This morning we took our time getting ready and made plans to drive to Yellowstone. We left at 12:39 and arrived at the park entrance before 1:30 even after making some stops along the way.
Twist was given a National Park Milkbone at the entrance gate. The ranger didn't spot Merlin who was lying down and made no effort to get up and say hello. Apparently National Park Milkbones are tastier than those Milkbones they get at PetSmart.
Naturally, (pun intended) nothing compares to the Belgian Pup Bakery biscuits, but the NPS has a limited budget so organic biscuits for all doggie visitors within the park system probably wouldn't receive Congressional approval. I dunno...
Since the Boys were with us, we had no plans of spending much time out of the truck. There wasn't much need. All of the short hikes that we could have done (without worrying about leaving the dogs in the truck for too long) had been hiked two summers ago when we were here with Mom.
Twister enjoyed the sights and smells and was completely enthralled with the bison. Though we joke that he's not as smart as his brother, he certainly caught on quick when I said "Twister! Look! A tatanka!". He would jump up from the seat and stick his head out the window to get a better view. His nose was wriggling back and forth as he analyzed all the new scents. You just don't get to smell this kind of stuff back home.
We drove for awhile, got hungry (I think I've picked up a tape worm while traveling - I'm continually ravenous), and ate our sandwiches while driving through the park.
Having lucked out on our last visit to Lamar Valley (we spent several hours watching a grizzly bear chow down on a bison carcass, and later, watched it chase a wolf off) we hoped we'd get rewarded again with another cool sighting. We weren't disappointed. As we drove through Lamar Valley, I spotted a grizzly bear in the distance. We stopped along the road and tried to get some shots. They didn't come out great, but enough that we were content that we did indeed have photographic evidence of our sighting.
As part of our trip planning and research, we learned that Beartooth Pass at the Northeast Park Entrance was a phenomenally twisty piece of highway that should be avoided when trailering your rig in or out of the area.
Naturally, we wanted to see what is was all about. Wow. I mean, wow. What an amazing stretch of road. Amazing and beautiful and rugged and intimidating and...well...I can't really describe it. It's frustrating that the pictures don't capture the beauty of the land or the stark contrast of the snow covered mountain peaks against the brilliant, cloud laden sky. Unfortunately, my...grrrr....camera battery died and I had to take photos with my Droid. I found this out as I hopped out of the truck to take a shot of the most incredible peak I'd ever seen.
I was so annoyed that my battery was "exhausted" I wanted to hurl the camera into the canyon. Fortunately my mini fits of rage don't last but a second or two and I generally am able to remain logical enough to avoid trashing my belongings, so I merely grumbled that the camera was a complete piece of junk and I should go buy another. Truthfully, I'm very happy with the camera (a Canon Coolpix P100 if you care) but the battery life on this thing is useless. I have to charge it multiple times during the course of the day. I think I'm going to buy some spare batteries and a charger (rather than connecting directly to the camera) so it doesn't end up at the bottom of some ravine in the next few weeks. Jack and Trish, keep an eye out for an Amazon shipment to your house. :)
We stopped at quite a few National Forest campgrounds along the way and were amazed to see that many of them would easily accommodate our 31 foot rig. Arriving there without snapping off our sewage drain or getting a flat tire would be another story.
Oh, and there's also some wildlife to contend with...
Beautiful lakes can be seen around virtually every turn and we stopped for a few moments to take it all in.
Many cool things presented themselves to us along the way. While driving across a short bridge precariously attached to the side of the mountain (not unlike the Lynne Cove Viaduct on the BRP), we noticed a waterfall that looked like it was competing for a new world record. Knowing Merlin's aversion to death by drowning, we left him and Twist in the truck and walked to check it out.
As we continued on our drive and ascended ever further to the low lying storm clouds that threatened to unleash their fury on us, we watched the temperature quickly drop to a brisk 53 degrees that, with the wind chill, felt like 30. For the record, shorts and a t-shirt are not sufficient clothing to be wearing at 10,000 feet elevation with snow pack still on the ground. We were standing in what felt like a commercial freezer set on the coldest setting, and at times, the wind blew so hard it threatened to knock me over. In case you're curious, this is not a good place to fall.
Again, it's difficult to describe this without actually seeing it, and since I lack the descriptive eloquence needed to relay the grandeur of this place, I'll simply digress and let the low quality smartphone pics make an attempt to relay its amazing, rugged, and stark beauty.
It took us quite a few hours to make it over the pass and back to the campground. Did I mention how twisty the road was?
Along the way, we were continually surrounded by an excessive quantity of annoying Hardley / Cruiser riders attempting to deafen us with their ear drum breaking exhibits of machismo. "Hey, they're not paying attention to us, we better make more noise". Everyone knows I love motorcycling and have nothing against motorcyclists, but I can honestly say I was getting seriously annoyed, almost angry, at these morons. First off, wear a friggin helmet you idiot. I suppose since they clearly already have Jello for brains, they're not worried about splashing their gray matter all over the highway when they bite it from ratcheting through the turns. I can only imagine the Pollock style splashing of gray and red as their tank top wearing torsos are shredded like soft cheese along the pavement. Go ahead, pass me again on a blind turn. Idiot. If you're gonna ride dumb, at least get a bike that can pass quickly enough and has enough performance to slow your butt down before you enter that 30 mph turn. Did I say they were idiots? I'm not sure who smelled more of testosterone, the bikers or the bison. Come to find out, there was a Beartooth Bike Rally and Poker Run going on. Oh, joy.
We were happy to see enforcement was, well, enforcing.
As we drove home, we were treated with another amazing sunset.
We got home around 9:30 and sucked down some cereal. We were both hungry and not inclined to spend a lot of time making dinner. I researched local Independent Baptist Churches in the area to see if we could attend services in the morning. Uh...where are all the Baptists around here? And Wyoming? And Idaho and Washington?
We discussed our plans for the next day and got to bed by 11:15 - my earliest bedtime so far. Merlin is feeling better which makes us feel a lot better. Everyone is happy and closer to fine.
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