Tag Archives: GTNP

2013_07_27 (Sat) Where We Go From Here

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We have had an intense but wonderful week in northwest Wyoming and the Green Creek Inn and RV Park has been just the right spot for us to base camp.  The RV park is away from the hustle and bustle of Cody, yet close enough to be convenient for shopping and entertainment, and is close enough to Yellowstone N. P. and Grand Teton N. P. to make them accessible as day trips.  And although it’s a small RV park with only nine sites, we had excellent full hookups, laundry facilities, a WiFi connection to the Internet, and free popcorn.  Our 50 Amp site allowed us to run all three house air-conditioners all day while we were away to keep our cats safe and comfortable.  We needed to do this because of daytime highs in the mid-80’s with bright sunshine and constant wind that prevented us from using our awnings to shade the passenger side of the coach.

Although $45 per night is more than we generally pay to stay in an RV park, it was a fair price given the location and facilities.  The WiFi/Internet bandwidth was limited, but we were glad to have what we had as there was no useable Verizon 4G/LTE signal here, and even 3G EVDO was marginal for making phone calls.  The WiFi connection was generally very strong thanks in part to or WiFi Ranger Mobile Titanium, which has been working very well for us since we bought it at the FMCA rally in Gillette, WY last month.  Interestingly, the only OTA television signal we could pick up was Wyoming PBS from the general direction of Cody.  (Smile)

This was a quieter day for us, but by no means an idle one, as we needed to prepare for our departure tomorrow morning.  We noticed this morning that it was overcast, the first time since we arrived here a week ago.  We did have clouds today, and a few drops of rain, but Jeff informed us that the haze we were seeing was from the various forest fires burning in the west.

Linda drove to Cody in the morning to do our shopping.  The main attraction was the local Farmers Market, located, conveniently enough, in the parking lot of the Whole Foods Trading Company.  She came back with quite a few bags of stuff!

While she was gone I drained the waste tanks, stowed the hose, and added our Pine Sol / water / Calgon solution to the tanks.  I also drained the little bit of fresh water that was still in the tank, flushed it with a bit more, and then refilled it.  I left the fresh water shore line connected so we could use if until we depart, conserving our onboard water for use on down the road.  I also worked on getting our blog postings up-to-date.

When Linda got back she did the laundry.  At our house in Michigan this is usually my chore, but for some reason she seems to take care of it on the road.  Although we are trying to learn not to over-plan, we are not full-timers, and we have a house and family to which we have to return from time-to-time.  We knew the route we wanted to take back to S. E. Michigan, but the timing and overnight waypoints were still undecided.  We want to see the Theodore Roosevelt N. P. in western North Dakota, but the campgrounds there do not have any hookups and do not appear to be big rig friendly.  Medora, ND is the closest town, but it is 410 miles driving distance from Wapiti.  That is more than we care to do in one day, especially given our planned stop at Interstate Power Systems in Billings, MT to visit with Cherie and Chris of Technomadia.  (http://www.technomadia.com).

Using the online Good Sam campground finder we located the Meadows RV Park in Miles City, MT, 280 miles away, and made a reservation for tomorrow night.  That should give us a 5.5 -6.0 hour drive, leaving plenty of time to stop and visit in Billings.

I continued to work on our blog while Linda paid our bills and continued to research overnight stops.  We decided we would try to stay two nights at an RV park in Medora if we could find an opening.  And we did!  We made a reservation at the Red Trail RV Park just off I-94.  It is walking distance to downtown Medora and convenient to the Theodore Roosevelt N. P., which we will now have a day-and-a-half to explore.

Linda took time out to make wheat berry risotto with mushroom /garlic/onion /asparagus.  She used some of the Argentinean Malbec wine we had on board, and served the rest with the meal.  This was a fragrant, earthy dish with great “chew” that somehow fit the wildness of this past week.  When she has the time to cook we eat very well indeed.

While the risotto was cooking we pulled the tray on the passenger side of the bus that houses the chassis battery disconnect switches and the Vanner equalizers (we have two as it turns out).  We located the circuit breakers, and pushed them in to (possibly) reset them.  (This refers back to the BAL light that came on while traveling from Sheridan to Wapiti on the 21st of this month.)

Beyond Medora we hope to stay at a winery in Buffalo, ND about 30 miles west of Fargo.  It was personally recommended to us by Harvest Host founders Don and Kim Greene.  If they can accommodate us on the 31st, it will be our first use of our Harvest Hosts membership.

Along the same lines, we hope to stay the next night at the Forest Edge Winery in Laporte, Minnesota.  Forest Edge is owned/operated by members of the FMCA Freethinkers Associate Chapter.  Being a kind of “virtual” chapter in FMCA’s International Area (INTO) our members are spread out all over the United States, Canada, and Mexico.  Rallies are difficult to organize and most of our interactions are by e-mail.  We even hold our annul business meeting electronically.  Thus any opportunity to meet in person is a treat.  The fact that Forest Edge is also a Harvest Host business makes it easier and that much more special.

