Cle Elum, WA to Yellowstone National Park, WY - Week 17

From Cle Elum we continued east on 90 toward Spokane.  Family had recommended stopping at Potholes State Park near Moses Lake, so we planned on a leisurely lunch there.  Instead we got lost, wandering around the perimeter of Moses Lake and trying to find a public entry area.  Finally we found a spot where we could see the lake.  It turned out to be a popular launching spot for high speed watercraft.  We watched boats and jet skis race around the lake, making a lot of noise.  Lunch completed, we got back onto the freeway only to go a couple miles then see signs for the State Park!  We are starting a "visit later" list, and Potholes State Park will be item number one.

Central Washington surprised me with its high desert terrain.  All the pine trees gave way to shrubbery, but as we reached Spokane the landscape was dotted with evergreens once again.  We stayed 20 miles north of Spokane at an RV Park on a golf course.  It was Father's Day weekend and Brian wanted to watch the US Open and maybe play a little golf.  Lukas also did some golfing, and I enjoyed the frogs croaking in the pond and the hot tub.  While Brian was watching the thrilling conclusion of the US Open (go Rory!), Lukas and I drove into Spokane to visit the children's museum known as Mobius Kids.  It reminded me a lot of Habitot in Berkeley.  We also got a look at the Spokane Falls, which were much advertised but rather underwhelming.  I spent some time exploring the tiny town of Deer Park and researching travel grills.  What better Father's Day present than a grill?  All in all, it was a very relaxing weekend.  By the end we were ready to charge toward the East.

On Monday we made our way back through Spokane and continued East.  We quickly drove through the panhandle of Idaho, enjoying the views around Coeur d'Alene lake.  Within a couple hours we were in Montana.  As it was getting late, we pulled into a campground in the Lolo National Forest.  It was a very strange campground located just behind a rest stop off the freeway.  There was no water, electricity, dump station, or wireless signal.  I couldn't get a fire started because I had no kindling and the pinecones only created smoke.  Most of the campground was closed, and when we pulled in at 5 pm we were only the second party in the park.  The forest was beautiful, but I couldn't shake the feeling of desertion that comes from an untended campground, nor could I ignore the sound of trucks braking down the steep freeway descent near our home.  We left early the next morning.

As we headed toward Yellowstone, the Teton mountains appeared on the horizon.  After a very scenic drive we picked up a huckleberry shake and made camp at Lewis and Clark Caverns Campground.  I was really hyped up about these caverns, and the glimpse that we caught of the giant cave mouth on our drive in only whet my appetite more.  By 4 pm I was able to break away from family and started hiking toward the cave.  The hike turned out to be much more than I bargained for!  It was 2 miles uphill on a trail of loose rocks in an area with a half dozen venomous snakes.  Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful hike.  I was sweating and my heart racing, but the views of the valley were killer and it was great to be out alone in nature.  As I found out at the visitor center near the cave, these caverns can be visited by tour only and the tour is two hours long.  The next tour was at 6 pm so I reluctantly declined and instead enjoyed the easy hike downhill back to camp.

Teton mountains

View from hike to Lewis and Clark Caverns

On Wednesday morning we rose with the sun to make a dash for Yellowstone.  We didn't have reservations and it was getting into the high season at the end of June.  Some of the campgrounds are first come first serve, so our plan was to get there by check out at 11 am.  We could have spent days in some of the places on the way to Yellowstone: Hebgen Lake was particularly entrancing.  But on to the goal!  Our "Visit Later" list is getting longer and longer...

