May 18-19

May 18-19

Salt Lake City and Moab

We spent our day in S.L.C. shopping .

Checked out Costco and Karen found an amethyst ring similar to the one stolen in the break-in last August so she was happy.

Bought a few things for the trailer at Home Depot and Walmart then came back to the campground.

For dinner we ordered take out Mexican food from a little place next door.

It was very good and authentic.

Friday morning we left for the 200 mile drive to Moab.

The first 50 miles was on the 6 lane freeway that runs through the city.

Not a fun drive in all the traffic but we finally turned off and headed east towards Price and on to Moab.

Mickey got a whipped cream Puppaccino from Starbucks

The weather was sunny and it got warmer as we got closer,  reaching 17 by the time we arrived at about 3 pm.

It felt good after the last few cold days.

After we got set up we sat in the sun and read the paper and caught up with news on the Internet.

The RV park is full, lots of people with ATV’S,  there is a Rally on the Rocks with thousands of participants happening this week so Moab is really busy.

After dinner Karen checked her blood sugar and found she was very low, lower than she has ever been, so she had several juice boxes and chocolate bars and went up a bit but then started going lower again.

She only wanted to go to sleep but I couldn’t let her and we decided she had better go to the hospital so at about 9pm I bundled her and Mickey into the truck and we followed the GPS to the Moab hospital 3 miles up the road.

Luckily the Emergency Dept. was deserted , we were the only ones there.

After being admitted and having 4 pages of forms to fill out the nurse took her blood sugar and found she was returning to normal.

We had to wait and see the doctor, a woman whose parents live in Qualicum and who went to medical school in Victoria.

They were all very nice and let us leave without any charges after signing a release.

We got back to the trailer about 10:30 and had to stay up awhile to make sure Karen was stable then went to bed.

Not the best way to end the day ,she was feeling pretty rough but at least she was okay.

May 16-17

May 16-17   Yellowstone to Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City.

With 2 to 9 inches of snow forecast for later today we got an early start out of Yellowstone.

It was sunny again and we had a nice 2 hour drive through the Grand Teton’s.

Beautiful mountain scenery .

We stopped at the Jackson Wyoming Visitor Center to use the free Wi-Fi and  catch up on emails and news.

One of Jackson's elk antler arches.

The elk shed them naturally

From Jackson we drove over the Teton Pass, a very steep and long climb with no passing lanes or pullouts.

Another 2 hours and we were at Idaho Falls and the Snake River RV park.

The weather was nice when we arrived but a storm came in with high winds and the temperature dropped to freezing.

With the news calling for snow again we left at about 8:30 am for Salt Lake City.

It is 3 ½ hour drive and it went fine , no snow on the ground anywhere but we passed through a few snow and hail showers.

We pulled into the Salt Lake KOA campground at about 1:30.

We stayed here once before, it is a very nice park right in the city so it is close to everything.

Spent the afternoon binging on tv and internet, reception for both was poor in Idaho Falls.

May 15, Yellowstone

May 15, Yellowstone

Another comfortable night and a relaxed breakfast.

Today we are going to explore the area around our campground which  is near the end of the closed road we couldn’t drive through from the other direction.

First we drove a mile down the road the Lake Village.

There is a huge hotel and lots of cabins next to Yellowstone Lake which is still partially frozen over.

Beautiful  views of the lake and mountains on this sunny day.

We then drove north towards the road closure which is at the south side of  Yellowstone Canyon Falls.

It was a great drive , only 14 miles through the Hayden Valley along the banks of the Yellowstone River.

Wonderful river views and also open grasslands with the occasional plume of steam from a hot spring.

Saw lots of bison and stopped at The Mud Volcano which is a hot spring of bubbling and sometimes erupting mud.

The smell of sulphur was really strong .

At the road closure was a turnoff to the south rim of the Yellowstone River Canyon which ends at Artist Point with  great views of the falls and canyon which is called The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

It was truly spectacular and we were glad we made the trip. So different from the much busier west side of the park.

We had sandwich for lunch at the viewpoint then headed back to the campground.

The return drive went very quickly .

