We didn’t see much of Grand Teton National Park last Friday, and decided to return for a more thorough look—our last one of the trip, and maybe our last one forever—lots of other places to go and things to see and do.  We got a fairly early start, and stopped for breakfast at Pond’s Restaurant in Island Park.  We thought it was near impossible to mess up breakfast, but neither of our eggs were cooked to order as both servings were grossly overdone.

We made a stop in Driggs, Idaho, for some photos.  Driggs is informally billed by many as the new Jackson Hole for the middle class.  By the looks of some of the houses, we have to believe that we’re in the lower class!  There is a small ski resort nearby, and lots of cutesy shops, stores, and restaurants, all boding a Western theme.  Many of the new buildings, like the US Bank and Wells Fargo Bank have incorporated the theme in their structures.

As we began ascending the Teton Pass, several runners were ascending as well, and the race continued all the way to the top, and back down towards Jackson Hole. A few young women were leading the large, mixed group of runners, and were far ahead of the others; way to go, girls!  We drove through Jackson Hole, and it has changed, and grown, tremendously since the last time we were there  10 years ago.  From Jackson Hole, we entered Grand Teton National Park, and drove the easterly road north, enjoying new to us scenes.

As we continued driving, we turned east onto a road neither of us had ever traveled, then north, to drive Mormon Row, and passing a small bison herd.  Mormon Row was the sight of several Mormon homesteads, now abandoned, and all had spectacular views of the Grand Tetons.  Practically all visitors were taking photos, and we even saw a couple of artists painting the farm scape.

From Mormon Row, we drove to the westerly road running north through the park, stopping to take photos of these scenic mountains.  At the north end of Jenny Lake, we found a picnic table for lunch, and after eating, hiked String Lakes to Leigh Lake, and return, about 2 miles.  Along the way, we saw all ages of people canoeing, kayaking, tubing, boarding, and otherwise enjoying the lakes.  In addition, there were many hikers, like ourselves, enjoying the great afternoon.

By then, the building thunderstorm has just about overtaken us, and we headed for the car and Colter Bay Visitor’s Center.  Despite a light rain, we toured the Indian Arts Museum at the Colter Bay Visitor’s Center.  Both of us had had enough road trip by then, and began the 3 hour drive north and west to the RV park, detouring only briefly to make the Firehole Lake Drive, one of only a very few that escaped us this summer.  The thermal features were great, but so much has changed since my last visit near 20 years ago, that it lost some of it’s glitter.

We arrived back at the RV park about 8:30 PM, ready for a quiet evening.

The last few days have found me feeling nauseous with a headache, and unusually low energy.  Couldn’t figure it out for the longest, but finally concluded it was an allergic reaction to the unending supply of dust, smoke from campfires, and flower and tree pollen.  After all, it is early fall out here, and the same thing happens at home if we’re outside for any length of time.  Oh well, an Allegra everyday, and a couple of Tylenol occasionally will keep it from worsening.  So, today makes the second day I’ve stayed in and around the RV park.
As a consequence of the above, Kay drove to Idaho Falls today, by herself, for some “Kay time” and “big city” shopping.  Our little motorhome, and we really like it, can get awfully small directly in proportion to the number of consecutive days we stay in it, and so far, it’s been over 5 weeks.
While Kay was gallivanting about, I walked between 4 and 5 miles to make up for yesterday.  It was early enough that the temps were still in the low 60s, making for a pleasant outing. 
When Kay returned, we joined three couples from Albuquerque around their campfire, and enjoyed some pleasant conversation.

Summer here (at least late July and August this year) has been very pleasant, temperature wise. The highs during the day tend to be in the 70s and then the low 40s at night. But, 70 isn’t really cold at this altitude, about 6500 feet, because the sun is hot—we’re closer to it. There’s always a breeze and sometimes in late afternoons, a small rain shower blows through, kind of like Florida. I love watching the aspen leaves blowing and the blue spruce are beautiful, also.

When we first arrived, the wild flowers in the fields and pastures were in full bloom and we loved watching the birds and bees weaving through them. Our favorite bird watching has been the Sandhill Cranes. They have long necks and kind of resemble geese in flight, but they make these unusual noises flying—I think they are talking to each other.

