Yellowstone and Grand Teton

We arrived in Yellowstone Thursday morning and drove around the upper loop.  First stop: Mammoth Hot Springs where it was crazy to see steam coming out of the ground.  The ground was white and trickles of water were all around.  There were many boardwalks and stairs leading to many different views.  It was something I had never seen but I wouldn't say it was pretty or scenic - just interesting and smelled terrible.  The sulfur smell from the hot springs fills the air with what I would describe as someone burning rotten eggs, It was hard not to hurry back to the car.

My favorite view of the whole trip happened next in Calcite Springs.  It was a view from the top of a cliff where you look down over the Yellowstone River with one bank being white (I believe that would be the calcite).  You could hear the rushing water of the river and it was so peaceful.

Supporting the Hurricanes from Yellowstone!

After a few more stops to view waterfalls and other scenery we made our way to our room for the night at the Old Faithful Inn.  Our room wasn't ready yet so we took a tour of the property and saw the geyser go off.  Old Faithful is impressive and a huge tourist attraction.   We have had almost every other park to ourselves but Yellowstone was jumping. 

So Old Faithful Inn...what to say...it is a large wooden cabin looking lodge.  It was pretty and you felt like you went back in time especially in the rooms.  No AC, internet, phone or TV made for a long night.  Some find it nice and relaxing to get away from it all but we aren't those people.  I was actually ok after I put my ear plugs in since I couldn't hear people, doors, toilets or creaking floors and I went to sleep.

We did decide to only stay the one night instead of our planned two because rain is heading in and we wanted to see the Grand Teton National Park in nicer weather (not to mention some of the road closures in Yellowstone added an extra few hours of driving time if we stayed another night).

Friday started still in Yellowstone seeing the Grand Prismatic Spring and whoa tourists.  We could barely find a parking spot and walking on the boardwalk wasn't easy with people stopping in the middle and flipping their hair to do a selfie.  We got to see the spring along with other geysers but it was very steamy and you really couldn't see the color variation like on the postcards.

Next we went to the Grand Canyon in Yellowstone and it made me want to see the real Grand Canyon.  It was beautiful with waterfalls going over steep canyon walls.

Yellowstone Lake was huge and had some of the best views of the trip.  It had everything - mountains, water, changing leaves and wasn't as crowded as the rest of the park.

Also, Yellowstone has giant Ravens that are loud and not afraid of people. They will walk right up to and either take food or squawk for a handout.

Grand Teton National Park is just south of Yellowstone so we made our way there and because you only have to pay once for both parks we didn't have to stop at a ranger station so we didn't have  a map.  We first came to Jackson Lake and then headed toward Lake Jenny and took a scenic drive along the edge of the mountains.  I think I liked this better than Yellowstone.  Yellowstone was a lot of driving through pine trees so it was hard to see the mountains but Grand Tetons you can see the whole time.  It was less crowded and made our stops to see the sites more enjoyable.

Billings Blah

Everyday, we head out to see the beautiful landscapes and learn some history about the West.  Today was Little Bighorn Battlefield and from the minute I got out of the car next to the National Cemetery there was this sad feeling (I don't handle death well and am often overwhelmed in cemeteries) but this felt exaggerated.  Walking up to the monument and seeing the stones where the men fell was eye-opening and heart-breaking.   Reading all the accounts of what happened seems like such a tragedy on both sides.  I noticed walking around it was different than all the other historic or tourist sites we have seen this trip since no one really spoke above a whisper and there was an overall heavy feeling.  It was still beautiful and you can see why everyone wanted to be there but it was a very solemn experience.

 Just a portion of the National Cemetery.

These are stones marking where the soldiers fell.  Custer is in the middle of the field and shows he fought and stayed with his troops.

This is the monument for the soldiers.

This is the Indian memorial.

 
On our way to Billings we saw a sign for a National Monument and decided to check it out. Pompeys Pillar looks like a large flat top rock formation from a distance.  When you get closer it is 150 feet tall and is close to the Yellowstone river.  The interesting part is William Clark named it after Sacagawea's son, who he called Pomp.  William Clark climbed the rock and wrote of it in his journal, even signing and dating the rock.  They have added stairs and the climb to the top was kinda tough but worth it since the view was impressive.   It's a really neat little piece of history and a nicely done visitor area.