From Laporte we plan to head to Hibbing, MN to visit the Greyhound Bus Museum.  Beyond that, we will make our way across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to St. Ignace.  From there we cross the Straits of Mackinaw (Mackinac) on the Mackinaw Bridge and head straight south on I-75 where we vector off on US-23 southbound to M-59, and home.  Depending on when we get there we will have been gone almost exactly two months.

 

2013_07_26 (Fri) Grand Teton N. P.

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We left the Green Creek Inn and RV Park at 7:30 AM and headed for the East Entrance of Yellowstone N. P. (YNP) for the third time in four days.  The 32 mile drive is different each time based on sun angle, clouds, and direction.  We see it differently, and have seen different things, each time.  As before, we drove the 27 miles from the East Entrance to Fishing Bridge.  We passed through and headed southwest along the lake on the Grand Loop towards West Thumb and Grant Village, 21 miles distant.  We drove through Grant Village to have a look but did not stop.

The JDRJMP Visitor Center closed due to sequestration. Stupid Congress.

The JDRJMP Visitor Center closed due to sequestration. Stupid Congress.

The road south from Grant Village leads to the South Entrance 22 miles away, which is the northern gateway to the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway (JDRJMP) and Grand Teton National Park (GTNP).  We could see the Tetons by now, and they were almost unreal.  We exited YNP and entered the JDRMP around 9:30 AM and stopped at the JDRMP Visitor Center.  It was closed (due to sequestration cuts) but GTNP maps and information sheets were available.

A view of the Teton Range. The haze is smoke from western forest fires.

A view of the Teton Range. The haze is smoke from western forest fires.

We continued down the JDRMP towards the north end of Jackson Lake and the Colter Bay area.  We stamped our “Passport” at the Visitor Information Center and took in the view.  Colter Bay is one of the developed areas in the park.  There is a major RV campground is located here, and there were lots of people out and about.

 

Linda looking at the Tetons from Signal Mountain.

Linda looking at the Tetons from Signal Mountain.

We continued on towards Jackson Lake Junction and drove in to the Jackson Lake Lodge area but did not go in.  We drove the main loop in a counter-clockwise direction, traveling south along the east shore of Jackson Lake.  We took the Signal Mountain Road to the top of Signal Mountain and were rewarded with wonderful views of the Tetons to the west and the Snake River Valley to the east.

Another view of the Tetons from Signal Mountain.

Another view of the Tetons from Signal Mountain.

Grand Teton from the Jenny Lake Overlook.

Grand Teton from the Jenny Lake Overlook.

At the North Jenny Lake Junction we took the side road that leads to Jenny Lake Lodge.  This road afforded the best (closest, most intimate) view of Grand Teton and the surrounding peaks and valleys.  From there we continued on south towards Moose Junction and the Moose Entrance and stopped at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, a newer building with fabulous architecture, views of the Tetons, and exhibits.

The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center near Moose Junction.

The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center near Moose Junction.

From Moose Junction we headed south to the Gros Ventre Junction to drive the Gros Ventre Road to Kelly and the Antelope Flats Road back to the main road, which is US-26/89/191.  The Gros Ventre Road runs along the northwestern edge of the Gros Ventre River which is the northwestern boundary of the National Elk Refuge.  Although there are supposed to be about 15,000 Elk in the NER, we did not see any.  We did see bison on Antelope Flats Road.

We rejoined the main road and headed north along the eastern edge of the Park through the Snake River Valley towards the Moran Junction Entrance.  This drive affords more distant views of the Tetons, but we did not take many pictures.  It was afternoon by then and the combination of slight backlighting and the thick smoke haze from western forest fires did not make for good photographs.  From Moran Junction we returned to Jackson Lake Junction and the Jackson Lake Lodge.  I called Steven, our intrepid co-leader from our recent Habitat For Humanity build in Sheridan, but I got his voice mail.  Steven had been at Colter Bay Campground with his family for the last two weeks and we thought we might catch him.  (As it turns out he was still in the park but had “gone fishin”.)

We had gone into several other Lodges along the way, but had not found the (old, famous) one I remembered from my visit here 50 years ago.  We went into the Jackson Lodge this time, and there it was.  From the lobby you walk up a flight of stairs to a sitting room with a west facing wall of tall windows that frame Mount Moran opposite Jackson Lake.  This is one of the classic lodge views of the national park system.  There is a restaurant adjacent to this lobby with windows facing the mountains.  I remember fondly eating there on my childhood visit.  The restaurant is pricey, but we would have gladly dined there if there had been anything on the menu we could eat.  Alas, there was not.

Headed back to Wapiti on the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway.

Headed back to Wapiti on the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway.

We traveled about 250 miles in the car each of the last four days, 1000 miles total, 75% of it in federally managed areas.   Today we were only outside federal property for the few miles between our RV park and the eastern edge of the Shoshone N. F. on westbound US-14/16/20.  This stretch of US-14/16/20 is known as the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway, and is worthy of a visit in its own right.

The sign makes it official!

The sign makes it official!