Cows are all along our road to the highway. We’re five miles off the road on the south shore of Henry’s Lake and part of the land belongs to the Forest Service. At any rate, the cows roam freely on forest land, and private land also. So, I have to ‘slow this pony down’ when I’m booking it out to the highway, cause cows don’t move out of the road for just anybody and when they’re munching on the grass right by the road, they may move across the road in an instant. So, it pays to be cautious. I’ve been on a tangent to see the moose that munch on fireweed along our road. Many people in our RV park have seen them, but not us. I slow down and search the woods every time I travel the road, but no luck. I think there’s a mom and at least one calf. One resident has taken several pictures which are in the office so at least I know what to look for. Finding a moose in Yellowstone is very difficult. We’ve seen almost every animal there except the moose, big horn sheep, and mountain goats.

We’re in the Island Park area of Idaho, which is in the eastern part of Idaho; just 10 minutes from the Montana border and 22 minutes from West Yellowstone and Yellowstone NP. When we’re leaving the park traveling toward West Yellowstone we’re actually in Wyoming, then just before the entrance/exit to the park we enter Montana, then we travel west for approximately 15 minutes and we’re in Idaho. So, suffice it to say, we’re state hopping most days! There are supposedly only 250 some odd full time residents of this area; but, there are thousands of beautiful cabins and homes here for vacationing, I guess. Many hardy souls may come here in winter for snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. I just can’t imagine having a $400,000 piece of property and only visiting it a couple weeks a year. Island Park may be the longest incorporated city in the country—over 34 miles long. It’s a ‘drive’ to go anywhere or do anything—run to the grocery (16 miles round trip); go out to eat (20 miles round trip); go to fish (10-60 miles round trip); go to small town for shopping (44 miles round trip); go to large town for shopping (100 miles one way). Norfork doesn’t seem as remote as it once did.

They do have mosquitoes, flies, and even horse flies (probably because we’re right next to a pasture). But, they are SLOW! It’s quite easy to swat them and kill them; maybe it’s the altitude that makes them slow. Whatever, I’m grateful! The bugs were worse when we first got here in mid-July and if we sat outside much, we would light our Thermocell—one of the great inventions of this century. These last few weeks, we haven’t needed to use one. Winter is probably 6 weeks away here, and the varmints seem to be slowing down.

We have some yard pets. I’m not sure what they are called. They look like ground squirrels with very short tails. Our neighbors called them gophers. We’re not sure what they are but they are very active and have 3 major tunnels between our RV spot and our neighbors. They eat grass and entertain us with some of their antics. They are kind of like our hummingbirds back home—playing king of the mound, don’t mess with me, etc.

The waters here—rivers, lakes, and streams—are fairly high because of the amount of snow they had this year (snowmelt) and that affects fishing. Also the sun warms the waters and that puts the fish down and they are more lethargic. There are more rivers, streams, and lakes to fish around here than you can shake a stick at. I’m not sure if one lived here full time that one could fish all of the waters available in a 50-mile radius. So many choices; so little time.

We have enjoyed walking or hiking every day, with so many trails, roads, and drives. With weather like this, who wouldn’t? We finally stayed up late enough last night to go outside and check out the stars. Everyone talks about how many there are out here and how bright they are. Well, they don’t have any light pollution. We weren’t that amazed; I guess because at Norfork we have a huge night sky with no light pollution.

This has been a good place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here. I wouldn’t even want to own a cabin here. It’s a little too isolated for me. I love the RV because we can go to so many different places and aren’t locked into one place. I also wouldn’t want the responsibility of a 2^nd home to maintain, clean, and update. I wouldn’t be interested in having property that could be used as ‘rental property’ either. Too many headaches with property management.

We have enjoyed the peace and serenity and slower pace. I would recommend this RV park (Red Rock RV Park) for that reason alone. The owners and workers have been great. We have enjoyed the potluck parties; I haves enjoyed the card games—Left, Center, Right and Bunko. It would be even more fun if we had other friends with similar interests who RVed with us.

