Here is a link to read all about it: NPS link
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| View from road as approaching |
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| View from park road |
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| View from another side lookout in park |
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| View from Red Bed trail. The only alien I saw. |
It’s all about living the dream. This had been a dream for 25 years. What’s the dream? Living and traveling full-time in an RV. Although we aren't full-time anymore, we still try to travel about half the year but in a smaller RV. I hope you enjoy this log of our travels.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Devils Tower
We headed out from Montana to work our way south. We'll do our usual stop to spend time near Denver to visit Angela and family. We ended up taking a route that made sense for us to stop by Devils Tower National Monument. We've talked about going there for a very long time and we finally did. We were not disappointed. Sure, we set our expectations low, but the entire area was very nice.
Here is a link to read all about it: NPS link
Here is a link to read all about it: NPS link
Friday, August 22, 2014
One last big hike in Yellowstone Natl Park
It's about time for us to head south again so it was time to get in my big hike. The weather hadn't been good for the last few weeks so when a nice day came along it was my calling. It was time for the 20 mile Bighorn Pass trail from Highway 191 all the way into the park on the loop road at Indian Creek Campground. Ann dropped me off at the trail head at 7 am. It was 34 degrees (yes, on August 17 there was frost on the ground). I made the 11 miles to the pass in about 5 hours and finished in a little over 10 hours. It was a great hike. Here are a few pictures.
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| Sun coming up over mountains and the Gallatin river |
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| Marmots |
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| Gallatin river up stream, not so big |
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| Mountain goats at the top |
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| Looking back down the valley I hiked up. From pass at 9139 feet. |
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| Looking east from the pass |
Sunday, July 27, 2014
And the hikes continue
I've been hiking as much as I can in the Gallatin National Forest. It is all mountain hiking around here so it is about hiking up a mountain and then back down. I'm doing longer and longer hikes building up my endurance for a big finale before we leave.
My next hike was up the Watkins Creek trail to Coffin Lake with a side jaunt up the West Fork trail. About 13 miles round trip with about 2600 foot elevation change.
Next we went into Yellowstone for a couple of hikes in one day. First we did a short one that was only about 2 miles round trip to Ice Lake and then another 2.25 miles round trip to the Monument Geyser Basin.
The Ice Lake hike was through a burn area and there were no real good views of the lake so it wasn't very interesting.
The Monument Geyser Basin hike was very difficult. It was only a little over a mile one way but most of it was up a very steep trail. The geyser basin isn't all that interesting but the view in the distance was nice.
My next hike was up the Watkins Creek trail to Coffin Lake with a side jaunt up the West Fork trail. About 13 miles round trip with about 2600 foot elevation change.
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| Watkins Creek trail near trail head. Hebgen Lake in the distance. |
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| Wild flowers |
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| Wild flowers |
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| Coffin Lake |
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| Coffin Lake |
The Ice Lake hike was through a burn area and there were no real good views of the lake so it wasn't very interesting.
The Monument Geyser Basin hike was very difficult. It was only a little over a mile one way but most of it was up a very steep trail. The geyser basin isn't all that interesting but the view in the distance was nice.
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| View from Monument Geyser Basin looking southeast |
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| Monument Geyser Basin |
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| Monument Geyser Basin |
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| View to north from trail to Monument Geyser Basin |
Sunday, July 13, 2014
More hikes
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| Sheep Creek trail |
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| View up Sheep Creek trail. The lake is over ridge in the foreground but this side of the snow peak |
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| View back down the valley from around the five mile point |
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| Sheep Lake - elevation 9150 |
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| Phelps Lake at base of Grand Tetons |
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Some recent hikes and Mesa Falls
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| Glacier Lilys |
Here are some pictures from various hikes.
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| Upper Whits Lake |
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| Western Tanager |
Had a beautiful 5 mile hike round trip to Lone Star geyser. The whole thing was along the Firehole River.
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| Lone Star geyser |
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| Hebgen Lake way down below from 9700 feet |
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| Cabin Creek valley from above |
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| Looking east. Yellowstone National Park way off in distance. |
We drove into Idaho to Mesa Falls. It wasn't a hike, only a walk of the road maybe a total of a quarter mile. Thought I would include the pictures in this posting.
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| Upper Mesa Falls |
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| Big Falls Inn |
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| Lower Mesa Falls from overlook |
Monday, June 30, 2014
Exploring a cave, Butte and Helena
We took a weekend trip to see some new Montana sites. We left West Yellowstone bright and early and drove two hours to the Lewis & Clark Caverns to do some spelunking (I love that word so I had to make sure I used it). This cave was nice, but not spectacular, and would have been better if people weren't allowed to take out souvenir stalactites for many years in the early days of tours. It was worth the time. (link to info: Wiki ).