We filled up with gas at the previously unknown gas station and we were back at the trailer before 2pm.

It was nice and warm so we sat out in our chairs with a glass of wine and enjoyed the peace and quiet and fed the whisky jack’s.

Mickey climbed the snow bank but couldn't get down

Tomorrow we leave for Idaho Falls , stopping in Jackson ,Wyoming on the way.

Hopefully about a 4 hour drive through the Grand Teton’s .

May 14 Yellowstone

Sunday May 14, Yellowstone

We had a good night’s sleep and didn’t freeze so the day is off to a good start.

Finally had a proper breakfast of bacon, eggs and hash browns for Karen on Mother’s Day.

We took our time and headed out about 10:45 to see some of the park.

The weather is clear and sunny but cool at 3 °C.

First stop was Old Faithful, about a 45 minute drive .

As we pulled into the parking lot a big bison wandered through in front of us.

There are quite a few in the park but not always where they are easy to photograph.

We went to the viewing area for the geyser and sat waiting, not knowing when the next eruption would be. Nobody else knew either so I walked to the visitor center and found that it wouldn’t be for almost an hour so we explored the center for awhile the went back to wait .

Old Faithful erupts approximately every 60 to 90 minutes.

We had to wait about 1/2  an hour but it was pretty impressive.

There was a huge crowd watching, you can’t come to Yellowstone without seeing Old Faithful !

After it was over we went to the gift shop and bought a couple of souvenirs.

We then drove up the road a few miles to see the Grand Prismatic Spring.

It is a series of hot springs bubbling up and leaving colourful mineral deposits.

It was interesting but there was so much steam coming off the it hard to see some of it.

Once again there were lots of people , glad we didn’t come in the summer when it gets really busy !

Next we drove back towards the campground and stopped at Black Sand Basin.

Lots of small geysers and more mineral deposits and less people.

The temperature is now up to 8 .

By then it was time to head  back and start getting dinner ready.

Tonight it’s spareribs, baked potatoes and asparagus for a Mother’s  Day dinner.

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.

May 12

May 12 Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to Butte ,Montana
We got a fairly early start this morning , on the road by 8 am.
Karen wanted to go back to Fred Meyers for a few things then we were on the highway by 9:30.
It rained hard overnight but now is just an occasional shower.
Went over several passes into Montana, stopped for a sandwich and fuel in Missoula then finished the long drive to Butte.
We found the RV park easily and are having fried chicken from the place next door for dinner tonight.
Weather is windy and about 23.
No pictures today other than one of us under a giant U.S flag at the Butte KOA.

2017 Trailer Trip

I somehow deleted the may 10 post so have added it here

May 10,

Nanaimo to Wenatchee.
We caught the 5:15 ferry, made it to the border by 8am and were happy not to have the trailer searched. It can cause quite a delay.
Stopped for groceries at Haggen’s in Bellingham then headed over Steven’s Pass to the Wenatchee River County R V park.
It is a very nice park, paved sites with lots of grassy spaces between units.
We were lucky to score a riverfront site.
After a short nap we had some wine and then I cooked some Maui ribs for dinner.

Mickey and Friend

May 11
We got a pretty good night's sleep at Wenatchee, just a few loud trains going by.
There was a bit of thunder and some rain but by the time we pulled out the weather was good again.
It is a 4 1/2 hour drive to Couer de Alene.
It went smoothly, nice scenery changing from the Columbia River Valley to miles of rolling farmland then climbing into pine forests near  Spokane and Idaho.
We stopped in Ritzville  for lunch and gas .
Another of those sad towns that were once booming but now in decay. Nice houses with  big verandas  but downtown is pretty bleak. A few grain elevators and closed shops.
We used the GPS to find a Fred Meyer in Couer d' Alene,  quite near our RV park .
Karen likes their clothing selection and we needed more groceries.
The trailer fridge doesn't hold a lot and I don't think we will find any stores in Yellowstone Park so we are trying to get a few  meals  stocked up.
We found our RV park easily, Blackwell Island RV.
Nice and clean, next to a river and it has good free WiFi.
Weather slightly overcast but still warm at 25°.
Lamb sliders for dinner tonight.