The biggest plus of this trip has been the leisurely sightseeing we have been able to do in Yellowstone National Park. We have seen more of the park; more animals; and not been rushed. It’s been like a fine meal that we have savored each course at our leisure. Donald’s been here 5 times and this has been his favorite time. Mine too; and it’s my third trip here.

Well, if you’ve a hankering for vast plains and mountains, rivers and lakes, high altitude (certainly higher than AR), lots of gravel/dirt roads, snowmobiling in winter, cooler summer weather/yet sunny, rural/mountain remoteness, and want to be close to Big Sky and/or Yellowstone NP, you might want to consider Island Park, Idaho. A beauty all its own.

Our RV Park, Red Rock RV Park, has one of the best web pages I’ve ever seen. Just put www.redrockrvpark.com in your web browser and look at the pictures, maps, info, etc. You can see it vicariously.

The gulpers at Hebgen Lake awaited.  Arriving at the access point about 9:30 AM, two vehicles were already parked.  I parked along side the turnout road, donned waders, grabbed rod, fins, and float tube, and walked down to the lake.  There were already 7 people in the area I fished yesterday, all wading.  I kicked out a couple of hundred yards, and watched and waited.  It was reminiscent of duck hunting, where hunters would wait for a flight of mallards sailing through the air, responding to the wail of the duck calls, finally helicoptering down into the decoy spread.  The fly fishers eagerly awaited the baetis hatch and the resulting gulping fish, all with rods pointed straight up, ready to cast a a second’s notice.  Often times, the gulpers will establish a pattern, and the idea is to anticipate their next “gulp”, cast a fly there, and hope for a strike.  Today, there was a great hatch, and you can see some insects in the bottom of the photo, but few gulpers.  I didn’t get a fish, nor even a look, and didn’t see anyone else catch fish.  It was a short morning, and by 12 noon, most of us were off the water.

While I was fishing, Kay walked Red Rock Road, passing by several aspen groves, watching grazing horses and cattle and a couple of peregrine falcons soaring in the almost constant breeze.  The breeze, in combination with low humidity and mild temperatures, make this an ideal climate for summer.

We’re beginning to wind down, trying to fit in all the activities available to us before we leave, as we anticipate our trip home.   We enjoyed the rest of the evening with a game of “Hand and Foot” and the last of our Sam Elliot movies, The Desperate Trail.

This was a busy day, animal wise and otherwise.  We began early with a trip to Hebgen Lake to allow me to fish for gulpers.  The pull off that had been recommended was blocked, though we suspect other fishers had pulled the tree limbs across the road, but just a couple of hundred yards further was another.  I unloaded the float tube, donned waders, grabbed the fins and rod, and headed for Hebgen Lake.  The bottom was more solid that expected, and I kicked out a hundred yards from shore to some rising fish.  All the activity apparently put them down, so I waited several minutes but saw no more action.  I noticed other float tubers further out, so kicked out another three hundred yards or so, and found fish rising sporadically, then after 30 minutes or so, the hatch got fast and furious, as did the gulping, and I managed to cast to and catch a nice 16-inch rainbow.  Despite several more casts, the single rainbow was all that took to my fly today.  However, it was a lot of fun and I’ll be back out tomorrow.

After a late lunch at a Chinese restaurant in West Yellowstone, Kay did some basic grocery shopping, and we returned to Red Rock RV Park for some much needed naps.  At the last minute we decided to drive to Hayden Valley in Yellowstone NP for some animal viewing.  Since all the traffic was leaving the park, we made good time.  Arriving there at about 7 PM, we were immediately rewarded with views of a wolf and her 2 pups playing in a far away meadow.  Some of the other viewers told us of a bison carcass being fed on by a grizzly just down the road, so we inched our way down the park road, made an intermediate stop and saw a lone bald eagle, then continued ever so slowly to where the bear had been seen, found a parking place among the many other cars, only to find that the grizzly had left.  We did see a pelican, great blue heron, several bison, a small herd of elk, and a couple of coyotes crossing the Yellowstone River.  By then, dusk had begun to settle over the area, and we began the drive back to Red Rock, only to be met with near standstill traffic following a lone bison bull up the road.  Finally, the lead vehicle passed the bison, and we came to another near stop to find a HUGE bull elk grazing along the road.  By then, it was near dark, and photographing the elk was impossible.

