday were on the wrong trail. We continued hiking through the trees to the top of the hill where we hiked an old logging road for a little bit. Then we went back into the trees. We crossed over Blue Creek a few times, twice using bridges and other times rocks and logs. One time we were going to cross the creek using logs but on the other side it looked soggy so we found a way through the trees. We climbed over a few boulders and went down hill a bit. We hiked along side of the highway. As we got close to the campground road we saw a school bus parked and the kids were collecting branches. The kids sounded like they were having a great time. We didn’t see anyone else. The last quarter of a mile was the campground road. We had a super hike. 

 

One of the bucks checking us out

 

A couple more on the hill

 

Everyday after our hike we relaxed with a book and enjoyed the campsite in our chairs. We had a great time at Sibley Lake Recreation Area in the Bighorn National Forest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday 9-8-24 Return to Wyoming & Sibley Lake Campground

 

Sibley Lake Recreation

I woke up at 7:00 am and got dressed. We had a cinnamon raisin bagel for breakfast. We put everything down and secured. We were on the road by 7:45 am.

Our destination for today was 190 miles away. We started in Montana and ended back in Wyoming. The first road we drove on was a four lane divided highway to Columbus, Montana. In the beginning the road had tight curves and then it straightened out a bit. We drove by a lot of ranchers with horses, cattle and a couple of them had sheep. We passed by a group of wild turkeys. The scenery was beautiful mountains, rolling hills and prairie. I took a few pictures but there was a lot of smoke. We took a bridge over a reservoir that ran on both sides of the bridge. It was very low. We didn’t see any boats but there were a few fishermen. There were people camped in tents by the river. We stopped a couple of times to stretch our legs.

 

Wyoming mountains

 

More scenery from the Minnie

 

When we entered the Big Horn National Forest we drove a curvy mountain pass that went up to 9285 feet in elevation. It was slow moving but we made it to the top. Then we went back down to 8,000 feet. The terrain going up the mountain was prairie and had a mountain creek running along side of the mountain. We saw a big herd of domestic sheep coming over the top of a hill into a ravine. There were people riding horses and dogs herding the sheep down the hill.

As we drove towards the Sibley Lake Campground we saw a few dispersed camping areas. The road you had to go down looked pretty rough. We found our campground with no problems. The road in Sibley Lake Campground was a little rough and it was a dusty dirt road.

Once at the campground we drove around to find a site. There were some sites with power and were first-come-first-serve. The sites were marked available for tonight or tonight and tomorrow. Larry was confused so he stopped and talked to one of the hosts. She said that there were two first-come-first-serve sites and one was already taken. She told us we could have #17 but we may have to move in a couple of days, the park service was going to do some work on their site and they were suppose to move to site #17. We will see what happens.

Our site is a beautiful site with trees for privacy, fire-ring, picnic table and power. The restrooms are vault toilets but are clean. We didn’t have to get the blocks out to level the Minnie. There are some cross country ski trails nearby for us to hike. The lake isn’t too far away.

 

Deer in the Sibley Lake Campground

 

Sibley Lake

 

After checking-in and paying for the site, $17.00 per night with Senior pass. We setup our chairs and had lunch. We had a Philly cheese-steak Calzone for lunch.

After dinner we went for a walk around the campground to find the hiking trails. We walked to the lake. We met a girl and her father fishing on the fishing pier. They had caught three rainbow trouts for dinner. Dad’s job was to clean the fish, she just caught the fish. We also met a couple in the other loop. They told us there was a nice trail, that almost goes around the lake. They enjoy doing this trail in the evening. We walked around for 45 minutes for 1.5 miles. Then we went back to the campsite. Larry read a bit outside in his chair and I walked around for another half hour,  I had to stop because of  the smoke from a campfire which was a couple of sites from us. I ended up doing 1 mile. As we walked we saw a deer in the trees and met a few dogs. This campground is gorgeous with all the pine trees. We had a great day.

