- Miles today: 182
- Trip Total: 963
- Weather: Clear & windy. 62F at Old Faithful. Low last night 43F.
- Road: A little construction out of Idaho Falls. No traffic.
- Theme song: “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson
- Rachionary: “prevenge” [pree-venj] verb, Doing unto others before they do unto you.
- Rodgerism: “Do they have any drinks that are liquid?”
- D’oh!: Remote control for media player (and about 100 movies).
- Lesson: Buy the annual pass.
We were quickly reminded that Yellowstone is the most popular national park. But after getting into what looked like the shortest line (not very short) to enter the park, I saw an RV go through a line with no other vehicles. Squinting at the sign for that line it said “Passes and pre-paid only.” We purchased the annual pass ($80) at Craters of the Moon, knowing we would be visiting about a dozen national parks and monuments, so this was a nice bonus.
Aside from a couple of scenic turn-outs, our first stop was Old Faithful, and we pined (lodgepole, of course) for the days of motorcycle touring and worry-free instant parking, usually in front. Since our last visit in 1989, they have added another huge lodge and a visitor’s center. They did double the parking, but they must have quadrupled the visitors. There was very little RV parking (full) and with landscaping islands every few aises limiting the pull-through opportunites, we had to go into orbit looking not for an empty pull-through, not for someone simply leaving, but another RV in a pull-through getting ready to leave. We consider ourselves lucky that it took less than 30 minutes. While having lunch, we saw several RVs pass by repeatedly, searching for a place to land. The lot had lots of big holes in it by the time we left around 5:00pm, so with “shows” every 90 minutes, the trick may be to come late, come early, or bring a tow vehicle.
Teresa did most of the driving in the park, and she too tried to get out of the way of as many overtaking motorcycles as she saw. You really have to pay attention to the inattentive drivers. She was preparing to pull into a cliff-side turn-out and an approaching car crossed directly in front of us to snipe the turn-out from her for a nice photo of the lake. That could have ended badly, but Teresa remembers the “invisibility” rule of motorcycling, and it applies to driving other unique vehicles as well. You assume no one can see you (even if you are 9-feet wide. 11-feet tall and 33-feet long) and that everyone wants to turn in front of you.
“Fishing Bridge” is the only RV park in Yellowstone, and you can’t go fishing from the bridge. When I made our reservation in early April, I was told that we got the last site for that date. Apparently the peak months are usually completely booked 18 months in advance, so keep that in mind if you plan to visit in an RV. There was a steady stream of RVs being turned away before they reached the driveway, and it took about 30 minutes to register, even though they had it down to a science with parking attendants and all. It is a very nice setup, and if you are visiting Yellowstone for more than a couple of nights (and have a tow vehicle) this would be a great base. Within walking distance there is a store, service station, museum, visitor’s center, amphitheater for campfire ranger-talks, Yellowstone Lake and a really cool bridge. We got back to our campsite around midnight after the ranger-talk, and wished we had a constellation chart. The Milky Way was as visible and bright and hazy as you will ever see.
“Steppin’ Out” is only loosely connected with the day’s activities. We listened to Joe Jackson Big Band music for the drive, and his pop-hits from the 80’s were in that play list. Just make sure that all rugs are secure when “steppin’ out” of an unleveled RV.
No Wi-Fi or cell-phone service most places in the park, and why should there be? That’s why this entry seems to be a day late.