America's Best Idea

As part of our Yellowstone trip "homework," we rewatched our copy of Ken Burns' six-part documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea." 

In the afternoon, we'd return from our sojourn around Yellowstone and watch some of the film. Most impressive was how only a handful of people had made such a difference in our history. Without John Muir's obsession to save our landscape and preserve its pristine state, we might never have had the opportunity to drive alongside bison, close enough to reach out and touch them.

We might never have had the chance to see waterfalls uncluttered with commercialism.

Or ever see a bear in the wild foraging for food, instead of begging by the roadside.

The Yellowstone River could have been dammed in its canyon for a water reservoir.  Instead, we drank in its rugged beauty.

We thank you, John Muir, and the other individuals who saved this for us.

There will always be commercial reasons to use park resources. The budget for our parks will continue to be cut, if we let it. It's up to us to continue America's Best Idea for following generations.

Read more about the series at
http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks

West Yellowstone to the Grand Tetons

Yellowstone is big.  It takes almost an hour to drive from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful with a 45 m.p.h. speed limit.  One of the two major loops might involve a seven to eight hour drive.

The entire area is filled with geothermal activity. Over 60% of the world's geysers are here. In fact, I'm standing on top a huge volcano. Over 600,000 years ago, it blew its top. Now it just steams like an unhappy passive-agressive partner.

If and when it does blow, it will create chaos, at least according to "The Weather Channel" which is always in search of disaster.

Ignoring the possible End of the World as We Know It, Paul and I chose to drive down to Grand Teton National Park and at least enjoy the scenery and some good food before it all blew up.

We went to Jackson, Wyoming, which is in the valley of Jackson Hole.

It is a beautiful drive to the town beneath rugged moutains.

The town of Jackson is western-cute, with antler arches adorning the corners of the central square. The stores were hip-country. Foregoing the intriguingly-named "Thai Me Up" restaurant, we chose instead to eat at Teton Thai Plate restaurant based on reviews.


http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60491-d2326228-r161440343-Teton_Thai_Plate-Jackson_Jackson_Hole_Wyoming.html#REVIEWS


I am  the reviewer writing under the name "Frankly Francophile."

The aptly named Grand Tetons...

No "Today" last week

I have a love/hate relationship with "The Today Show." It seems to have an identity crisis trying to determine if it is a news show or a broadcast version of "People" magazine.
Nonetheless, when we heard they would broadcasting live at Old Faithful, only forty minutes away, we were tempted to go and be part of the live audience. The only catch - they wanted us to arrive at four in the morning.
Paul and I are early risers, but after doing a quick calculation, we were talking about getting up around two-thirty...a...m...
We agonized the loss of sleep, the bitter cold, the dark drive through Yellowstone filled with lions, and tigers and bears. But then I could visualize Al Roker pushing that microphone at me and then I would squeal and shout, "We're on vacation! We're from Lake Geneva Wisconsin!!" Our kids had already set their DVRs to record the show for posterity.

On Monday, the Today Show broadcast from Hawaii, with an exhausted-looking audience standing around in the dark, while dancers performed and the anchors showed their prowess at the Hula.

That afternoon, the deadly tornado struck near Oklahoma City. The Today Show decided to assume its news persona, and they all flew to tour the damage the next day. The decision had been made for us.

The next morning, a lone weather-woman from Billings Montana doggedly broadcast with steaming breath from Old Faithful during the local breaks in the show. Around nine we arrived on our day trip down to Teton National Park. 

They hadn't been able to cancel all of the equipment necessary to broadcast live. There were at least twenty semi trucks and miles of cables snaking around.

We were rewarded with a photo-op of the geyser going off, right on schedule.

Then we were stuck in a traffic jam for a half an hour of a herd of about fifty bison migrating. They had decided the road was the path of least resistance.

We didn't care.

The fires of 1988

I was a Baby Boomer who grew up with Smokey the Bear's admonishment, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!" I lived in Franklin Park, Illinois, with Forest Preserves which never burned. Nonetheless, my Catholic guilt keep me from ever doing anything that might ignite a fire and kill Bambi.

Now, as with many things, we know more about ecosystems and the "necessity" for a forest fire clearing out old growth, and allowing new trees to take their place.

As Paul and I drove around Yellowstone, it was clear a major fire had been through.