By the end of the day I had done 13,000 steps. I got my goal of 100,000 steps this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday 9-7-24 Repairing Refridgerator & Sweet Grass County Fairground

Hi everyone, Just letting you know we may not have any internet for the next few days not worry. We still having fun.

 

Our neighbor at Mammoth Campground

We had another hot day. The high was in the 90's in Montana. The smoke was in the gray area. 

I woke up at 6:30 and went back to bed for another half hour. When I crawled out of bed I got dressed. Then I made pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we put things away and secured. We had three wonderful days in Yellowstone, we wish we could stay longer but there were no openings.

We were on the road by 8:15 am. We took the old Mammoth road to Gardiner. As we were driving the curvy road out of Yellowstone we saw a lot of elk on the side of the hills, mountain and by the road. We saw a small herd of Pronghorns on the hills. It was an amazing site to see as you are leaving Yellowstone. Then we drove through Gardiner. 

 

Beautiful cow checking the cars out from a hill

 

Gardiner is a quaint town. It has restaurants, hotels, inns, cafe, souvenir shops and other shops. 

We drove to Livingston, which was 60 miles north of Yellowstone. The drive was very pretty. We got to Livingston at 9:30. Larry wanted to make sure our part for the Minnie came in before he drove all the way to Bozeman. The gentleman said it came in so off to Bozeman we went.  

One of the mountain ranges

Bozeman was 30 miles away. It was a beautiful drive. Larry has an outstanding memory. We were last in Bozeman 15 years ago to get a part for the Minnie at the same place. He remembered where it was. Bozeman has grown a lot in the last 15 years and another company now owns the place. The company is now Bish's RV of Bozeman. While at Bish's we filled the Minnie with propane. The people who took care of us were friendly and helpful. After getting the part and propane we went to Walmart so Larry could install the new refrigerator circuit board. 

This Walmart was huge and had a huge parking lot, there were lots of signs saying no overnight parking, you will be towed. However, there were lots of RV's that had certainly stayed overnight. The reviews indicated these signs have been there for years and lots of RV's are parked there every night. Someone had talked to the manager who said that the city of Bozeman passed an ordinance making it illegal to park overnight inside the city limits. It didn't appear that they were enforcing it because when we were driving around we saw multiple areas where there were lines of RV's parked that had obviously been there for months. 

Larry parked the Minnie so that he was working in the shade. He had to dig the tool box out from under the sink, then he got busy. I think it took him about an hour to install the board. Afterwards he tested the refrigerator on both gas and electric, it worked on both like it should. We will have to wait and see if it is fixed. While it would act up anywhere it gave us more troubles at higher elevations. Tomorrow we hope to camp in some higher elevations so hopefully we can give it a good test.

After installing the board we went inside Walmart and did a little grocery shopping. When we got back to the Minnie I put the groceries away. Then I made lunch, which was a Philly Cheese-steak sandwich from the deli. I started the generator to heat the sandwich up. This was the first time we had the Philly cheese-steak sandwich, it was very good. After lunch we were back on the road. Before leaving Bozeman we stopped and filled the Minnie with gas.

Our next and final destination was Sweet Grass County Fairgrounds in Big Timber. Big Timber is 60 miles from Bozeman. It was another beautiful drive with a lot of mountain scenery. Sweet Grass County Fairgrounds is an old fairgrounds, it has a bathroom with running water but no showers. The bathroom is a bit crude but it was clean and usable. The camping area has no hook ups and you can camp anywhere. There were some campers in tents in a grassy area. We didn't want to disturb them so we decided just to park in the parking lot. They say they will accept donations but we didn't find a box. 

 

Entrance to Sweet Grass County Fairgrounds

 

The grandstands in the fairgrounds

 

Camping in the grassy area

 

Camping at Sweet Grass County Fairgrounds

 

 

It was hot but we setup our chairs and relaxed in the shade created by the Minnie. The temperature wasn't bad outside.

