No vertigo!  Guess Kay’s threat to do something today scared it away.

Wade and Cliff Lakes.  After a slow start to the day, we drove to a couple of alpine lakes near the Madison River Valley in Montana just a few miles west and north of Red Rock RV Park.  We turned off the paved highway onto a gravel road, followed a sign giving wrong directions, and retraced the drive to the point of the sign.  Finally figured out where to go.  As we drove through the high desert, the though of alpine lakes escaped us.  Then, as we began an unexpected descent, Wade Lake appeared with it’s varied hues of blue and green.  The US Forest Service campground was full, and there were many families enjoying the crystal clear lake.  Kay talked to some fishers and though they didn’t fly fish, indicated that there were prolific hatches in the afternoons and early evenings—food for thought for future trips.

Just a short distance “up” the road, we came to Cliff Lake, a sister lake to Wade Lake, though not quite as heavily used, perhaps because there were fewer campsites, and access was poorer.  It, too, had the varied hues of blue and green, and we could easily see the bottom through its clear water.  Who would’ve thought these alpine lakes existed in high desert.

Sawtell Peak.  We returned to paved roads and US Highway 20 for a short drive to the access road to Sawtell Peak.  Sawtell Peak is on the Centennial Mountains just behind our RV park, and has a number of FAA antennas located on it.  The drive was fairly gentle the first 90 percent, all on gravel, meeting several other autos and ATVs coming down the mountain, then we began some serious switchbacks to the top.  Kay made it just great, with a relatively low “pucker” factor; she has come a long way with taming her acrophobia since we first met.  At the top, the views were spectacular, with snow on several mountains around us, and the shimmering surfaces of Henry’s Lake, Island Park Lake, and the entire surrounding area available before us.  As I walked around the peak, I was surprised to find that the eastern side of the mountain was a sheer drop-off, and I backed slowly away!  Our return down the mountain brought an unexpected view of a female mule deer laying near the edge of the forest, and lots of wildflowers peaking in their blooms.

Our return to the the RV park brought an end to the day’s road trip, but it was a good one, and we were able to mark a couple of things off our “things to see and do while in Idaho” list.  As usual, early evening brought winds and a brief rain, though the roads, mostly gravel, are still dusty.

We stayed at the RV park today, all day—in fact, didn’t even start the car.  I am still suffering from vertigo, but no other symptoms.  Did a consult with Wayne, and am looking up different ailments on the internet.  Hope it goes away soon!

As seems to be the norm these days, we had our early evening wind and brief rain.  It always runs us in from outdoors, but the resulting sunset is awesome.

Kay says tomorrow we’re going to do something as she’s tired of hanging around here all day!

Weird!  I woke up this morning with tremendous dizziness, and spinning inside my head (Kay says more than usual), so I definitely did not want to drive anywhere or walk along high places, though she tried to arrange a hike on a steep cliff near the park!  Really, we hope it’s just an inner ear infection.  With 50 degrees inside the coach, the heat came on this morning; guess we’re getting thin blood. 

We sure didn’t do much today, though the 3-mile walk was great; got to see a pair of Sandhill cranes fairly close, and 3 antelope grazing in the meadow between the RV park and Henry’s Lake.  The Sandhill cranes are large birds, similar in size to Great Blue Herons, and have red foreheads.  Henry’s Lake is in the heart of their summer breeding grounds. I returned to the motor home for the camera with a telephoto lens, and walked backed to where I saw them, but they had moved to an adjoining meadow.  Got a few photos before they took off in flight to another adjoining meadow.

At about 6:30 PM, yet another storm rolled through, with high winds and a few sprinkles, but only briefly.  We rushed in from enjoying a peaceful evening outside visiting with our next door neighbor, Jack, gathering chairs and fastening things down.  This is about the 4th night, we’ve had afternoon storms. 

Kay and I played Spite and Malice (verdict is still out on how much fun it is) and watched what we thought were the last installments of Centennial.  Unfortunately, I thought when the “Play All” button was pushed, the entire DVD would be played; apparently, there were two episodes on each DVD, and only one is played.  So, we only watched an abbreviated version.  We replayed the first DVD and saw the very first episode.  If errors like this are a result of getting older, the aging process is not a lot of fun!  At least we’re in good company.

