August 2021 – Welcome to Our World

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.