People started showing up around 6:00 and continued until after 7:00. Larry asked a gentleman what was happening, he said it was a wedding. Big Timber has a population of 1600, it looked like a large percentage of that was invited because there were cars everywhere. They had a live band that played from 8:30. When I went to bed at 11:00 they were still playing. There was a blow up playground for the kids to play in. The band was very good. People said it would get rowdy but they were actually pretty reserved. We didn't even hear them leave. Much quieter than any Walmart parking lot.

I walked around after dinner and when the sun started to go down for about a half hour. I ended up getting 17,000 steps, which put me in 7th place in my group.  We had a super day.     

Thursday 9/5/24 & Friday 9/6/24 Yellowstone National Park, Hiking & Mammoth Campground

Roosevelt Arch

 

Thursday 9-5-24 Hiking Beaver Ponds Trail & Mammoth Campground

Larry woke me up at 7:00 because we had an hour drive to Yellowstone. We spent the night at a BLM campground that was 22 miles from Yellowstone. Because of a flood a few years ago The old Gardiner Road is now the new road between Gardiner and Yellowstone. It a curvy two lane road on the side of a mountain. We wanted to hike before it got warm. We were on the road by 7:15. We ate a quick breakfast as we drove.

As we were driving we saw two ranches that were raising bison. Both herds were a nice size. We also saw a herd of elk in another farmers field. They were beautiful to see. The road was good and the scenery was beautiful. Before getting to Gardiner we stopped to get gas. When we got to the Roosevelt Arch we drove around it instead of thru it. At the entrance gate the lady, who gave us information was very nice and thanked Larry for having our Senior pass and his driver's license ready because this made the line go faster. The road to Mammoth had tight curves but the condition was great.

 

Driving to Yellowstone 

 

We parked the Minnie in Mammoth, a few blocks from the Beaver Ponds trailhead behind the hotel. We got ready for our hike. The hike was 6.25 miles long and took us 3 hours. We walked to the hotel, which was about .25 mile away. As we were walking we saw elk grazing in the yards of the buildings and homes. This is what Mammoth is known for. We saw one elk with a couple of magpies on her back. A ranger told us we were close enough. He thought we were approaching the elk. Larry asked if we could go around him and he said yes. He was very nice. When we got at the trailhead we hiked up the mountainside. This part was out in the open. The scenery was very nice, we saw Mammoth, mountains, sage brush, wildflowers, pine trees  and other prairie plants. We took our time hiking. In front of us was a family of four so we stopped now and then to give them their space. Once on top of the mountain we turned to the west and hiked in the trees a little while, which cooled us off. There was a little breeze which also helped. We passed the family on the way up and said hi to them. When we got to the first beaver pond we had to cross it by using a fallen tree bridge. On the other side we saw three deer grazing along side the trail. We stopped and let them do their thing. One had a collar on it. I think they must be tracking the three deer. When they walked into some bushes we continued on our way. Some of the trail was still in the open and some of it was in the trees. We hiked by four beaver ponds and crossed over the creek, that fed the ponds. The last time we hiked beaver ponds trail it was raining and it was muddy. This time it was nice because we didn't have to fight the mud. We were over halfway thru our hike when we saw more people hiking. We moved off the trail so they could go by. As they hiked by we all said hello and have a great hike. The last mile or so was downhill through the trees. It was a little easier. We saw a lot of grasshoppers on and around the trail. We crossed over a few bridges to get across the creek. W had an outstanding hike, by the end we were tired. When we got back to the Minnie we relaxed before going to the campground, which was just a little ways away.

 

Mammoth and the Mammoth Hot Springs from the trail

 

Yellowstone River from the trail

 

A beaver dam on the first beaver's pond

 

One of the deer 

We got to Mammoth Campground at 12:00 and checked in. We had a reservation so there was no problem. While Larry checked in I got rid of our cans, they had a nice recycling area by the check in booth. They recycle cans, plastic bottles, cardboard and small propane containers. Once we were checked in we went to our site. Larry had to block the front up one block to level the Minnie. It's a very nice campground, the road is paved and the sites are graveled. Our site didn't have shade but it had a bear box and picnic table. There is a water spicket just across the road from us so we could get water when needed.