Today was both rainy and a Monday—a good day to venture into the town of West Yellowstone for information at the Visitor’s Center, IMAX, museums, Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, and lunch.

We picked up a lot of maps and brochures at the Visitor’s Center, crowded because of the rain, then were off to the IMAX.  Sad to say, I have only been to one IMAX before and that was at the Canada exhibit at Epcot.  We walk in, about an hour early, to the smell of burnt popcorn.  The first movie is Yellowstone and was just okay.  The theater folks allowed folks to come in for about the first 10 minutes, and the number of talking small children was very high, making for a very distracting short movie.  The next movie, Lewis and Clark, was excellent, and the crowds were especially light, resulting in a really good movie experience.  After the movie, it was off to the old Union Pacific Railroad depot, now a museum—we would rate it just okay.  Folks around town had told us about a Mexican restaurant in old bus parked in an alley; we found it, and it was great.  Our last stop was the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center.  It was no more than a zoo, and after seeing these species in the wild, kind of disheartening.  Admittedly, this photo has been severely cropped and retouched to make it look more wild.  More than likely, 99 percent of the folks there had never seen a grizzly bear or a wolf in the wild.

Back at the RV park, it was still spitting rain when a ferocious thunderstorm struck, with winds in excess of 50 miles per hour.  It made for a quiet evening, with us watching the 4th and 5th DVDs of Centennial.

Up and at ‘em this morning; it’s Sunday and church day.  Kay put a roast in the crock pot and we dressed for church.  The regular preacher was back today—thank goodness—but it is youth Sunday, and we were dreading the service as we were looking forward to a good message.  Were we ever surprised.  Their youth consisted of 4 young men who had just been on a mission trip to Las Vegas, and though West Yellowstone is a tourist town, these young men were not widely traveled; we forget that West Yellowstone is still in Montana and has very long winters.  One of the four, a tall, gangly redhead, gave a most inspiring talk about one of his evenings in Vegas—being bored, reading the Word of God, praying, and regaining energy and strength—actually finding some purpose in his life.  It brought tears to our eyes.  With young people like this, there is hope for our country.  After a great service and communion this morning, it’s got to be a great rest of the day.

Before a much needed rain shower, I took a 3-mile walk near the RV park; it’s such a beautiful setting, with Henry’s Lake and the Henry’s Lake Mountains, the East Centennial Mountains, and wildflower covered meadows surrounding it.  Here, in this photo taken with the Droid phone, is the RV park and the East Centennials in the background.  One can understand why people keep coming here year after year.

It began raining about 5:00 PM—just a light rain—and rained the next few hours; so much for Bunko on the deck today—just saved us $5.  With outside activities curtailed, Kay and I played Hand and Foot, then watched the 3rd installment of Centennial.  Without television, we’re having to do more things together.  Is this a great life or what?

As always out here, sleep comes easy and long; guess it’s the cool temperatures (though the low has only been 47 degrees the last few mornings, but we’re not complaining) and the great foam mattress in the RV.
I had been hungry for pancakes, and Kay needed to visit a couple of stores in West Yellowstone, so on Saturday morning (Day 16 for us) we headed east for the 22 mile drive over the continental divide, from Idaho to Montana, into town for a great breakfast.  As fate would have it, we sat next to a couple who told us they were from near Searcy, AR.  He then said it was actually McCrory, but said when he told people that, they didn’t know where McCrory was, then finally after several minutes of conversation, he said they were really from Beedeville, AR.  Kay told him I was from Bradford, and I told him I knew where Beedeville was, that my Dad and brother built a duck club there, and we played high school basketball against them—it is truly a small world!  While Kay shopped for groceries, I walked the streets of West Yellowstone which is a really neat town once you filter the tourist shops out.
After finishing our “business” in West Yellowstone, it was back to the RV park for some much needed rest to get ready for the Happy Hour and hors d’ouvers (this word isn’t on the blog spell checker)—actually a chance to meet the neighbors.  Special guests at the Happy Hour were Trailer LIfe/Camping World representatives who rate campgrounds in this region.  After some great heavy snacks (hors’ d’ouvers) and adult beverages, a drawing was held, and several Trailer LIfe/Camping World items were given away; we won a plastic mat which will be used to pad items in one of the storage compartments.  After “dinner” Kay played Left/Center/Right and promptly lost $3 (though she was in the final 3) and I met and talked with several fellow RVers from around the South and Midwest.  We had a really good time, returned to the RV, and watched the 2nd installment of Centennial.

