* Due to page size, at the bottom of this page are links to separate pages with the pictures.
From Mount Rushmore, we went to Buffalo, WY and then Billings, MT to wait out the 4th of July weekend. Then we headed to Yellowstone for 5 days.
First Some Rants
What is with the Montana DoT! The week of the 4th of July, they decided to "chip seal" US-20 through West Yellowstone!!!??? This has got to be the busiest week of the busiest season for Yellowstone NP. Our RV park was 22 miles on US-20 from the west entrance of Yellowstone NP. On Thursday, July 6th, we were making good time and heading with the motorhome and Jeep in tow to the RV park. Wham! We hit US-20 for the last 22 miles and everything stopped, then crawled along at less than 20 mph. There were pilot cars leading traffic through a 10-mile section with frequent stops for work. Now, if that wasn't bad enough, they were laying tar and oil on the road and covering it with gravel, as if that wouldn't cause problems. The gravel was okay for the first couple of trucks (the road construction trucks) they ground the gravel into the tar and oil so that the gravel was coated. The next car (the pilot car) kicked the gravel loose. Then, every car got gravel kicked up on it with tar and oil. It only took us 1.5 hours to get through the 10-mile section. When we arrived at the RV park, the Jeep had rocks with tar and oil coated across the front grate, hood, windshield, and roof! I brushed the rocks off as much as I could and I spent an hour just cleaning the tar and oil off the windshield. The rest of the tar is going to have to wait until I get home and I can clean it properly. But good news, I searched on the Internet and you can clean tar off the car body (not windshield) with various stuff: peanut butter (without the jelly), gasoline, Goo Gone, or WD-40. I am going to try WD-40. (To add insult, while I was writing this sitting at a laundromat, a bird crapped all over the side of the car.)
For our first day (Friday) of sightseeing, we took the detour going and coming that they had now marked. Instead of 22 miles, the detour was 58 miles (80 minutes) each way. Same thing on Saturday morning. But fortunately, Saturday evening, the road was cleaned up and ready. Then, it only took 20 minutes to get to and from the park.
Second rant. Who are all these people? Yellowstone NP had about three times as many people as it could handle. The first day, we wanted to stop at a few of the more popular sights. That wasn't going to happen. We had problems just navigating to get past some sights on the road. Cars were parked half a mile on the road both sides before and after the parking area and cars were blocking traffic trying to get in the full parking areas. Who are these people!!?? I know, they are tourist just like us, and a few of them are even from the USA. Okay, when we did get to some less popular areas and were hiking and sightseeing, I could tolerate the crowds, annoying people with selfie sticks, and pushing my way through to get a decent picture. But, the number of people who think they are some kind of model and have to block the entire pathway so they can sit and pose while someone takes their picture across the path (oh, is my hair combed, my makeup okay?), I almost lost it. These are the ones that Donald Trump should be focused on deporting. Why didn't I just use the bear spray you ask? I almost did.
Okay, deep breath, now I am past it.
Yellowstone National Park
Where did it get its name? The Minnetaree name for the river was Mi tsi a-da-zi which means Rock Yellow River (not Yellowstone). Now, I propose that we take a few thousand acres in Kansas and name that Yellowstone National Park and rename the existing Yellowstone National Park to Rock Yellow National Park but don't tell any of the foreigners, or those from New Jersey or Florida. This should cut way back on the number of tourists.
We had three good but long days touring Yellowstone NP. We figured out how to deal with the overcrowding and got to see everything we wanted to see. Yellowstone is great for sightseeing but it also has numerous recreational activities like hiking, backpacking, fishing, biking, etc. We came for the sightseeing. Sightseeing is by far why most people visit Yellowstone and it is mostly limited to a few months from late Spring through early Fall when the roads are passable. So, it is hard to avoid the crowds and still see all the sights. For those looking for year-round recreational activities, Yellowstone has a lot to offer.
On our first day when we couldn't get into the sights we wanted to see, we drove down to Old Faithfull. There is a visitor center there as well as extensive lodging, dining, and shopping with thousands of parking place, all full ... except one. It was 1:45 and we didn't know that Old Faithfull was just about to erupt and the parking lot was packed. We found the one parking spot left and as we were walking in, many were walking out and more parking was opening up. When we got to the visitor center, a sign said the prediction for the next eruption was 3:39, give or take 10 minutes. We decided to look around the visitor center (and gift shop) and then at 2:45, went out and claimed front row seats and sat, and sat, and sat. The crowds started to arrive and it was packed by 3:15, and we sat, and sat. 3:45, nothing, what's up? We sat.
Rangers started going through the crowd and pointing to a large geyser eruption over a small hill. It was Giant Geyser erupting (the largest in the park?). Giant Geyser only erupts every two to five years and it lasts about 15-30 minutes. The last time it erupted was in 2015. Some people left to see if they could get closer in time but most waited to see Old Faithful (because Old Faithful only erupts about every 96 minutes and is not nearly as big). Well, we sat and waited, and waited.
At 4:05, Old Faithfull erupted, only 25 minutes late. I took many, many pictures (it lasted for about 4 minutes). Giant Geyser, Beehive Geyser, and Old Faithfull were all erupting at the same time, cool!
Once we got back to the car and back to sightseeing again, it was about 5 PM and as we drove, we noticed that the park was thinning out. We started heading to the sights we wanted to see and found them much more enjoyable and less crowded. So, the trick is to save the big sights for the evening when the crowds have dispersed.
We enjoyed visiting Yellowstone for the wildlife we saw, the mountain scenes, the rivers, and lakes, the geysers and other hydrothermal activity. It is a good place for sightseeing and recreational activities. However, I was reminded that it is just one of many beautiful places in North America to explore. What seemed unique to Yellowstone though, was the hydrothermal activity and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone River. The rivers, meadows, mountains, forests, and wildlife was enjoyable, but not unique to Yellowstone.
There is so much more I could write about our visit but this post is already too long. I will let pictures do some of the speaking. And don't get me started on the traffic backups and delays because cars stop on the road to see wildlife, ("Becky, it must be another prairie dog sighting!").
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton NP is directly south of Yellowstone. On Monday from our RV park, we drove 128 miles (not through Yellowstone) to the south entrance of the NP. There is a range of mountain peaks called the Tetons and the National Park surrounds them. Pretty much, the NP is about the view of the Teton Range and the tallest of the Tetons is the Grand Teton and the park is named for this one peak. So, how many ways can you photograph this one range? I took 36 pictures (a complete roll of film in the old days!). You want to see them all? Okay, there are just a few.
Pictures
Links to pictures. There are A LOT of pictures. So enter at your own risk.