When we departed the caverns we headed to Butte. Butte began as a mining town when gold and silver were discovered in the later half of the 19th century. However, copper was abundant in the area so when the demand for copper skyrocketed the copper mines became dominant. Butte became known as "the richest hill on earth". The minerals have played out now but the city is rich in historic buildings and the surrounding area is beautiful with mountains all around. We stopped at the visitor center and got a map of historic buildings and enjoyed driving around viewing the well maintained historic town. Not surprisingly the older architecture reminded me some of Houghton, Hancock and Calumet Michigan, which lost their copper producing rank to Butte, as the same types of people were attracted to Butte. Here are two links so you can read more if desired: Butte's site , Wiki.
We next headed up to Helena. Helena was the territorial capital before becoming the Montana state capital in 1889. I love the story on how Helena was originally established. Four weary and discouraged prospectors stumbled down a gulch and grimly dubbed it "Last Chance Gulch" only to find gold where the city's main street now runs (the street is named Last Chance Gulch Street).
We loved Helena. It is in a beautiful setting in the mountains, it's clean and the old downtown is well maintained and pretty. As an added touch the mansion district is amazing (obviously some people made a lot of money there). Reeder's Alley is a neat little alley of the oldest buildings in town. The capitol building is fairly new (completed in 1902) but done in an old style so we were pleased. Links: Helena's site, Wiki.
To wrap up this post I just want to say that western Montana is simply beautiful. The drive from West Yellowstone to Helena and back (we didn't come back the same way we went up) was as picturesque as anyone could ask for. If you were to pick one Interstate highway to drive from end to end, drive I-15 from Nevada to Canada. Over the years we have now driven most of it, section by section, and it is hands-down the prettiest. It makes sense, it goes up the Rockies!
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| Headframes line the hillside of Butte |
When we departed the caverns we headed to Butte. Butte began as a mining town when gold and silver were discovered in the later half of the 19th century. However, copper was abundant in the area so when the demand for copper skyrocketed the copper mines became dominant. Butte became known as "the richest hill on earth". The minerals have played out now but the city is rich in historic buildings and the surrounding area is beautiful with mountains all around. We stopped at the visitor center and got a map of historic buildings and enjoyed driving around viewing the well maintained historic town. Not surprisingly the older architecture reminded me some of Houghton, Hancock and Calumet Michigan, which lost their copper producing rank to Butte, as the same types of people were attracted to Butte. Here are two links so you can read more if desired: Butte's site , Wiki.  |
| Copper King Mansion in Butte |
We loved Helena. It is in a beautiful setting in the mountains, it's clean and the old downtown is well maintained and pretty. As an added touch the mansion district is amazing (obviously some people made a lot of money there). Reeder's Alley is a neat little alley of the oldest buildings in town. The capitol building is fairly new (completed in 1902) but done in an old style so we were pleased. Links: Helena's site, Wiki.
To wrap up this post I just want to say that western Montana is simply beautiful. The drive from West Yellowstone to Helena and back (we didn't come back the same way we went up) was as picturesque as anyone could ask for. If you were to pick one Interstate highway to drive from end to end, drive I-15 from Nevada to Canada. Over the years we have now driven most of it, section by section, and it is hands-down the prettiest. It makes sense, it goes up the Rockies!
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| Helena - Pioneer cabin - 1864 |
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| Reeder's Alley - Helena |
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| Montana State Capitol |
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Back in West Yellowstone again
We entered Yellowstone National Park through the east entrance from Cody Wyoming and drove across the park. The climb over the pass in the Absaroka Mountain range was beautiful through the snow (this was May 21). Here are a couple of pictures. (Reminder: you can click on pictures to view them larger).
We arrived back to our camp site on the Gallatin National Forest Ranger station compound and were greeted with a pile of snow. We didn't think to take a picture before getting to work with shovels to move snow, and after backing in, to level out ruts in the mud. At least the pile wan't too bad, the mud was a bit more discouraging. After that welcome, we are all settled for another summer of adventure.
Our hiking options were limited because most trails were still closed due to snow until recently. We have had a few hikes now as the snow is quickly disappearing other than at higher elevations. The wild flowers are starting to pop out in numbers and the birds are arriving back.
So I go on an 8 mile hike in the back country hoping to see wildlife and all I see is one deer and the normal ravens and small birds. Lots of scat, but no critters. Then while driving home along the Madison River there is a pair of Bald Eagles just hanging out. Go figure.
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| Crossing the Absaroka Mountains on May 21 |
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| Yellowstone Lake still ice covered on May 21 |
Our hiking options were limited because most trails were still closed due to snow until recently. We have had a few hikes now as the snow is quickly disappearing other than at higher elevations. The wild flowers are starting to pop out in numbers and the birds are arriving back.
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| Whits Lake - an alpine lake in the Gallatin National Forest |
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| Western Tanager |
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| Field of White Mule Ears |
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| Glacier Lilys |
So I go on an 8 mile hike in the back country hoping to see wildlife and all I see is one deer and the normal ravens and small birds. Lots of scat, but no critters. Then while driving home along the Madison River there is a pair of Bald Eagles just hanging out. Go figure.
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