We almost overdid it yesterday—so we’re “resting” the next few days just around the RV park.  Those of you who know Kay knows she gets antsy after being at “home” for an extended period of time—say a couple of hours.  So, after a late breakfast on Friday (Day 15 for us), she drives to Island Park (with a 20+ mile main street) to check out the stores, houses, condos, and side roads.  We share a large open space with Jack, our new friend and RVer in the next site.  As we sit out enjoying the cool breezes, we enjoy visiting with Jack, and being amused by 3 new found furry friends who hurry and scurry about, eating grass, chasing each other, and burrowing into the ground.  We think these are ground squirrels.  They sure are fun to watch, and are everywhere out here; we see them scurrying across the roads, and before you know it, they are down their hole in the ground.  It sure doesn’t take much to entertain us.  After taking naps, watching the weekend RVers come in, etc., we watched watched the first DVD installment of Centennial.  We both had forgotten just how good it was/is.

Wow, two weeks since we left home—only 4 more weeks.  Time, as we perceive it, is really going by fast.  As we have stated in previous blog entries, Yellowstone National Park is really crowded, more than on any of the previous 4 visits.  We are trying to see it thoroughly, and thus are taking our time.  We still lack the thermal basins in and near Old Faithful, the magnificent falls in the Canyon area, and the wide open spaces, and animals, in Lamar Valley.  But, it doesn’t pay to go during the middle part of the day.
Firehole Canyon.  Today, we wanted to finish the west side, in and around Old Faithful, and waited until 2 pm to leave the RV park in an attempt to avoid the crowds.  The tire pressure monitoring system on the Honda showed a tire as being underinflated, so it was back to the RV park, digging out the compressor, and airing up the tires.  Finally, we left again and entered Yellowstone NP about 3 pm.  Immediately after going through the gate, traffic came to a near standstill—bear jam!  The black bear was on the ground, in the forest, and people were crowded all around it.  We didn’t see it, and slowly drove by, turned south at Madison Junction, and drove the 2-mile Firehole Canyon Drive.  The Firehole Canyon falls was beautiful, particular since there is plenty of water coming down the river.
Lower Geyser Basin.  As we entered the Lower Geyser Basin, we drove Fountain Flat Drive, finally found a parking place, and walked the boardwalks to view the thermal features.  There were several thermal pools and small geysers, and lots and lots of people.  Our next stop was at Fountain Paint Pot.  It’s much larger than I remember.  In fact, so many of the thermal pools and geysers look different—larger—and many I just don’t remember despite being here 4 times previously.


Midway Geyser Basin.  Prominent in the Midway Geyser Basin are two large pools, perhaps a half acre each.  Additionally, there are several smaller pools and a geysers.  Talk about crowds, we drove through the parking lot twice to find a space.  After crossing the Firehole River, passing a small geyser, Grand Prismatic Spring appeared.  This was a huge thermal pool, with water so clear as to allow a penetrating glace towards the bottom—simply amazing!  Further up the hill was another large thermal pool, with varying hues of yellow, brown, and blue.  The combination of thermal features in this area was breathtaking, and provided just another example of how great our God truly is.
Upper Geyser Basin.  As we neared Old Faithful, we stopped by Biscuit Basin for more thermal pools and small geysers.  The thermal pools were so clear, one could see into their inner depths.  One of the small geysers along the way erupted every 5 to 7 minutes and provided quite a sideshow.  Kay saw a trailhead sign for Mystic Falls, so decided to divert from our itinerary, and hike the one-mile trail.  Just as we began, we met a young man from Holland who asked to accompany us along the hike.  He spoke excellent English, was a biology/ecology teach, and was visiting the US to attend a biology seminar in Salt Lake City.  The three of us hiked the trail to view the most scenic waterfall we have seen on this trip.  As we were leaving Biscuit Basin, several fly fishers had begun plying the Firehole River.  It appeared one had hooked a fish, but he was caught on bottom!  Just down the road from Biscuit Basin was Black Sand Basin.  Immediately along the path, a small geyser was erupting every few minutes.  We laughed as we tried to time our shutter release with an eruption, getting lots of photos just before or just after an eruption.  A few small thermal pools completed the circuit along the pathway.
Old Faithful.  Last but not least, we made our way to Old Faithful, and as luck would have it, it had just erupted as we began walking to the observation area.  We sat in rocking chairs on the porch of the general store, shared an ice cream cone, and waited 90+ minutes for the next eruption.  As fate would have it, our new Dutch friend pulled up right in front of us, and asked to join us in watching Old Faithful erupt.  With plenty of time to kill, we go to know him better, and asked a lot of questions about the Holland educational system; it’s not too different than ours, but perhaps a little more advanced in its curriculum.  Old Faithful sure controls the show.  We waited, and waited, and waited.  Occasionally, a small fountain of water would rise, exciting all the visitors, then we’d wait again.  Finally, after fifteen minutes of this, she blew, at about 8:45 pm and just as the sun set, a great ending for another great day.

