Yellowstone #3: Yellowstone's Edge RV Campground -- A great place to stay!

Thursday, 20 June 2013.  Our blog readers are in for a treat today since I have some time on my hands and thought I'd try and post another blog entry. The weather here at Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho's Panhandle is nothing but rain, rain, rain.  It's been raining cat and dogs since we arrived early yesterday afternoon, so the cruise we'd planned on the Lake is out, as is much of any other sightseeing.  I do have reservations for dinner at one of the area's finest restaurants, the Dockside at Coeur d"Alene Resort with a superb view of the lake....if we're able to see it.  Anyway, figured I'd take this afternoon to add one, maybe two, more blog entries covering the spectacular scenery we saw while in the Yellowstone area.

I thought I'd use a short blog entry to inform our blog readers about the absolutely wonderful campground we stayed at while in the Yellowstone area, Yellowstone's Edge RV Park near Emigrant, MT, in Paradise Valley -- and what an apt term for this part of Montana.  Just as an aside -- Paradise Valley was the original entry point for Yellowstone Park. This RV park sits on US Route 89, about 18 miles south of Livingston, MT (which is where you turn south off I-90) and 34 miles north of Yellowstone Park's north entrance at Gardiner, MT.  The campground extends along about a mile of the Yellowstone River with many campsites situated smack on the river's edge.  Our campsite was separated by the campground's loop road, but we were still only about 20 yards from the river and could hear the rushing water at night when it was all quiet.  And the scenery was simply magnificent.  With the Absaroka Mts to the east and the Gallatin Mts to the west, well, the views were stunning at say the least.  Yellowstone's Edge continues to receive high marks from camping groups that review/rate campgrounds, and recently achieved the top rating for the cleanliness of its restroom and laundry rooms.  And boy were they spotless!  We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this park and will most certainly return (maybe just for a relaxing vacation) in the future.

Aerial view of the RV park.  Our campsite was about halfway down the loop road next to the Yellowstone River -- turned out to be a really great campsite.

View of the "top-rated" restrooms and laundry facilities.  This building also houses a game room.

A view of our campsite at Yellowstone's Edge.  The river is just beyond the back of the Saturn, with the Gallatin Mountain Range in the far background.

Opposite view of the above photo, looking at the Absaroka Mountain Range in the far distance.

Lynette posing at our campsite, with the Yellowstone River in the background.  We really enjoyed sitting out here in our lawn chairs, enjoying the beautiful weather and wonderful scenery.  And yes, we also enjoyed riding our bikes around the campground and taking in this stunning landscape.

A view from our campsite looking toward the Gallatin Mt Range.  For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you'll recognize this photo -- I used it for a couple days on my home page.

View from our campsite, looking across the Yellowstone River at a peak in the Gallatin Range.

Slightly overcast morning, looking across the river toward another peak in the Gallatin Range.

Funny thing about Montana weather; if you don't like it, just wait 10 minutes and it'll change.  We arrived at Yellowstone's Edge on a bright sunny day.  Not more than 30 minutes after setting up our campsite, we wandered over to check out the restrooms and laundry.  While inside, it began to rain and then suddenly turned into a hail storm -- about marble-sized hail -- to cover the ground.  I stepped outside the front doors to snap this shot.  Lasted for about 10 minutes, but pretty exciting!

I'm always looking for that "unusual" photo-op and when we came upon this old Dodge Power Wagon while walking around our campground, I just had to take a couple photos.  Believe this old baby is probably still used for errands around the campground.  And yes, for those of you who follow me on FB, I posted this pic on my homepage a few days ago.

Yellowstone #2: Magnificent Elk -- and a blurry black bear?