We finally made it back to the RV park, a warm RV, and a welcoming bed.  

Last night, an awesome wind began about 1 AM, and continued through the day, combined with cloudy skies and occasional rain.  Kay had plans to kayak the Henry’s Fork, leaving at 8:30 AM, and it looked doubtful for a while, but women in their 60s are not easily intimidated, and 5 of them were off to the southeast for the morning.  Meanwhile, I had fully intended to fish for gulpers at Hebgen Lake, only to be thwarted by heavy winds and rain.  I made 3 attempts to load stuff in the car, and each time, it would blow and rain, and the storm was headed northeast, in the direction of Hebgen Lake, so I gave up.  Anyway, it gave me a chance to do laundry, clean the motor home, and take care of some other maintenance. 

Kay had a delightful time, and really enjoyed the kayaking experience; hopefully, photos will be forthcoming later.  The Henry’s Fork of the Snake River section they kayaked begins at Big Springs and flows to Mack’s Inn, about a 2-1/2 hour float .  Though they had seen any moose on previous floats, they didn’t see any this trip and were much disappointed.

The wind continued to howl the rest of they day, up to 40+ miles per hour, making napping in the motor home impossible—we get seasick.  I went for a short walk on Red Rock Road, and saw two pairs of Sand Hill cranes and a couple of osprey.  Horses were grazing in the meadows and provided an almost idyllic backdrop for photos.  The photo on the top of the page was taken about one half mile from the RV park.

Our movie for the night, featuring Sam Elliot, was You Know My Name.  It was about a true-to-life Oklahoma lawman shortly after the turn of the last century, and bringing order to Cromwell, Oklahoma—quiet good. 

Church today.  We returned to Community Protestant Church; we may have been going there too long as it’s beginning to feel comfortable!  We finally got to hear their minister today for the first time—after a substitute, the youth presenting the service, and the Gideons.  It gives us a whole new perspective of what visitors to our church may experience, and we’ll definitely be more open and welcoming to guests.  The sermon today was on “Doing The Right Thing” and it was excellent!  He cited some examples of people doing the right thing, and ended by advising us to do the right thing for the right reason, not because people are watching, etc., but because it is simply the right thing to do; we were both moved by the message.  It was good to be back in church after missing last Sunday.

We drove to Hebgen Lake after church to take a look at an access recommended by a fellow RVer and fly fisher, and saw a few “gulpers” rising to hatching insects.  The access looked real good for launching a float boat, and if weather conditions permit, I’ll be out there tomorrow.  On our return to the RV park, we stopped at Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone and I purchased a Montana fishing license, a 12-foot leader, and a few flies.

Today was Bunko Day at the RV park, and they decided to warm up with Left Center Right.  Kay finally came through and won some gas money for us to return home.  Then, she promptly lost $5 at Bunko.  Seriously, they had a great time and it was a good way to meet people.

Kay made vegetable beef soup today, and though the temperatures were in the low 80s, it was good.  Since there was plenty of soup, Kay took some to the folks that gave us the tip on Hebgen Lake, and they invited us to a group Happy Hour.  There were three couples, all from Albuquerque, who spend the summers here at Red Rock.  Two of the lades had gone to high school together in California, and only reunited after 30 years or so, in Albuquerque, and two of the guys worked together and had been lifelong friends.  They were our age, and come to Red Rock because of all the activities in the area, not because of the cool weather.  The ladies, all in their mid-60s, go kayaking once a week—what a hoot—and invited Kay along for tomorrow.  They loaded their kayaks and paddling paraphernalia on the truck, tied them down, etc.  Isn’t it great?  This senior citizen stuff is wearing me out!

We ended the day by watching the first part of Rough Riders, after watching the second and last part last night, and Sam Elliot was much more prominent in this part.  This was an excellent movie, and was historically accurate; we highly recommend it.