We entered Yellowstone through the West entrance and were welcomed into Wyoming by a cloud of mosquitos. Immediately inside the gate all cars stopped and the going became very slow.  Signs said "Bison on Road" but we saw no animals as we crawled along for 45 minutes.  Then, there they were!  Five or six bison walking down the road!  Brian hopped out to get pictures as I drove slowly past.  They were huge and majestic and their hair was coming off in clumps for the warm summer weather.  One of the big beasts had left a steaming pile on the other side of the road.  Being a zookeeper, I was analyzing the poo just when a car came in the other direction, running over the poop and spraying it all over the RV!  I was laughing my head off as Brian rushed back in, asking for wipes to clean the poop off of him!!!  Luckily my window was rolled up, because a glob of the freshie had smacked right at my head.  All day I laughed about the bison pooping on our truck, and I'm still laughing now.

Traffic eased up after that and we eventually found a small open site at a campground near the North entrance.  After a quick lunch we were off in the MiniTrek to see the park!   First to Mammoth Hot Springs where the travertine terraces were spectacular.  The colors were gorgeous, from clear aquamarine blue to burnt orange.  There were deep bubbling pools, and shallow, terraced waterfalls, and even a steep waterfall with steam rising from it.  I was completed overwhelmed by the experience.  Just as I'm brushing away tears of awe, I overhear another visitor saying "I don't know, this is just kind of boring.  But then I love tromping around old Civil War battlefields..."  Well, then, to each his own.

Back to our driving tour, we were making a clockwise loop around the Northern section of the park.  It was a clear, sunny day and the the landscape seemed to sparkle.  It had also brought out the crowds, many of whom were animal spotting.  Suddenly traffic ground to a halt and cars were abandoned in the road.  A bear sighting!  This was a black bear with a cream snout.  Finally the park ranger came to shoo people along.  We drove a bit farther, then more traffic.  Another black bear!  This one cinnamon colored.  Later we saw a lone wolf.  Along the way herds of elk and bison were common.  Around 6 pm the roads had cleared and the weather was cooling to a comfortable temperature.  We were passing a meadow near the river and saw our final sighting.  A grizzly bear, digging in the soft grass and munching on her findings.  We were able to watch the bear for quite a while - until Lukas's whining got too loud.

Lukas was not a huge Yellowstone fan.  According to him, if you've seen one pool of boiling water, you seen 'em all.  Our tour of the park did involve a lot of driving.  But was Lukas did like was the snow.  We were in shorts slathered in sun screen but driving through forests with snow several feet deep.  At our second campsite there were large piles of snow that Lukas liked climbing and poking with a stick.  That kept him busy for a good hour.

Our second day at Yellowstone we toured the south loop.  Old Faithful was too crowded so we skipped it.  Other highlights from the park I have not yet mentioned: the mud pots belching and plopping their sulfurous gas.  Two sightings of Trumpeter Swans, tending their nests.  A bison crossing the road in front of us, to be followed by her nervous tan calf.  A male elk with a huge set of antlers.  A herd of elk lounging in the small grassy square of the busy Mammoth hotel.  A geyser inside Yellowstone Lake, the cone starting underwater and top just clearing the lake water with hot water hissing inside the rim.  Yellowstone was an incredible experience which I will treasure for a long time to come.


RV PARK RATINGS


Deer Park Golf Course and RV Park, Deer Park, WA: A
  Beautiful area, nice golf course, pool and hot tub, large grassy sites, cute town.


Quartz Flat Campground, Superior, MT:  D
  Located behind a rest stop directly off the freeway, no services, mostly closed, seemed kind of creepy and deserted, beautiful forest with daisies in bloom.

Lewis and Clark Caverns Campground, Whitehall, MT: A+
  Campground in a beautiful meadow, playground, several hikes to caverns, visitor center.  Great bird watching and star observation.


Indian Creek Campground, Yellowstone National Park: C
  Crowded, tight spots.  Very difficult to get our rig set up.  Neighbors took their time cleaning out toes with wet wipes.

Fishing Bridge RV Park, Yellowstone National Park: C+
  RVs only because in bear area.  Better setup for the rig, but still tight.  Crowded.  Snow and mosquitos.  Stories of bears wandering campground and bison hanging out in bathroom.