Tuesday, 19 June 2013.  Today's drive from Missoula, MT, to Coeur d"Alene, ID, while uneventful, was a rainy one -- all day long.  We picked up a storm just outside Missoula and drove toward Idaho via I-90 the rest of this short day (about 160 miles and 3-hours) in light to heavy rains.  What scenery we were able to see was beautiful, both in Montana and Idaho's Panhandle.  For most of the drive thru Montana we were in the Lolo National Forest (LNF) and followed the Clark Fork River (CFR).  Now, I admit I'd never heard of the CFR, but as we discovered, it is a fairly large river that flows through the LNF before we left it at St. Regis, MT.  The low hanging clouds and mist gave off an eerie, almost ghostly feeling as we paralleled the CFR on I-90.  The Wiinebago was put to a pretty good climbing test as we drove up and over Lookout Pass (4725-ft) and entered Idaho and Pacific Mountain Time.  While the climb up Lookout Pass slowed "Winnie" down to about 45-mph, we made it over the top, even passing some huge semis struggling up the long grade.  Made me feel pretty good to pass these guys, because many of them came roaring by us most of the day with I-90's speed limit at 75-mph -- and throwing up spray all over the motorhome and our towed Saturn.  Anyway, we are now safe and sound at our campground in Coeur d"Alene, the Coeur d"Alene RV Resort, in Post Falls, ID, just a few miles west of Coeur d"Alena.  We're hoping the rains let up and we have a clear day tomorrow, our one day here for sightseeing before we head to Yakima.  Right now -- about 8pm -- there's no rain, but the skies are still overcast.  But more on Coeur d"Alene later -- right now, let's go back and pick up more of our Yellowstone sightseeing adventure.

I hope everyone enjoyed the last blog entry with all the bison photos.  I had more than 300 pics to choose from so it was no easy task.  And, again, thank goodness for digital cameras.  Anyway, before heading into any blog entry on Yellowstone's famous geysers and mudholes, and its spectacular scenery, I think I'll share a couple stories and some pics covering some of the other animals we saw in Yellowstone: the beautiful elk and one small black bear.  First, the elk.

While sightseeing during our first day in Yellowstone we came over a small rise in the road and immediately saw several cars pulled over on the shoulder of the roadway -- with people streaming off into the woods with cameras in hand.  An obvious tip there was probably some wildlife in the immediate area.  We stopped as quick as we could, I jumped out and began to follow the stream of people, my Canon in-hand.  The woods off to our right were a jumbled mass of burned timbers strewn all over the place -- it resembled some sort of ugly pick-up-sticks game played on a life-sized game board.  Deep inside the jumbled blackened timbers were three elk: two bulls and a doe.  I immediately realized that getting close enough for a good photo-op -- even with my telephoto lens -- was not going to be an easy task.  To make a long story shorter, after much effort and scraps and scratches -- and black soot on my shoes and pants -- I came away with the following pics of the two bulls.....and a partial shot of the doe.  She was just too far back and blocked by the tangled blackened trees.  Anyway, see what you think.

This bull never did get up so I could get a better shot of him; he just laid there and ignored all the people trying to get close enough for a decent pic.  I guess I got with 10-yards of him and figured that was close enough.  You never know what a wild animal might do when spooked.  And don't you just love the velvet on those antlers!  The sun just sparkled off that velvet, making it a great shot!

The following photo is the one "decent" shot I came away with of the other bull -- also lying down -- and the doe.  They were just too far away in the burned timbers to find a way thru the tangled mess for a better shot.

Now for the black bear story.  Lynette had commented early in the day on our second day sightseeing in the Park that she really, really wanted to see a bear.  Much like she REALLY wanted to see a bison on the roadway.  Once again we came upon a fairly large group of cars stopped along side the road at a spot in the Park that was fairly open, with a meadow on either side.  We also noticed a number of Park Rangers among the people gathered on the side of the road, all looking across a meadow at "something."  That something -- at least according to the Rangers -- was a small black bear, about the size of a medium-sized dog.  The young bear wasn't doing much of anything; he was mostly just lying down in the grass. But the bear was also ever so slowly moving away from our position, so it was hard to determine with the naked eye -- or even with a telephoto lens for that matter -- that it was indeed, a bear.  Now, I have to admit in advance that the couple of "decent" pics I got of this black bear could, in fact, be almost any number of animals -- but a bear will do and a bear it is -- and it fulfilled Lynette's wish.  You determine what you will from the pics -- all I can say is that the Rangers assured us it was a bear.  And if you find it hard to "find" a bear in these photos, look for a little black "blob" in the center of the meadow -- slowly moving away from the camera!

