Yellowstone, Cody, Great Falls, and Glacier

Monday, May 27, 2019.  Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

I was amazed coming into the park that some of the larger bodies of water (Lewis Lake) were still completely frozen.  Many of the roads and camping areas had not yet opened for the season.  I was able to find a great little wooded campsite in the Canyon Village Campground about 2/3 of the way up the park.  Seems like bison/buffalo are everywhere! Still snow on the ground, but the temperature was not too bad. (Did I mention one of my best investments for this trip is a great heater??!!)

I had never been to Yellowstone, so the entire experience was new and exhilarating.  Not just the geysers I had heard of, but acres of fields with bubbling cauldrons and surface crust that looks like it could break open any second.  So fascinating!

It was rainy, but no snow.  I called it Mary Poppins Day in Yellowstone, because so many people were carrying umbrellas!  I drove through some of the smaller areas and saw incredible canyons and waterfalls.  I did see Old Faithful erupt to great heights, but because of the rain it is hard to see in the pictures.  Water up and water down at the same time didn’t seem as dramatic as it might have been.

I stopped with 50 others along the road to watch a black bear in the river below.  And just like the postcards, the bison/buffalo wandered across the road like they owned the place!!

On my way out of the park the next day, I climbed switchbacks and went up into the area called Yellowstone Grand Canyon.  Deep canyon with the Yellowstone River far below.  At other areas in the park, the river meanders gently through, and fly-fisherman are wading out in the middle.  Interesting.

I was almost out of the park on the east side when I saw my only Grizzly this trip.  He (she?) was on an open, grassy hill about 25 yards above the road.  Along with a galley of photographers (many of whom had tripods and huge distance lenses), I spent about a half hour parked and watching his lumberings.   I could actually see better with the naked eye than with either my camera’s basic lens or my phone.  Time to get at least some sort of zoom lens.

I said goodbye to Yellowstone’s gorgeous variety of lakes, mountains, rivers, and steamy fields. I will be back.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019.  Cody, Wyoming.

Time for my second Sisters on the Fly connection.  I made contact with Robin Bartel (Sister #6884) and was able to spend a fun night at her place south of Cody when I left Yellowstone.  She and husband, Jim, were packing their trailer to leave the next morning for a Sister and Mister event with the Montana SOTF group.  Robin is an avid fisherman, and her Outback trailer is renamed TrOutback. The inside is fish decor. So cool. It was a busy evening, but we still found time to hang out in my tiny trailer and on her huge wrap-around ranch house porch.  And they invited me for dinner!  I got to look around their beautiful property, see a group of “yard” deer that came to visit in the evening, and hear stories of rivers, fish, irrigation, water rights, grizzlies, and more of the fabric of what makes up the land and people of rural Wyoming.  So interesting!  Bonus: a sound night’s sleep in my cozy trailer in the quiet of the open spaces. Robin and Jim were wonderful, and I look forward to heading back that way again.

I spent some enjoyable time in the town of Cody the next day, used the WiFi at the local laundromat, had one of the best Rueben sandwiches ever for lunch, and then worked my way up the road on my way toward Great Falls, MT.  Windmills, more open range cattle, and a night at a really nice little roadside park in yet again another great “found” spot I just stumbled upon.

Thursday, May 30 to Monday, June 3, 2019.   Great Falls, Montana.

Family time.  Had a wonderful visit with my niece (sister of the Grand Junction niece) and her family Able to help celebrate the high school graduation of the “baby” of their group.  He is now the tallest of the house, so his sisters are more careful about calling him their “little” brother!  In California, I am used to surfer looks, which seemed to be transferred to this good looking young man in Montana.

Other friends and family were in town, including Grandpa (my brother from Grand Junction), and we took advantage of the time to do some sightseeing at the local dam and parks.  Great Falls has so many parks!!  Also found time for lots of eating out.  Oh…. and thanks to my niece’s husband, Coley, we all feasted on backyard barbecued ribs that were to die for!

Graduation was Friday, and I planned to leave on Sunday.  But the “need” for a telephoto lens kept bugging me, so Amazon was called upon to ship one by Monday.  It indeed arrived, and I turned the engine on and moseyed down the road at about 3:00 Monday afternoon. Goodbye to my perfect family spot on the curb at my niece’s house!

I was so close to Glacier that I absolutely couldn’t pass up the opportunity to head that way.  I stopped at about 6:00 at another nice roadside stopping place.  I have been to mountains, rivers, lakes, desert, etc.  And the best sunset photo I’ve taken yet was at this roadside rest.  Take them where you find them!

Tuesday, June 4 to Thursday, June 6, 2019.  Glacier National Park, Montana.

My path is generally moving east along the northern route, so I determined to go to the east side of the park.  I followed the signs for East Glacier, which actually took me to the Two Medicine park entrance, quite a bit south of where I thought I was going.  The road from Two Medicine up to St. Mary was still closed for the winter, which would have meant about 80 miles of backtracking, so I said to myself, “Oh, well.  I’ll stay here for the night and move on tomorrow.”  Of course, the rest of the story is that it was such a magnificent find!  My site was right on the river as it empties into Two Medicine Lake, in a gorgeous location below the melting snows and waterfalls.  A family of mountain sheep visited for a while, in the campsite, then braved the cold water to make the swim to the other side and bound quickly out of site up the mountain. Fun. I absolutely loved my stay.  I camped for three days and was able to spend time talking with rangers, fellow campers (local and tourists), and seasonal workers at the large camp store.  The building where the store is housed was a restaurant and lodge catering to visitors in the 1800s, and it definitely has the aura of time past. The colored rocks that make up the bridge over the stream leading to the store came out of the environment that way. Beautiful! I loved this visit. It will be a go-to destination.

I did intend to go north and into the Park again further up so I could drive the Going to the Sun Road.  However, as I found out, the road was still closed for the season for most of the way.  That journey, as well, will be reserved for my “Hilda Explores the West” trip next year.

Glacier National Park is magical.  Each of the incredible National Parks I have visited have had their own emotional connection and almost overpowering physical presence.  Yet they are all different.  We are so fortunate to have them.  And I am so fortunate to be able to check them off my list!  Onward!!!