After our long circuitous road trip yesterday, we used today to recover.  And, it was party time again, every second Saturday afternoon on the deck.  Most of the morning was spent cataloging photos, making an entry into the blog, and backing up the hard drive.  Kay experimented with a Crock Pot dump cake, and it tasted real good, but didn’t look so hot—almost like the results one gets “baking” in a microwave.  We joined other RVers attending the party, most of whom spend the season here, and enjoyed a great potluck smorgasbord.  Afterwards, a lively game of Left Center Right was played and Kay lost more of our gas money; we may not be able to make it home!

We watched Rough Riders last night, or at least part of it, and I did it again.  This was supposed to be a Sam Elliot movie, but was about Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, and Sam Elliot had only a minor role.  When we put the DVD in, Kay asked why it said Part Two, and I thought it was because it was the second movie DVD in a set of 3; it was, but it wasn’t.  It was actually the second DVD in a two-part movie.  It doesn’t seem to matter as we’re getting used to watching the end before the beginning!  What a concept.

Seems like the older we get, the later we get started!  This morning it was 10:30 AM when we headed south, driving in the shadow of the Grand Tetons in Idaho through Tetonia, site of one of the original rendezvous’, and Driggs, before ascending the Teton Pass, and descending near Jackson Hole, WY.  Southeastern Idaho is an agricultural area with lots of potatoes, wheat, and other grains being grown in the wide-open spaces.  As we approached the Tetons, it became apparent that the area was also becoming a resort mecca, with HUGE houses and condominiums dotting the hilltops.  We bypassed Jackson Hole—been there, done that—and drove toward Grand Teton National Park.

Grand Teton National Park.  This small national park has many beautiful vistas of the Grand Tetons, some with meadows in the foreground, others with either Jenny or Jackson Lake in the foreground.  We were surprised to find a significant bicycle trail extending from the southern terminus to Jenny Lake, and many park visitors were taking advantage of it.  Grand Teton National Park is best taken advantage of via hiking the many trails along the lakes.  Our aggressive schedule today did not allow time for hiking, so we just drove through, and headed north to visit the remaining areas of Yellowstone National Park we had not seen on this trip.

Yellowstone NP, Lewis Lake Drive.  Despite signs saying “No construction delays”, we found ourselves at a standstill soon after entering Yellowstone NP, waiting about 30 minutes for the pilot car to lead us through re-surfacing the roadway.  Then, it was slow going for the next several miles, even after the pilot car left us.  Because of the traffic, we were not able to stop and take in any of the sites along the way; and, our already tight schedule had just become tighter.

Yellowstone NP, West Thumb and Grant Village.  Our drive took us to West Thumb and Grant village where we stopped to view the West Thumb Geyser Basin.  I can’t recall ever stopping here before, but Kay says we had, but that it looked different.  This was an interesting area, and very scenic, with many of the thermal features in or near the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake.  By the way, Yellowstone Lake is quite large:  20 miles long, 14 miles wide, and 430 feet deep.

Yellowstone NP, Bridge Bay, Lake Village, and Fishing Bridge.  Next, we drove through the Bridge Bay, Lake Village, and Fishing Bridge area, mainly to see Fishing Bridge, and the only “full hook ups” RV park inside Yellowstone NP.  Fishing Bridge is known for the wild trout spawning spectacular that occurs most of the summer; we didn’t see any activity there.  In olden times, the bridge would be lined with fishers taking advantage of these spawning fish, but the bridge was closed to fishing in 1973.  The “full hook up” RV park had some vacancies, surprisingly, but was “naturally” not as aesthetic as those in a more natural setting; the gravel lot reminded us of those in Canada and rural Alaska.  We did see a few cow elk in the campground areas.

Yellowstone NP, Hayden Valley.  Continuing north, we walked the Mud Volcano trail which climbs onto a ridge overlooking the Yellowstone River.  The thermal features were different, as they were comprised of sulphur-laden, hot bubbling mud.  As we began departing the parking lot, traffic came to near complete stop.  We inched our way forward to find a herd of bison along and crossing the road, stopping all traffic in either direction.  Several of the large males were dusting themselves, and we saw one rubbing against a 12-inch tree so furiously, that he destroyed all the limbs up to about 6 feet, and tore the tree, roots and all, from the ground.  Though I knew down deep that they were strong, I was overwhelmed by the raw power of these beasts.  This “bison jam” lead to another just up the road, again with traffic at a near standstill.  After witnessing the bison uprooting the tree, we kept our windows shut as we passed them, fearing the worse!  A bit further up the road, traffic again came to a standstill.  Kay asked, and folks along the road said a grizzly bear had been spotted on the far side of the river.  We were lucky to find a parking spot in a turnout, and found the grizzly sow and one of her two cubs with our binoculars.

