Cold Night, Cozy Night

Well, for all of you wondering if we froze to death while camping in Yellowstone, the answer is: ALMOST!! Let's just say it was a VERY long night!

It was not a long drive from Missoula to Yellowstone (we did stop at this place that we had seen a billboard for: 86 miles to Wheat Montana! It had some yummy breads and also wheat berries in bulk. Too bad there's not a spare inch in the Wessel Vessel!), but we did have some heavy rain as we drove in, which certainly concerned us. But, mountain climates being what they are, by the time we drove in to the park, it was a beautiful, sunny day. We looked around the historic visitor's center before heading to see our first (but certainly far from last) "hydrothermal feature," Mammoth Hot Springs. Truly, truly amazing, is all I can say, and certainly not anywhere close to the most spectacular sight we saw at the park!! As we continued our journey south into the park we stopped and took a walk down to the Upper Falls that begin the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The power of water always awes me. The kids, however, were ready to get to our campsite.

That was not to happen quickly, however. Within a couple miles of leaving the waterfall, traffic began creeping. And stopping. There is quite a bit of road construction in the park, so we figured that this was the problem. But as we crept on, we saw that the true problem was a very large herd of bison. Many, many were grazing in the vast grasslands along the road (which, we discovered, always causes people to slow their cars for a gawk. The first one we saw, walking along the road, we also slowed and gawked and took pictures of). But the bigger problem was that they were intermittently crossing the road to go see what happened to the chicken, some with their babies in tow (yes, they were extremely cute). Was it worth an hour of traffic? Some in the car would say not, but I rather thought it was incredible. Certainly worth 45 minutes, at least.

So we finally arrived at our site with some daylight left to set up camp. The fire was started, the tent and sleeping bags were set up, and the weenies were roasted. And then the sun set, and it got colder, and colder. As an aside, we really had a choice campsite. Good distance from our neighbors, view of the lake, quick walk to the bathroom (no showers at this place!), and walking distance to the amphitheater. Of course, seeing that there was a ranger program at the amphitheater at 9:30, and that it was so close, we just HAD to attend!! So we huddled around our little, dwindling campfire (couldn't make it bigger, since it had to be out before we left to go to the program!) until 10 minutes before, and then cut across the field and under the tree, to the program on bison. While it was very informative, the older ranger was not the most animated cartoon. In fact, he was pretty black and white. BUT, he did have some beautiful photos of the bison.

After the program, we moved quickly back to the campsite, and to the bathroom, because I insisted on clean teeth, at least. It's really too bad there wasn't a hidden camera as we all worked to get into warm clothes and sleeping bags for what was predicted to be a 33 degree night in the tent. The Skipper insists he didn't sleep at all (but I heard him sleeping a bit while I was awake, some of the night), and the Professor had a hard time getting comfortable because of the bison poo underneath him. It seems that the only ones who slept marginally were Ginger and Gilligan. So, at the early hours of the morning, Prof and I decided that maybe it would be a wise thing to just get an early start and go see Old Faithful before the crowds. Prof got up to head to the bathroom with the hot pot, to make our instant coffee (yum!). Then Gilligan decided he would go help. As he was fumbling with the task of exiting the tent, the Professor quietly told him to stop; I lifted the door and there was a young buck peacefully grazing, not 10 feet from our tent. The guy stayed there for a bit, then meandered behind the tent when too many eyes were upon him.

So, we all quickly got ready for the day and piled into the car and turned the heat and the heated seats on. It was 6:20. But, the reward for our extremely early day was that we saw plenty of wildlife, including grazing moose, AND we arrived at Old Faithful 5 minutes before its next predicted eruption!! And at 7:30 in the morning, we were right at the front watching, as there are only a handful of people crazy enough to be there that early!! After that amazing sight, we obtained some real coffee, and continued our touring of Yellowstone. We saw bubbling mudpots, spitting geysers, and emerald ponds. We headed back to the canyon for a view of the lower falls and some pictures after lunch from the cooler. The bison were still there, but farther away from the road than the night prior, so we zipped through that area. There was another brief delay (and we were a part of the gawkers) as a grey fox slinked through a nearby field, relieved himself, and trotted on, but we made it back to our campsite at about 2:30.

It had been decided in the early morning hours that, although we truly enjoyed our time at Yellowstone, we were definitely not properly equipped to stay another night in such cold weather, only to have to drive 500 miles the next day. So the plan was to break camp (it was good to do this in the afternoon, anyway, as it gave the sun time to thaw the frost from the tent and dry it!!), and drive to "a town with a hotel." Well, I had checked lodging options back in WA when we discovered how cold it was to be in Yellowstone, and all the "big" ones in Cody, WY (about 50 miles from the east entrance to the park) were full. So we drove through Cody thinking that maybe the next town of Gray-something would be a better option. Well, it looked pretty desolate. Little did we know that by driving farther, we'd be going through Bighorn National Forest, complete with windy roads and a rise in elevation to over 9,000 feet! It certainly took longer than we had anticipated, and we were forced to drive further than we wanted, but we ended up in Sheridan, WY at a WARM Holiday Inn with a Walmart conveniently located across the street. We ordered Domino's Pizza, got the grime washed off us all in a hot shower, and crashed hard. In fact, some of our number are still asleep as I write.

The plan for today is to head to the Walmart to do some shopping for dinner tonight, then to head on out to Rapid City, and to Mt. Rushmore today. We're staying at a cottage with two bedrooms in Rapid City this evening before heading out and through the Badlands of South Dakota (planning to stop at Wall Drug for a Buffalo (bison?) burger as well. We'll then be stopping in De Smet, SD, home of Laura Ingalls Wilder as she was growing up and cataloging her stories that would later become famous children's books. We're staying in a covered wagon that night, on the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead, and taking in the pageant that the people of this town put on each weekend in July. I'm guessing we won't have internet connection for the next two nights, either, but I could be wrong.

It's hard to believe that one week from this evening, we'll be back in sunny, hot South Carolina again. It really doesn't feel like it's been over 3 weeks since we left, but at the same time it feels like we've been gone a long time. I am still amazed that, aside from a few little issues, everyone is still getting along, enjoying themselves, and having fun. I am so thankful and glad that we've had the opportunity to see our wonderful country and the beauty of God's creation within it, together as a family.

I forgot to bring the camera in, but I'll load pics sometime, and post them within this post, so come back in a couple days if you want to see Yellowstone pics (especially the one of the Skipper in his mummy bag!). By the way, the new photo that replaces the photo of the Crew of Gilligan's Island is one I took at Old Faithful. I'm very proud of how it turned out!