Yellowstone National Park - Day 1 - Getting There – 7/22/15
How is it possible that Smoky Scout has never been to
Yellowstone National Park? Well, a trip
was contemplated, dreamed about, planned… and canceled when life circumstances
intervened. This year Jim and I dusted
off the file, clicked on the websites and tried again. We booked campsites in the park, employing
the rubric of “sleep cheap and eat well” that has proven successful on trips
with my hiking buddies. And it
worked.
Flying is not as magical as it used to be. We go to
hard-to-reach places that require all-day traveling and connecting flights. Checked bags are not free. Seats are smaller. Hope they don’t confiscate
my carry-on bag. On the second leg, a four-hour flight into Bozeman, MT, Jim
bravely took the middle seat in our row next to a young woman with a 2-year-old
on her lap. Mom had a bag of tricks and
non-stop snacks. Jim endured the crumbs
and little feet on his arm and stickers carefully placed on his shirt. On the descent, the frightened toddler
screamed continually as we tried to get her to look out the window to find the
cows. Could have been worse.
Our teeny fun rental car.
The enormous duffle bag that held all of our camping gear barely fit in
the trunk.
At the local Wal-Mart we bought some groceries, two cheap
tailgate chairs, filled our soft-sided cooler with ice and adult beverages, and
pointed ourselves to Mammoth Hot Springs, the northern entrance to Yellowstone
NP.
Elk were patiently waiting.
On the way to Canyon Village, our campground home base for
the first three nights, we got a good look at Mount Washburn, one of our
planned hikes. The fire tower is the
tiny dot on the tallest peak in the photo.
We got in kind of late and our campsite was less than
desirable, a slope that rain obviously rushed through. We pitched our tent in a better spot in the
general area of our site, ready to move if someone told us to, but no one ever
objected. Otherwise the location was
great, near the general store and showers.
And the location of Canyon Village is ideal for exploring the entire
park.
A long day, time for snoozing. Tomorrow’s forecast: afternoon thunderstorms, so no hiking to high
peaks. Oh, well, just the two of us, a map
and a guidebook. We’ll find something to
do!
“If you wait to do everything until you’re sure it’s right,
you’ll probably never do much of anything.”
~Win Borden
2 comments:
I can't believe this, but we were in Yellowstone at the exact same time! In fact, I randomly came across two other people I know while we were there from two different facets of my life! I worked as a server in Canyon Village's dining room when I was in college, and hands down, it was the best summer of my life. Yellowstone is incredibly special to me and I can't wait to read your next post about what you did while you were there!
Glad you were able to explore Yellowstone! It's one of my favorite National Parks. And I had to laugh about trying to fit camping gear into a tiny rental car. My family traveled to Alaska many years ago, and that's exactly what we had to do too! :) Looking forward to the rest of your trip reports.
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