Some areas had fresh snow, while others were green as could be with new leaves coming out on the trees.
We put on another 138 miles (221 kms) and ended up in the town of West Yellowstone, Montana.
Yesterday's drive, 138 miles (221 kms).
We slept fine at Jackson Hole airport, and left right away as we had promised. Went into the town of Jackson and used some free internet, and then drove over to the Napa store to pick up the wiper blades I had ordered.
The fittings weren't exactly the same, and I had to mess with them a bit to get them to work, but they'll be fine. I got to try them out on several occasions yesterday, and they work great!
Leaving Jackson airport it was cold and cloudy, but no snow.
Things cleared up for a bit heading back into the mountain pass.
They had a fresh dusting of snow overnight through the pass.
Yes, very steep. Sherman had to work hard to get up here!
Sherman was in first gear heading down here.
First time in Idaho for all of us!
I had planned on a boondocking spot about 20 miles outside of Yellowstone Park on BLM land, but when we got there the fresh snow had made the dirt road pretty muddy and difficult to follow and I just didn't think it was worth the risk of getting stuck. So we carried on into the town of West Yellowstone, which is actually in Montana right at the border of Wyoming.
Again, a very touristy town but very quiet at this time of year. And again, difficult to find somewhere to park overnight without getting ourselves in trouble. We went for a walk, and eventually flagged down the sheriff and asked him where we could overnight without getting in trouble. He said there was a truckers pullout on the highway just outside of town where we'd be fine, but we know they can be noisy. Last resort if we needed it, but its certainly not ideal.
When we drove by the truckers pullout, we saw this interesting homemade rig parked there.
So I asked about the airport. At first, he said no, but then he said that it's closed to commercial traffic just now and there probably wouldn't be anybody there. He said that we'd probably be fine unless someone complained at which point they'd simply ask us to move.
So we decided to take the chance.
We got there, and sure enough the place was vacant. We found a spot, and we even had an unsecured wifi signal coming from the tiny terminal. Too funny!
During the evening, two or three vehicles drove in to look around and drove off. We think they might have been looking for wildlife. Then, a police car drove in, and he looked around, and then drove off.
Then, just around sundown a herd of bison arrived in the field. It was too dark for a photo by that time. Oh, when we arrived here at the airport, there was no snow on the ground. None at all.
Not the same sight when we woke up this morning!
Yikes!
As we're on the internet this morning the bison decided to come closer to the motorhome. It's hilarious. We've camped in a lot of interesting places over the years, but we've never camped out with the buffalo!
Taken out our side window just a few minutes ago!
Not sure what's in store for us today. The plan was to go into Yellowstone and visit Old Faithful and a few other interesting things. But it's snowing even harder now, so I guess we'll play it by ear.
Check out today's special deals at Amazon...
And, on Amazon.ca in Canada they have Kindle eReaders on sale. If you've ever wanted one, now is the time...
WOW buffalo near the Motorhome never had that before either! Had lots of Elk come close to inspect, but never something huge like a bison!
ReplyDeleteDrive safe!!!
We had elk around us this morning when we were sitting outside of the library in Gardiner but the bison have to be the best!
DeleteVery cool. Once in Jasper we were surrounded by elk but this tops that for certain. Good luck with your day and the weather.
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned to Karyn Lee, we had the elk all around us today at the library in Gardiner. It is definitely pretty cool to have these animals so close by. The weather wasn't great during our day in Yellowstone but the day was fantastic all the same.
DeleteWe had a Buffalo peek into our car, but never the motorhome. They are sooo big and muscular. Great photo.
ReplyDeleteThey sure do look big but they also reminded us of cattle and seemed very docile but we weren't about to check that out. All our pictures we taken from inside the motorhome or a safe distance away.
DeleteCool. My only experience with bison close up like that is Elk Island Park just outside of Edmonton Alberta. They roam free and you can use the road to get to another little town that hubby's Dad used be in the hospital there. We would drive through very slowly at night and see tons of orange eyes looking back. Very neat!
ReplyDeleteWhen our daughter was in Katimavik one of her rotations was living in Elk Island National Park and she told us about her experiences there and showed us her pictures, she loved it there.
DeleteSo glad that you got to see them as you went to visit your Dad.
What an adventure this will be! The road from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful is a bit tedious and windy, it seems to take forever, not as short as it looks on the map, or so it seemed to us.Not fun if the road was icy and a buffalo was on the road around the bend! Hope it all melts and stays gone! Have fun, at least the park won't be overrun with tourists!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't mind the drive at all. We actually had to keep pulling over for other vehicles to pass us. We were on the look out for wildlife as well as enjoying every minute of the beautiful scenery. The road was in great condition and not icy at all despite the snow that was falling.
DeleteLoved the fact that the park wasn't busy with tourists!
Egads...don't like seeing that white stuff! Hope you were able to move the motor home with all your Bison visitors.
ReplyDeleteNo problems, they seemed to sense when we needed to go they move on just before we were ready to start the engine.
DeleteIt was nice of those Bison to stop by and say hello.
ReplyDeleteYes it was! They showed up in time for our dinner entertainment and left just after breakfast, their timing was perfect.
DeleteDon't like the look of that snow!!
ReplyDeleteNeither did we but we took it in stride! :-)
DeleteI used to refuel the fire jumper planes out of the West Yellowstone airport. The bison will be leaving the area soon to migrate back into the park. Nice to see them in that setting.
ReplyDeleteSo glad that we got to enjoy them then, guess our timing was perfect!
DeleteAlso, there is a campground located at the north end of the tiedown ramp behind a fence...however I expect that the water has been turned off for the winter...enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up on that!
DeleteOne other thing....if you do need to get some water or empty your tanks...there is a U S Forest service campground just up the road from you....it's not open yet however if the gate is open you may be able to use the facilities...it's called Baker's Hole Campground and it's located less than a mile to the left as you exit the road from the airport.
ReplyDeleteThanks once again but we are totally fine for water and dump until we get back to our campground in Cabri, Saskatchewan but it is good to know for when we return to this area.
DeleteYou two are definitely adventurous heading to Yellowstone before the park is even open. Hope you can get in. What fun to have the bison right outside your window. That's a great picture. I sure wouldn't want to drive in that snow. Good Luck. Be Safe!
ReplyDeletePart of the park is open, in fact part of it is open year round. Lucky for us that the part that goes to Old Faithful just open April 17th. For our short visit this has been enough to see, hopefully we will be back in October to see more! :-)
Delete30cm in Saskatchewan but gone by midweek....
ReplyDeleteCabri, Saskatchewn at the moment is warmer than where we are now!
DeleteYellowstone roads to Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone are open as of April 18. Old Faithful Visitor Center is open, not sure about Canyon
ReplyDeleteThe Canyon isn't open at the moment, hopefully it will be open if we return again in October which at the moment is what we want to do. :-)
DeleteI have seen that home made rig on Cape Breton Island and I also have a photo of it. Enjoy Yellowstone at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteWe met up with the people driving that funny little rig and they have been all over the place. Very interesting people! I am not surprised that you saw their rig in Nova Scotia.
DeleteI would love to have Buffalo just outside my RV. Hope the snow let's up so you can tour Yellowstone.
ReplyDeleteThe snow didn't really let up much over the day but all said and done we had a fantastic day in Yellowstone!
Delete