Aug 3rd to 6th - Yellowstone

Aug 3rd – Tues – to West Yellowstone MT
I posted my blog and backed up files from the computer before leaving about 9 today. It was a 4 ½ hour drive and by the time I thought we should stop for some lunch we were close enough that we just kept going. I am glad that we did because we got one of the few remaining sites with electricity in the Bakers Hole campground. It is a federal campground where we can use Terry’s Golden Age pass for a discounted rate of $14 per night. The park is wooded, the sites are spread out and we are only 3 miles from West Yellowstone so it is a great place to stay and explore the park.
After getting a site and walking back to the check-in to register, it was late enough that I decided to make an early dinner rather than spoil our appetite with lunch or snacks. We took a walk all around the park and then I sat out & read while Terry went for another walk. I went in when it cooled down and mosquitoes came out. Terry came back from his walk along the river and had really been attacked by mosquitoes.
Bill & Georgia are joining us tomorrow and we are hoping we can get an electric site for them. Signs on posts indicate when the current occupants have paid to, but a lot of people pay day-by-day so you don’t know for sure if they are leaving by the date posted.

Aug 4th – Wed – Yellowstone
It was a bit of a madhouse here this morning with people driving around looking for sites. The people next to us were supposed to be leaving today but they got back late yesterday and weren’t up early so we could ask if they were actually going. Terry made an early walk around the campground and saw that campers had found out that current residents where leaving and claimed sites by putting stubs from the pay envelopes on the posts. So Terry “claimed” the site next to us before we even found out that they were indeed leaving. It was a little nerve wracking.
Bill & Georgia had driven a long day yesterday so were here about 10. I made breakfast sandwiches and Georgia had cantaloupe for a nice lunch for all of us. Then we made a trip to West Yellowstone where we shopped, went to the museum, had ice cream and picked up literature at the tourist center. We sat out for happy hour, BBQ hamburgers and the buddy burner until cooler weather & mosquitoes sent us to our respective rigs. It rained a bit after we had gone in.

Aug 5th – Thurs – Yellowstone
I didn’t have much to put in a lunch for today so I made a batch of brownies as soon as I got up. They took longer to cook & cool than I thought so we didn’t leave with B&G to tour the park until after 9.
We had a lovely day – not a cloud in the sky when we went on one of the first walks to see bubbling, steaming holes in the ground. Just for a change, some of the holes in the ground were bubbling mud. Don’t get me wrong, Georgia & I enjoyed every walk and the guys were very good sports. When we got to Old Faithful, it was time for lunch. Bill found a perfect parking spot and we had about 40 minutes before the projected time for an eruption so we sat on the porch of the lodge and ate our lunch. Then there was just time for the guys to get ice cream cones for dessert before Old Faithful lived up to its name.
We saw lots of buffalo with a few right on the road, one moose, one elk right by the road and a whole herd far away, a swan and lots of fishermen. There was one walk to the Upper Falls in the Canyon that was 3/8 mile with a 600 foot elevation change – that would be down and puff back up. Georgia stopped part way down, Terry went a couple more switchbacks and then back up to join Georgia while Bill & I went the whole way down for some spectacular views and a tougher walk back up.
We made one last stop at Canyon Village for milkshakes and had a slight construction delay before getting back to the RV park about 7:30. I didn’t have a milkshake and wanted something to eat so I made some nachos. There was a huge thunderstorm with heavy rain just after we got back.

Aug 6th – Fri – Yellowstone
We don’t get wifi at our campsite and we had a couple of bills to pay so we decided to just go into town and then hang around today rather than doing another day in the park. We all figured it would be a good opportunity to have breakfast in town also so we took off after I caught up my blog as I could also post it today.
We had a good breakfast, I got a fast connection to the internet, paid the bills, checked email, got phone numbers for Chevy dealers and totally forgot to post the blog. We spent a few hours wandering through town, picked up a few groceries, fueled up at $3.09 for diesel and came back to the park.
I spent some time putting expenses on the computer (way behind!) while Terry & Bill relaxed & chatted. We had a short rain shower but it cleared and we went for a bike ride around the park. Bill brought some fire wood so we lit a fire – Georgia couldn’t believe they did it as it was still in the high 70’s – and sat outside for happy hour. We were also able to BBQ steaks and eat outside before it got really windy.
We moved inside to play Sequence – tied – and have brownies sundaes for dessert.