 |
| sooo cute!! |
We left Canada behind and headed towards Yellowstone, our next big stop. The landscape continually changed as we went further south through the Glacier National Park. We spent a night at St Mary at a place called Johnson’s Campground, on a hill overlooking beautiful Glacier Park and the St Mary Lake. We met a guy there from Perth. He lives in Australia but is American so takes long vacations back over here. I’m thinking that would be the way to have the best of both worlds.
The colours of the mountains seemed to change to match the foliage and we were seeing beautifully bright purple and sage rocks, and mauve wildflowers and bright green grasses. The rock was like a shale and there were rock slides evident on the mountains - then we saw a sign warning of avalanches in the area. It was about that time that we stopped at a rest area and there was another warning ‘that rattlesnakes has been observed’ – needless to say we didn’t spend too much time there.
We needed to cover considerable distances so put the foot down and spent a couple of long days on the road and just slept rough at rest areas. The vista continued to change – hills, plains, valleys, lakes, wide-open grasslands, but the Rocky Mountains were never far way. They could nearly always be seen somewhere on the horizon – sometimes snow-capped, sometimes not.
 |
our new bikes |
We stopped at a town called Butte, pronounced Beaut, to pick up supplies and a lady in Walmart asked if we were Australian. I said yes, and her reply was to give me a BIG hug and just hold me. Then she said, “I’m from Ireland and we are both a long way from home. It feels very different here.” Then she turned around, walked away and we never saw her again. While there we bought two brand new pushbikes so when we finally stopped at Livingston (only 50 miles from Yellowstone) we practiced riding them around the campground and YES! I can still ride.
We went to the Post Office in Livingston and were chatting with Verne who has lived there all his life. The other guy working at the PO was Jim Bob – I’m not kidding. J
I commented that Livingston was a really lovely little town. (All the old buildings have been preserved - both the county buildings like banks, hotels, town halls, and the lovely old private homes). Verne agreed and said it was a great place to live and the only place he ever wanted to be. He said when he got out of the army the US government said they would give him a ticket to anywhere he wanted to go. He said, “Livingston”. The guy said, “I’ve never heard of it,” to which Verne replied, “And that’s the way we like it.”
I caught a summer cold so we stayed two nights in Livingston so I could rest, then we headed into Yellowstone. We took a secondary road that one of the old guys in the campground suggested. It took us alongside the Yellowstone River (the only river in the United States that has not been dammed) and past some of the largest and most beautiful country homes I have ever seen. Looked like a rural residential area and many of the houses were built from stone and logs and had huge windows looking out towards the mountains and the river – very nice!
So, we arrive at Yellowstone, and drive through the stone archway. This Arch is the northern entrance to Yellowstone and was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt way back in 1903. It is very high and can be seen from about 2 miles away.We headed straight to Mammoth Campground, hoping for a site as we hadn’t made reservations. Thankfully we got the last site available and after checking about available tours, booked for three nights. I had no concept of what Yellowstone would be like. I guess I thought it would be like Yosemite (mountains, waterfalls, raging rivers) so I was very surprised at what I saw and learnt.
Firstly, the animals – they are roaming free and within minutes of entering the park we had seen deer grazing near the road. Up in Albright (a park village with hotel, information centre, toilets, provisions store and lots of government buildings) there were elk in the streets. So I thought I was sure to see a grizzly sometime.
Secondly, the topography - on our second day at Yellowstone we took a guided tour with the park ranger through the Mammoth Hot Springs. They are nothing like I expected. There are no bathing areas (the water is boiling) and no spas. This is an area of active and non-active hot spring activity. There are beautiful travertine terraces which have been created by the hot mineral filled waters running over and thru the rocks causing its very own changing landscape. They smell of sulphur and there are some which bubble, some that seep and some that explode. There are a series of boardwalks that run for about 1 ½ mile around the site and the parks staff have to keep changing the paths to allow the springs to run without intervention. We spent some hours just looking, learning and listening. I hope you enjoy the photos.
 |
| God's own colour pallett |
 |
| hot mud baths |
 |
| Fountain Springs |
Because the RV is so big and difficult to manoeuvre on narrower roads, we decided the best way to see the park would be to book at tour. We met our tour guide, Tamarak , and our ten new best friends at Albright and spent the next ten hours exploring Yellowstone. It was the BEST day. We saw more hot springs, bubbling mud puddles, huge geysers, waterfalls, hot pools, museums, beautiful old buildings, beautiful newer buildings, Fort Yellowstone, forests, valleys, rivers, grasslands and wildlife. Our earth is living and breathing and this is very much evident at Yellowstone. I just closed my eyes and listened and I’m sure I could hear it taking in breaths.
The ground is so brittle that it crackles under your feet and sometimes people fall through cavernous holes created by the underground steam vents. He, who created this, is indeed mighty.