Several people who read the blog have asked for more photos, so we’ve tried to add more, balancing the addition of photos with time and data requirements for uploading those to the internet.  We have created a web album containing many more photos of this trip; you can access it at this link:  https://picasaweb.google.com/DunnGoneTravels/Idaho201102?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIyBlc3Wn9WGuwE&feat=directlink

Still no fly fishing for us.  This area experienced about 10 feet of extra snow this past winter, and it was a late snow melt to boot, so all the rivers are real high, some still raging with runoff.  As we began the drive today, a ptarmigan was in the middle of the road between the RV park and the highway.  It would not and did not move for the longest, so we were able to take a few photos, and as always from the south end of a north bound animal.

Big Springs.  Today, we drove to Big Springs near the RV park, and it was a picturesque place, complete with an old cabin, intact and complete with furnishings.  The cabin was built by Johnny Sack, a 4’ 11” German immigrant furniture maker.  He powered the cabin and his woodworking tools with a small waterwheel located in the foreground.  The cabin has been kept in immaculate condition, complete with furniture he made.  Big Springs is a US Forest Service facility, and the springs themselves serve as the primary source of water for the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River.  They are not as impressive as Mammoth Spring in northeastern Arkansas in terms of size and volume of water, but do discharge a significant quantity of cold water (56 degrees) sufficient to create a small river. Below the springs, rafters and tubers are numerous, filling the river—people from Idaho love their outdoors.  A bit further downstream, fly fishing seems to dominate with a myriad of drift boats and waders.

From Big Springs, we drove further south to Ashton, ID, to pick up lunch at the local deli.  Our goal was to drive to Cave Falls on the Falls River in the southwest part of Yellowstone National Park, then return to the RV park for lunch, then to Old Faithful.

At Cave Falls, we found a table near the lower falls, and had a picnic lunch under the trees with the roar of the falls behind us.  We walked the short distance to the upper falls, and was surprised to find that high water blocked the trail to the cave; obviously fly fishing was out of the question.  (Our friends and neighbors, Bill and Bootsie told us about this great fly fishing river; we’re sorry we didn’t get to fish it—maybe in a couple of weeks.)  By the time we finished our “tour” of the falls, we were wiped out, and opted to head back to the RV park for some R&R.

We did stop by the Upper Coffee Pot Rapids to scope out fly fishing opportunities on the Henry’s Fork River there, and it looked real good.  We’re now back at the motorhome for a nap and our evening walk, maybe a movie, and goodnight to all!

We’ve settled in, trying to make this our home for the rest of summer, so no significant activities outside the RV park today; just a quiet day in the neighborhood.  The slogan for the RV park is “Shhh!  It’s quiet out her.” and it really is.  We enjoyed the cool breezes, and watched 3 antelope play in the meadow just outside the park.  We did venture to Henry’s Lake for some casting practice with new friends and fellow RVers, Randy and Kathy.  They are fly fishers and live among some great fly fishing waters in central Colorado.  They come to the Yellowstone National Park area usually in the September time frame, but came early this year because of some other commitments later in the year.  Like us, they enjoy fishing the various waters of Yellowstone, as well as the many rivers, streams, and lakes near the RV park.

Prior to dinner time, we did our 3-mile walk, and saw 3 Sandhill cranes.  Otherwise, not much going on with us.  Guess today was a day of “3s”—3 antelope, 3-mile walk, and 3 Sandhill cranes.