W Clark July 25, 1806

View from the top.

I conquered all 215 stairs on this 90 degree Montana day.

Now we are back in Billings with nothing to do.  It is super boring here and instead of wasting tomorrow learning how nothing happens here we are leaving a day early and going to Bozeman.  At least that gets us closer to Yellowstone.

I Own North Dakota

It was about time Ryan had a break from driving so I took the wheel for a while today.  We left Deadwood, SD around 9:30 am and got to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota around 1 pm.  The open roads and 75 MPH speed limit make for a fun drive.  I then slowed down to about 20 MPH in the park.  The park had some more fantastic views and crazy wild life.  Wild horses and more bison were on the road, including right next to a visitor center where you had to walk close by a bison to get to the restrooms. 

After a couple hours we got back on the highway and I drove into Montana so out of the two of us, one can say they drove in ND and one can't.  I handed over driving duties soon after but I hope Ryan enjoyed being a passenger in a National Park as much as I did.

We have also seen a lot of highway animal casualties during this road trip but today marks the first time either of us has seen a huge porcupine on the side of the road, We didn't know they ran wild out here.

It was a long day in the car but this sunset welcomed us to Big Sky Country.

Two Tours

A day without getting in the car was what we needed.  We walked all over Deadwood, SD and it was everything I wanted it to be.

You might not know this about me but I LOVE tours.  Any tour really, but haunted tours are my absolute favorite.

The first tour was the Boothill Tour.  We got on an old school bus painted green with the windows removed  and got to see and hear about all the sights of historic Deadwood.  There were stories about all the buildings and some of the characters that built this town like Wild Bill, Sheriff Bullock and Calamity Jane.  The highlight of this tour was Mt. Moriah Cemetery where we got to see where Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok are buried.

It is a funny story because Calamity Jane wanted to be buried next to her "friend" Wild Bill but it is rumored he didn't like her and his friends buried her next to him as a joke.
From the hill in the cemetery we could see most of Deadwood and it was pretty and quaint.

On our way back through town we heard about some of the ghosts and haunting and it only made me more excited for our tour that night.

We also went to the Adams Museum. It was information overload but was interesting learning about all the fires and floods and crazy people in the place.

5:30 finally arrives and we are at the Bullock Hotel for our Ghost tour.  We learned all about Sheriff Bullock and the building including the fires and how it was used for patients during the small pox epidemic.  I will say I believe in ghosts and all that stuff so maybe I am just seeing what I want to see but I got two interesting pictures. One I showed our tour guide and she requested a copy saying it was a great example of orbs.  The other picture is a mirror where I think I see a faint image of a man's torso in a suit jacket.  Say what you want - I have heard it all from my skeptical husband.

On our walk back to the hotel we stopped in the Saloon #10 where we watched a reenactment of the murder of Wild Bill Hickok and it was fun to see the guys all dressed up and tell the story.

Then we had a quick dinner and I am ready for sleep.

Have you herd?

I was awake at 6 AM this morning because I was too excited to sleep any longer.  Today I got to see Mount Rushmore.  We drove up to it and thought it was cool but it wasn't until we got into the park that we realized how awe inspiring it is.

I loved every minute and every view you get of this massive monument from the Presidential Trail.

We even got a friendly stranger to get a picture of the 2 of us that isn't a cell phone selfie.

Next up was Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD.  I knew nothing about this going in except Ryan said it might be for kids.  It turned out to be a crazy story in a little town and it's still turning up new discoveries.  What I learned (the short version):  long time ago...big sink hole...huge mammoths fall in hole...hole fills in...in 1974 a subdivision is planned...bulldozer finds big bones...scientists get involved...40 years later bones of 61 mammoths have been found and they are STILL digging. The bones in the pictures are the actual bones (they leave most of them in place). 

On to Custer State Park...this was another picturesque drive with up close animal encounters.  I mean really up close...the Bison blocked the road and even rubbed their heads on car bumpers.  Wild burros stopped cars and begged for food very aggressively and more prairie dogs were everywhere.

What a great day!  I went into this trip with no expectations of what we would see and everyday I am blown away.  Sometimes you don't see another person or car for a half hour and it is so quiet you can almost picture what it must have been like in those pioneer days.  Totally loving this trip!