We got caught in numerous ‘animal jams’ mainly buffalo and deer, but we did see a grizzly way off in the distance and we saw eagles and hawks in the skies. The buffalo even held up the traffic for some time while they meandered up the middle of the road. There were lots of chipmunks and marmots in the campground as well.
 |
| can you see the boiling water bubbling to the surface - centre front? |
 |
| more geysers |
 |
| amazing natural colours |
 |
| boiling, bubbling, steaming |
 |
| Old Faithful |
They were on our bus as well. Since then, they have written and extended an invitation to visit – again such open friendly people. You never know – we might get to see them again before we come home.
 |
| painted canyon |
 |
| buffalo crossing the road |
 |
| animal jam |
Leaving Yellowstone the next morning, we chose another ‘road less travelled’ through the Lamar Valley and there we saw hundreds of buffalo making their way north. We were told they would be heading that way for the winter. It was also along that road that we got caught in another ‘animal jam’ and this one was a grizzly on the banks of the river – the other side of the river so it was safe to get out and get some photos. Finally – a grizzly in the wild.
He was only interested in what he could forage under plants and rocks along the riverbank and the sun was in the right position to get some good pictures.
 |
| big grizzly bear at Yellowstone |
Cody is named after William “Buffalo Bill” Cody and the town prides itself on its Western flavor. The downtown area is on the National Register of Historic Districts and it is the home of the amazingly comprehensive Buffalo Bill Museum and Historical Centre. Johno really enjoyed it and visited twice in the two days we were there.
 |
| rodeo in Cody |
Cody also had another attraction the weekend we were there. There is a motorbike rally held very year at a town called Sturgis and many bikers took the opportunity to ride the winding roads and visit places like Yellowstone and Cody.
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is the experience of a lifetime in a place where local people can still show you a thing or two about hospitality and visiting exhibitors can show you anything and everything you’d want or need to dress you up or dress up your bike. Taken from the Sturgis website - http://www.sturgismotorcyclerally.com
Up to 800,000 motorcycles were expected to turn up this year and as you would imagine they can’t all fit in one small town so spill out into the surrounding towns and cities – for up to 100 miles around. I think we saw a good number of them, from Cody through to Custer, all through the Black Hills and even west towards Wisconsin – bikes everywhere, mostly Harley Davidsons but many others as well.
Johno was blown away, but I’ll let him tell you about it …..
After leaving Yellowstone and the grizzly, we thought of bypassing the town of Sturgis as to avoid the manouvering Freddie through the mass of bikes, as Wendy has said, up to 800,000 expected, and if you clipped one that’s an awful large angry crowd. So I decided to take a slower and less busy road. A mountainous route called The Nez Perce Trail where an Indian Chief led his people out the clutches of the Cavalry and escaped into the Black Hills many, many years ago.
We drove on, winding back and forward, climbing, climbing and climbing even more. But what goes up must go down so we descend, following the road as it works its way to Cody. There were, however, hundreds of motorbikes on this particular road. It would have been a ‘dream’ on a bike, so many twists and turns, and long sweeping bends …… and no helmets!
Very few States enforce the bike helmet law over here.
Our first stop in Cody was the Tourist Information Centre. While there, a lady walked up to Wendy and asked if we had just come from Yellowstone. She said, “yes’, and so began a conversation with these three couples who were wanting information about what to see and where to go, camp, visit, etc. We spent quite some time chatting and telling them where else we had been and what we had seen and experienced. We all had a laugh as it seemed a bit strange that a couple of Australians were telling the Americans ‘where to go’ in their own country.
After we settled into an RV park in town, off we went to find the Buffalo Bill Museum and purchase tickets, valid for two days, and spend a leisurely couple of hours there. We also had been told that downtown there is gunfight re-enactment outside the Irma Hotel which is historically revered (Irma was Buffalo Bill’s wife). This happens six days a week but never on Sundays. Some people at the RV park told us it was a bit cheesy so we gave that a miss choosing to attend the Cody Nightly Rodeo instead. It is on every night of the summer and was an opportunity for us to cross another line off the Bucket List.
As this was a day after the death of the 30 Navy Seals in Afghanistan there was an enormous show of patriotism. Before the rodeo began they sang their Anthem, then there was prayer not only for those who had lost their lives and their families but also for safety and good times at the rodeo. Just like our experience with Fourth of July everybody stood, took off their hats and, with hands on hearts, everybody sang and everybody prayed. The Rodeo was OK, professional, colourful, skillful and featured most events you would see at an Aussie rodeo but Wendy felt sorry for the animals. Australia was represented in the competitions and won the night overall.
Next day Wendy caught up the domestic duties and I went back to Buffalo Bill Museum to see the rest of the displays — there are five wings (separate pavilions covering different exhibitions) -
- Yellowstone Natural History
- Plains Indian Peoples
- Western Art
- Buffalo Bill & his history
- Firearms
The displays were incredible. I was enthralled by it all. The American love of all things ‘GUNS’ was revealed here with over 3,000 firearms on show in two stories of displays. The American Indian display was both informative and entertaining. All in all, this entire exhibition was so comprehensive, if we saw no other we would have been well educated and got a good sense of American history and culture. There!! my fix for Cowboys and Indians has been fulfilled.
No comments:
Post a Comment