It was a warm day, probably in the high 80's, which isn't normal for up here. But it wasn't too bad because there was a little breeze. You're  allowed to run your generator from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, which is great.

Once we were setup I made sandwiches for lunch. After lunch I took a nap. Larry spent the afternoon trying to figure out where to go next and where we're staying Saturday night.

Larry setup his chair and enjoyed the campground. He also started a new book. I continued reading Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. 

After dinner I walked around the campground for fifteen minutes. While walking I saw a few elk by the amphitheater. I only walked a half mile. Larry was sitting in his chair reading when I got back. I ended up doing 18,500 steps, which put me in 7th place in my group. 

 

Elk in Mammoth Campground

 

Magpie
 

Friday 9-6-24 Old Faithful Inn Tour & Old Faithful

I woke up at 6:30. We put everything down and secured. We had a quick breakfast as we drove. 

We were on the road by 7:45. Our drive was from Mammoth Campground to Old Faithful, it was 52 miles. It took us about two hours, it was through Yellowstone where the roads are curvy two lanes, there are pullouts along the way to see sites and wildlife. The drive was very pretty. We saw a lot of bison grazing in the pastures and walking across the road. We saw a deer, cottontail in the campground and elk. The scenery was beautiful mountains, rivers and a waterfalls. We saw people fly fishing in the rivers and creeks. It was an awesome drive to Old Faithful.

 

Bison in a field with geysers behind them

Bison crossing the road

 A calf following it's mom

We arrived at Old Faithful at 9:00. We have been here multiple times so Larry knew where he wanted to park. It was already getting warm outside. I put my pouch together with water. We decided that we would walk around the area and not go on a hike. We arrived at the Yellowstone Inn about 10 minutes before a tour was scheduled to begin. We decided to take the tour. We have toured the inn a few times and we always enjoy hearing about the history of the inn. Our tour guide today was Ruth, she has lived and worked in Yellowstone for 35 years and still enjoys it. During the tour we learned about the lobby, furnishings, structure of the inn and how they expanded. We got to enter one of the original guest rooms and see how it changed with the times. Ruth did an excellent job. After the tour she stopped and talked to us, she had noticed my Popeye's hat. She said it reminded her of her husband's mom saying in order for her to get him to eat green vegetables she had to say Popeye eats spinach. We told her we got the hat in Chester, Il.

 

Old Faithful Inn back

 

Our tour guide Ruth

A hall for the rooms in the original section of the inn

 

The highest floor of the inn (the tree-house)

 

After the tour we saw the clock saying Old Faithful was predicted to erupt at 11:12. They recommend you be there 10 minutes early and be prepared to stay 10 minutes late because it may not go off exactly at the predicted time. We sat waiting for Old Faithful Geyser to go off from 10:50 to 11:15, it was playing with the crowd, it would bubble and spurt a couple of times. We were walking away and it decided to do it's thing. It was gorgeous. After the eruption we went to the visitor center and walked around the outside back to the Minnie. We had lunch and then went back to the Yellowstone Inn and took a shower. The showers cost $5.00 a piece. The lady, who took care of us was very friendly and gave us a bear soap to wash with. The showers are located on the second floor in the bathroom. The bathroom has marble sinks and shower stalls. The showers have body wash, shampoo and conditioner available. I used all three so I didn't have to use my bear soap. The water was good.

 

A bull bison walking around the geysers at Old Faithful

 

Old Faithful

Our dessert

 

Bear Soap

 

After our shower we went to the deli and shared two scoops ( 1 Moose Tracks and 1 Huckleberry) of ice cream. The moose tracks tasted the best. After eating the ice cream we went back to the Minnie. We put things away and headed back to Mammoth Campground. We went the same way as we came. There were more people on the road and at the pull outs. We had a super day at Old Faithful.

After dinner I walked around the campground three times for a total of 3 miles. Earlier I walked around the campground once. I ended up doing 17,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.