Getting up before Sunrise

 Leaving the Tetons for Yellowstone NP

Mothers Day.  Sunday, May 13,  

We’ll celebrate on the road since we are moving on from the Grand Tetons to West Yellowstone today.  After several days of staying put at the Gros Ventre campground, we have a busy start of the day with returning the rented car to Hertz at the Jackson Airport, and taking care of our RVs:  dumping the tanks, filling fresh water, stowing everything away inside -  all before leaving around 10am.

Bisons, Tetons NP

I put a new Cd with Cowboy music on and take a deep breath and I am ready to roll driving north under blue sky and puffy white clouds.

On my way, there is a bear warning of a mother and cubs on the road.   Rangers are along the road, but unfortunately for me the sow and her cubs had already left for the backwoods.

But its not only the BIG wildlife that attracts my attention.  This little magpie is singing a lovely song.

I enjoy the drive north with beautiful scenery and soon I enter Yellowstone Park National Park where I cross the continental divide at high altitude 3 times and meander at altitudes of 7900 ft and higher.  Lewis Lake and Yellowstone Lake are still frozen and in the geyser basin region, snow still covers the banks of the Yellowstone river.  Winter is still holding on here.

 Leaving the Tetons

 Entering Yellowstone NP

 Madison River

Meandering River near the Geyser Basin, Yellowstone NP

High Water from the Snow Melt

At the Madison Junction, I enter the campground only to find it busy and without the anticipated electricity. Meeting up with my travel companions, we decide to proceed into West Yellowstone where we camp out for the night at Branding Iron Pony Express RV park.  Although not much more than a parking lot, the  shower and laundromat are welcome and I enjoy the hot water of a clean and spacious shower.  I almost always prefer dry camping to RV parks, but the lack of shower facilities in many dry campgrounds gets old fast.

Clean and spiffy, we celebrate Mother's Day at Bullwinkles in town!

The journey will continue...
til then, Meggi and Nikki