On our way out of the Park on our second -- and last -- day of sightseeing, we were treated to the sight of two doe elk feeding on the lawns among all the civilization of buildings and shops and businesses at the Mammouth Hot Springs junction, very near the north entrance into the Park at Gardiner.  Quite a sight to see them out on the lawn, feeding and ignoring everything around them.  Beautiful animals!

Yellowstone #1 -- Yellowstone's Bison Rock!

Tuesday, 18 June 2012.  Well, finally felt I'd best get on the stick and do something about posting a blog entry -- or two -- about our wonderful trip to Yellowstone from 13-17 June.  At last count I think I had over 300 digital pics to choose from for the blog -- all I can say is thank goodness for digital cameras!

First a few facts.  Yellowstone was established as America's first national park in 1872.  This idea spread world-wide and Yellowstone became the world's first national park.  It encompasses over two million acres of spectacular scenic beauty. And despite the perennial stories about Yellowstone "being loved to death" (along with our other national parks), only 2% of the Park is developed.  Beyond the heavily-traveled figure-eight road system (see map below), much of the Park's 3,700 sq. miles are virtually untouched.  Taken as a "whole," Yellowstone remains untouched, rugged and spectacular.

  

On our first day in the Park, Friday, 14 June, we entered at Gardiner, and traveled down the west side of the figure-eight road system, going via Mammouth, Norris, Madison, Old Faithful, West Thumb, over to Fishing Bridge, and then up to Canyon. By that time it was late in the day, so we decided to visit the eastern part of the figure-eight another day.  On the drive back to Norris, we drove thru a short-duration snow shower -- hard to believe it was June!  We probably spent a total of eight hours in the Park on this first day -- and saw most, but not all, the animals that we would eventually see.  And the second day offered some surprises -- but more on that later in this blog.

This is a pic of the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, MT.  It was built by the US Army at Fort Yellowstone and its cornerstone was laid down by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1903. The top of the arch is inscribed with a quote from the 1972 act that created the Park.  It read "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People."

Another view of the Arch.

Lynette posing with the Yellowstone Park sign just after we drove thru the Arch.

We ended up spending pretty much two full days -- a total of over 13 hours -- inside the Park on Friday, 14 June, and Sunday, 16 June.  We saw virtually everything that was on our list to see, including the usual tourist spots such as the spouting geysers (and Old Faithful is part of this), the bubbling mud holes and caldrons, and the limestone formations.  The scenery throughout the Park was spectacular -- especially the Yellowstone River and Canyon with the Upper and Lower Falls -- even those we drove through a short snow shower on Friday -- in June!  But I believe the Park's greatest treasure is its variety of animals -- and we were lucky (and that's the right word for much of the time) to be treated to a plethora of animals.  We saw three herds of bison (buffalo) along with numerous "loners" and small groups of two or three; several elk and deer, including one beautiful bull elk with massive antlers; two bighorn sheep (although I don't have any pics to prove it); a small black bear (about the size of a medium-sized dog) in the distance; and so many chipmunks and squirrels and birds too numerous one loses count after awhile.  I will say up front, I never endangered a single chipmunk scampering across the road -- although it was close a couple times!

But one has to start somewhere and I've decided to begin these Yellowstone blog entries with a collection of photos of bison photos -- they were magnificent animals to behold.  Hope everyone enjoys the pics as much as we enjoyed our time in Yellowstone!

After entering the Park via Gardiner, we drove several miles before encountering our first animals, which turned out to be the first of two herds of magnificent bison, just a few miles apart on separate sides of the road.  Bison are huge animals and if you've never seen one close up and personal, you are in for a treat!  Here's a few "overview" snaps of the first herd we spotted grazing near the road.

And here's a couple pics of two calves -- with their mothers, I presume.

I was using my Canon EOS Rebel with a telephoto lens attached and decided to try and catch a couple close-ups of the big bull bison in the herd.

Assume the bison still have their "scraggly" coats because they haven't shed their winter coats.

As we started to continue our journey -- and leave this herd in peace -- I spotted this one bull grazing on the sweet grass right next to the road.  And the closer we got to him in the car, the closer he moved to the side of the road until he was right next to the shoulder.  Think I ended up getting some pretty good shots.  In the first pic in this series, notice the bull's big brown eye watching me -- very spooky!

Guess he got bored with all the cars stopping on the road -- and he simply walked away.

