Butte to Yellowstone

Saturday, May 13. Butte to Yellowstone.

The day did not start out well.

After a stormy night when I looked out the window I thought it was foggy out but it was snowing and 0 ° outside.

Only a trace at the campground but I could see that the surrounding hills were covered.

Snow on Butte

I wasn’t sure if we should continue on to Yellowstone since it is much higher but after looking on the computer and the highway cams I saw that points east and  Yellowstone were clear and bare so we decided to go for it.

It was snowing heavily on the pass out of Butte, the trees were all covered but the road was bare.

Over the pass the snow disappeared and it was clear all the way to Yellowstone.

We decided we needed more rum and some Kahlua for a Black Russian which we probably will need by the end of the day so searched out a Safeway only to discover after quite a detour that they only sell beer and wine so we would have to find a liquor store.

Back to the highway and search by GPS for one and after one false search found one in a town on the way.

Another detour and with booze in hand we head towards the park.

By 1 pm we approached the park by the north entrance ,the sun is shining and it is 15° c.

We ate our lunch of leftover fried chicken in the truck in the town of Gardiner which is right at the entrance.

$50 later for a pass for Yellowstone and Grand Teton park and we are here !

Almost immediately we start climbing a  very narrow 2 lane highway and soon are at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Calcium carbonite flow at Mammoth Hop Springs

Very busy with lots of tourists taking pictures and not much room for RV parking but we find a spot and stop for a few pictures thinking we might come back later after we can leave the trailer at the a Fishing Bridge Campground in the park.

Well, it turns out that is a lot further than we thought.

One of the roads that provide a loop of the park is closed due some damage so we have to take the long way around.

This adds at least 1 1/2 hours to our drive on a narrow twisting highway with most speed limits 35 mph.

2 ½ hours later we finally arrived  at our turnoff with then another 30 miles to go to the Campground.

Now, I had decided we needed more gas which is available near the turnoff, however I ignored  Karen’s directions, thinking I knew the way even though she had the map !

After a bad experience of almost running out I don’t  like to let the tank get too low.

So now we are going away from the gas station and it takes about 3 miles to find a place to turn around which we do.

By now it is 4:30 and we have been on the road for almost 8 hours and we are tired and the dog wants out.

Karen remains calm and holds thing together, doubling back for gas only added ½ hour to the day.

We finally arrived at the RV park just after 5 pm, the only one in Yellowstone with power and water. However no WiFi or TV.

Thankfully I have anticipated such a situation and have plenty of shows downloaded to watch.

As we pull in we see they  have a gas station that isn’t mentioned on the map ! Oh well, what can

you do ?

Cramped campground plus snow at Yellowstone

The temperature is down to 3° C.

We are informed that although it was 70° here yesterday it is expected to go down to 12° f.  tonight so don’t leave the water hose connected as it will freeze.

Finally we are set up, the furnace is roaring and with Black Russian in hand we hope tomorrow goes smoother.