Notes from the Road

  Captains Log Sep 17 This morning we got up early to get into the park before too much traffic and headed directly to Mammoth Springs. It was a chilly 34 degrees, but our camper heater works great!   We stopped at Ernie’s Bakery http://erniesbakery.com/ in West Yellowstone for some excellent pastries and a couple of box deli lunches for the road.   We had less delays this morning driving (from people literally stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures and backing-up traffic for miles even though signs are clearly posted that say NO STOPPING, stop at pullouts only).   The only driving issue of the day was a precarious steep decent into Mammoth on a very narrow road with no center lane or shoulder markings due to a new overlay on the road.  I was going 20 mph with white knuckles!!    Once in Mammoth we were treated with beautiful elk roaming around and helpful rangers.  We didn’t want to compete with others for p...

Thursday, Sep 16 th , we drove back into the park from West Yellowstone to Madison Junction and then rode our bikes to Old Faithful.   The ride out was slow and we thought we were just out of shape, but it turns out it was slightly uphill most of the way and we just couldn’t tell.   In cycling lingo this is referred to as a “false flat”, but I have to tell you I have never seen a 16 mile false flat… Along the way, we stopped at Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone’s Midway Geyser Basin. The pictures on this link   https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/geysers-hot-springs/grand-prismatic-midway-geyser-basin/ are much better than mine, but I have included a few below.   As we walked around the Old Faithful complex (lodging, restaurants, visitors center, gift shop, …),  I remembered that my dad bought my sister and I little stuffed black bears with a chain when we saw Old Faithful as kids.    I loved it!   But, as yo...