On the Road in 2000

Tuesday, Aug 22 - Tuesday, August 29 - Yellowstone NP:
The temp was 29 this AM and we left the Tetons at 8 AM. We finally got in a campground in Yellowstone, at 1PM, on the 3rd try. On Wednesday, we went by some small geysers on the way to Old Faithful. We did a lot of riding and walking and saw the Devil's Paint Pot, upper and lower falls on the Yellowstone River and some hot springs pouring into the Firehole River. We heard a 20 year old woman died last night when she and 2 male friends, who had been swimming in the river, got off the trail and broke through the crust into a boiling hot spring. The other two were able to get out but are critically burned. When they say, "Stay on the trail", they mean it. We saw some elk near the campground and there were several bison in the campgroud, practically in our yard. One old bull got about 30' from our M/H and Smokey, the cat, who was out on her long leash, went out to investigate. The old bull got curious about the cat and started toward her. Fortunately, she had a sudden attack of good sense, ran and got under the M/H. We were glad the old bull then lost interest and went about his business. this time curiosity did NOT kill the cat. Thursday, we drove the upper loop in the park, walked to a waterfall, saw a large herd of bison, several elk and a coyote, and stopped by the main visitor center at Mammoth Hot Springs and saw Minerva's Terrace. Friday, we drove the upper loop again, to see what we missed, and saw a moose ,a herd of Bison and passed features called Sheepeaters and Dragon's Mouth. The Bison were back in the camp- ground when we returned. Saturday, we stayed in camp all day, read, and Joe went to the Inn to send email. Sunday, we left at 8 AM and moved to Clearwater Creek CG in the Shoshone National Forest. It had no hookups but was a very pretty campground and cost $2.50/night. We drove into Cody, did laundry, got lunch and shopped at Walmart. We returned to camp and sat outside by the river until 9:30 PM. This was Joe's 66th birthday. Monday, we left to drive a loop. We went up Chief Joseph road to Dead Indian Pass and headed for Bear Tooth Pass, but the road was closed due to a fire on the other side, so we had to come back the same way. Tuesday, we left at 8 AM, for Devil's Tower, and finally got into a campground at 5 PM. We drove up Granite Pass, and it was very pretty, but lots of free range cattle to watch for. The Devil's Tower is quite a natural phenomenon. Wednesday, the 29th, we were up at 6:15 and went back to Gillette, WY for a tour of the coal mine. They took us on a 20 passenger bus. The physical size of the mine and equipment used was a bit overwhelming.
Joe & Nancy Sue - On the Road, Yellowstone NP, Shoshone NF, Devil's Tower