We observed the bears for awhile, and began our long trip back to the RV park, passing through Canyon Village and Norris before coming to another standstill.  For another 30 minutes, we inched along the road thinking there had been an accident, but to our surprise another small herd of bison had opted to use the road as well, and wouldn’t budge since there were steep slopes on either side.  Finally, we made it to Madison Junction, then to West Yellowstone, and to Red Rock RV Park at 10 PM, the beginning of quiet hours!

Today was a quiet day around Red Rock RV Park, with more and more vacancies, and folks coming and leaving after only a night or two; the wildflowers are disappearing, ground squirrels are beginning to hibernate, and fall is in the air!  After some tough wading and fishing the last couple of days, we took the day off and just hung out, using the time to clean both the motor home and the car.

Dusty.  Many of the roads here in the west are gravel, one doesn’t really need air conditioning so we use fans in the motor home and the car windows are down when we drive, so dust is everywhere.  Thus, we are constantly dusting, vacuuming, and mopping the motor home, and dusting and vacuuming the car and dumping fine gravel off the floor mats—part of the price we pay to spend the summer out here.

Bugs.  Can’t remember if we mentioned bugs, but we have sustained mosquitos and flies, seemingly by the thousands.  When our new friend and neighbor, Jack, was here, we sat out more, and noticed the bugs more, but they are still here.  The Thermocell keeps the mosquitos at bay, but the flies bite and leave a fearsome sore; sometimes biting multiple times and leaving several sores.  And when the Thermocell is not around, like when we fished the Gibbon River on Wednesday, mosquitos experienced a huge buffet meal on the tops of my hands; the bites still itch.

Prices.  We assume prices are high because this is so close to Yellowstone National Park.  Gasoline is outrageous, being 30 to 40 cents higher than in Bozeman or other areas somewhat away from here.  We wrote about fixing flats—$35 here in Island Park/Henry’s Lake, only $10 in Bozeman.  And groceries are a bit higher too, though not bad.  Flies at Craig Matthews’ Blue Ribbon Fly Shop in West Yellowstone were very reasonable at $1.79 each, but the Henry’s Fork Angler prices their flies at $2.59 each.  We didn’t check out their fly tying materials, but suspect similar price differences.

Westerners Love Their Outdoor Recreation.  It was a bit surprising to find signs in town that caution drivers that snowmobiles are on city streets, and ATVs as well.  Many people who stay at Red Rock RV Park bring their ATVs, all sorts and sizes, and explore the many state recreation areas and US Forest Service roads.  It’s common to see ATVs traversing streets and roads in most of the towns; ATVing is big here.  We understand that in the winter, snowmobiling is huge and the primary means of local transportation.  Families tend to clan together as well—perhaps part of their Mormon culture—and we’ll see 3 or 4 RVs come in and occupy a common area, most with ATVs in tow.  Boats, inflatable rafts, individual pontoons, and float tubes are at almost every RV parking site.  With the abundance of lakes, both manmade and natural, these come in hand for fishing which is huge out here.  We thought fly fishing in Arkansas was big, but it does not compare to here, and state and Federal officials place a high value on protecting this resource; if only we had the same degree of state interest in our fly fishing!  And lastly, RVing is very popular, or so it seems, as almost none of the RV parks had vacancies until a week or so ago.

Obviously, we really like it here, but wouldn’t want to live here; there are too many other places to see and things to do, like the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Northern California, Oregon, and Washington coast, northern Idaho, the great Southwest, and perhaps even the northeast.  And we’ve found that 4 weeks is just about our limit, and we’re ready to move on, and we’ve been away from home 4 weeks today.  Don’t be surprised if we come home early!