I don't think we drove more than a couple miles when we spotted another herd on the other side of the road.  Not sure if this was a separate herd, just grazing close by, or a totally different herd doing their own thing.

 We saw so many calves with both herds -- guess it must be the season.

 I like this shot because it shows the huge hump on the bison lying in the grass.  

And now for the coup de grace of the bison pics.  On our second day in the Park, Sunday, 16 June, Lynette commented that she had always wanted to see a herd of bison crossing the road (we'd already seen a herd of caribou crossing the road in front of us when we were in Alaska back in the mid-80's) as we approached in the car.  Either that, or a big bison in the middle of the road we were traveling.  Well, wouldn't you know it --- door #2 opened up -- right in front of us as we were headed north back to the Gardiner entrance on our way out of the Park.  We came around a curve, and Boom!  There was this huge bull bison, just a-ambling down the very middle of the road.  I stopped the car, jumped out and started shooting with the telephoto lens.  As I was doing this, Lynette was screaming, "Get back in the car!  Get back in the car!"  Which I did of course, since the bison was still slowing coming our way.  As he got closer he moved ever so slightly to the other shoulder of the road, but still just taking his time.  By the time he got even with our car -- my window was down -- we were looking at each other eye-to-eye.  And let me tell you, staring into that bison's big brown eye as he warily watched us was unnerving to say the least.  What a great moment for us on our Yellowstone sightseeing trip!  By now there were a couple other vehicles behind us that had stopped and were treated to the same sight.  The bison just ambled off the side of the road and continued on his way.  Now, if you're wondering why I don't have a REAL CLOSE UP pic of this bison, well, I froze in the moment.  Since the Canon had the telephoto lens on it, I would have to change to a smaller lens to take a photo.  It all happened so fast that I wasn't thinking straight.  In the end, these are the best shots I got -- they'll have to do and I'm pleased with the ones I was able to get.  Really a great moment -- what a magnificent animal!

One last word before closing this blog entry. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is estimated at about 3,700 individuals, and are considered to be free-ranging bison. That means they have always existed in the wild and were never re-introduced into new territory as has been done in most other bison herd areas.

So that's it for the first Yellowstone blog entry.  In the next entry, look for additional photos of elk and our black bear.  Hopefully over the next few days....Cheers!

Little Bighorn Campground and Bird Houses Galore!

Tuesday, 18 June 2013.  Before moving on to a blog entry -- or more likely, at least two or three entries -- about our sightseeing at Yellowstone, I have to say a few words about our campground -- 7th Ranch RV Camp -- while sightseeing at the Little Bighorn National Battlefield.  Our campground was really great and we got a great campsite with a view to die for.  We could see for miles and miles across the Montana landscape.  Hope the following pics do it justice.

 View of our Winnebago's campsite on the campground's "upper shelf."

View from our campsite looking down across the campground.  Building at left houses the bathrooms and showers.  See what I mean about "seeing for miles and miles?"

Looking back at our campsite up on the hill, with bathhouse to the right.

View of rental cabins -- and a teepee -- available at the 7th Ranch RV Camp.  Once again, notice the view from our "upper shelf" campsite.  Spectacular!

The following set of pics show somebody's talents for making birdhouses -- and then using them to line the campground's entry/exit road.  This is only a sample -- some were quite distinctive. 

Where a post had no birdhouse, somebody placed a stone.  Assume to keep the birds off the post and thus no bird poop!  Pretty smart!  And those are two bluebirds on the "Fresh Produce" birdhouse and on the horizontal post.  They were polite enough to pose for us before flying off!

A close-up of that bluebird.

Before concluding this blog entry, I have to mention the spot we found for lunch after sightseeing at the Little Bighorn National Battlefield.  Our camp hosts recommended the Custer Battlefield Trading Post Cafe, just outside the actual battlefield.  They suggested trying the Indian Tacos on the menu.  So we did.  Turns out the Indian Taco is an open-face taco (usual ingredients) using Indian fry bread for the bottom.  Lynette ordered that while I opted for something called a Bear Paw, which was basically an Indian Taco fried inside Indian Fry Bread.  Both were very good, slightly spicy, and ample portions.  All in all, a good choice for our lunch on this day.