You can see the burnt Lodgepole Pines rising above the new trees.

  I did some research:

"The fires spread to forested sections near to, but generally away from major structures, but 19 small structures were destroyed and there was also extensive damage to an old dormitory. The fire was so intense that vehicles left near the fire had their wheels melted, windshields shattered and paint scorched. Though most of the Old Faithful complex had been spared, the park service decided that for the first time, the entire park would be closed to non-emergency personnel on September 8. The night of the 9th and the morning of the 10th of September, the North Fork fire jumped a fireline along its northeastern flank and approached Mammoth Hot Springs where a large concentration of historical structures as well as the Park Headquarters is located. Rain and snow arrived in time to slow the fires before they threatened the complex. By the time the North Fork fire finally died down, it was responsible for 60% of the burned area within the park; more than 400,000 acres had been burned."

Later, I read lodge pole pine cones needed heat to explode and thus reseed.  Most fires are caused by lightning.

Need I say it? Nature knows best. Yellowstone has had a beautiful rebirth and will hopefully continue.

Worth a few thousand words 5/20/2013

I think I will let the pictures of our favorite spot in Yellowstone National Park speak for themselves. Enjoy a slice of heaven as photographed by Paul.

I will add a comment here. I took the photo above with our phone -- doesn't it look like a poster?

And this one too using panorama software.

Yelllowstone 5/17/2013

Paul and I arrived in West Yellowstone and checked into the aptly named Grizzly RV Park. What a treat! This is one of the top spots on the trip. The park is not only beautiful, but on sale during the "shoulder season."
Check it out: http://www.grizzlyrv.com/ It's a great park.

We had our customary celebration of adding two more states to our map. Our rule, by the way, is to only add the decal if the motorhome has rolled in said state.

Not too many states left...not that we're compulsive or anything.

Speaking of compulsive, we couldn't wait to get to the actual Yellowstone National Park. The weather hasn't been, well, favorable for great photos. Undaunted, we carried on. Okay. Paul carried on. Still, good ones for our first day, don't you think?

Here's a good closeup of a buffalo..

Hello Ralphie, University of Colorado mascot.

The next day, we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center.http://www.grizzlydiscoveryctr.com/

Afraid it was a tourist trap, we investigated and then visited. The center is a wildlife sanctuary, dedicated to rescuing animals and educating the public.

Here are two cubs having fun with a cooler, which is being tested as to its "bear proofness." Serious stuff, as many animals are euthanized when they become tainted by human food availability.  Dumpster diving equals removal from the park...or worse.

Progress

Paul and I bought our Winnebago Adventurer motorhome in 2003. It replaced our 1998 Adventurer as our permanent home after starting Barge and Breakfast in 2000. We lived in the motorhome whenever we weren’t in France, leading a totally vagabond lifestyle.

When Paul was hooking up the motorhome the other day, he remarked he’d found an old phone connection cord in one of the storage bays. It reminded me how much out motorhoming has changed from 1998 to the present. That phone cord used to provide dial-up internet, besides being our phone line. 

I still travel with an atlas and a “Trailer Life” camping guide, but they’re mostly as back up. When I want to find a good campground, I select a state and town, and study the reviews on RV Park Reviews at http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Montana/West_Yellowstone.html

When one park looks pretty good, I get some more opinions at Trip Advisor, then look at the park’s website. We liked Grizzly Bear RV at http://www.grizzlyrv.com

When we need to gas up (which, unfortunately is almost daily in the motorhome) Paul checks out stations along the way on Gas Buddy http://gasbuddy.com for the best prices.  A 38 foot motorhome towing a Jeep needs maneuvering room, so he then often looks the gas station using an aerial map with Google Maps. He often does the same thing with campgrounds, to see the unvarnished images.

No more dial up for the internet. Instead, we can use the park’s wi-fi once we’re there. Or our Verizon phone will give us radar and weather, all as we move along the road, let alone use it to call ahead for a campground reservation.

I used to cram video tapes in the cabinets, loads of paperbacks were filed in every nook and cranny, and our photos were printed out in albums. Now we watch our movies on a tiny Western Digital box, our photos are on discs and I read on my Kindle Fire. Yesterday, an email arrived, notifying me the e-book I’d placed on hold at the library in Wisconsin was now available for download. Moments later, I began reading it.

Now that’s progress for you.