Gr@y & Blue Inaugural 08

After our camp breakfast, we repositioned from the Madison campground in Yellowstone to Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve in Idaho. We had a late camp lunch and then we went up to see the interpretive centre and learned about the early exploration of the craters and lava beds and then out to hike about 8Kms to see inside extinct cones and along patterns of lava flows.

 

 

We looked at maps in the evening as we would be going separate ways in the morning time, with the Reids moving south to Moab and Arches monuments and us going back towards Victoria. We will stay in the Tsawwaasen RV Park overnight and take the Sunday 7am ferry to the Island.

 

Gr@y & Blue Inaugural 07

5am rise. 5:45am commenced our return drive north to Lamar Valley. En route, just south of Mammoth Hot Spring and west of Bunsen Peak, we spotted and photographed 2 wolves.

Once at Lamar Valley, we saw a pack of 7. On our way back we saw another black bear (now 2) and three more coyote (one of which we had seen before). In Lamar Valley we also saw mountain goats, mountain sheep (male & female) and another grizzly bear.

Just before getting back to the campground, we saw another sow and 2yo cub, bringing out total grizzly bear sightings to 7! We had Lunch in Mammoth and we drove back to our Madison camp, stopping to see Obsidian Cliffs, and the Sheepeater Cliffs where we saw our first Yellow-bellied Marmot.

  

We also stopped at the boiling, gushing, steaming Norris Geyser Basin. For dinner, Johanne made delicious stuffed chicken breast, which we cooked over the fire in foil and enjoyed with quinoa and slaw. The day ended with fun fireside banter and stories with Reids.

 

 

Gr@y & Blue Inaugural 06

After a late start and poached eggs on toast, we went down to see the peaceful river by the camp site. We then drove to three sights that are en route between Madison campground and Old Faithful: Fountain Paint Pots, Grand Prismatic Spring (from Picture Hill) and another prismatic spring area, Biscuit Basin, which, in the 1950s exploded and sent biscuit shaped stones flying around.

 

There we saw the very beautiful Sapphire prismatic spring. We did some video tape to share, as it would be difficult to find enough words to describe the burping, steaming mud, and rainbow of coloured steam wafting from boiling pools.

Our super day of touring ended in West Yellowstone at an RV park that fairly charged us for just showers (there were none at the campsite) and Wifi (the campsite does not have Internet access), and then all cleaned up we went for dinner at Slippery Otter (for local fun). We didn't have a campfire as we arrived back at Madison camp quite late.

 

Gr@y & Blue Inaugural 05

Light snow was falling again in the morning time as Bob made our early espresso coffee, and then the sky was blue by the time we were sitting down to our poached eggs. We believe we are seeing a lot more than if we were traveling on our own, as Bob has three spotters and the Reids are not only excellent at spotting, they are also excellent at identification. We are also having a lot of laughs and fun. After breakfast we cleaned up and made lunch to go, and were out until about 6:30pm in the geyser area of Yellowstone.

Wow! In addition to Old Faithful, there was about 10K of boardwalk that took us to dozens more.

 

There were also some small prismatic spouts. We also visited the interesting interpretive centre and learned about the geothermic activity of the area. It is so much more amazing and geologically active then any of us imagined. By the time we had completed our circuit of the valley, we were very aware of the effect of the molten magma that was a couple of miles below the bubbling, spewing vents we were witnessing.

Near the interpretive centre there was a small grocery where we picked up a few more things for the next few days. We had a nice camp dinner, in part cooked over the camp fire, and Dave recounted some great horse camp stories from times he went out with his dad.

Gr@y & Blue Inaugural 04

We woke to light snow drifting down, but with blue sky to the south (our direction of travel today to Yellowstone Grand Canyon and Madison Campground). By mid day, the sky was blue with puffy white sparse cloud. There must have been a lot of snow here a short time ago, as it is still piled high in less exposed areas. Our Madison camp is super and after a camp lunch we drove back north to see the colourful Yellowstone Grand Canyon from the south (Artists Point) and a rainbow in the waterfall mist on the north rim. We enjoyed the geological interpretive centre at north rim Canyon Visitor Education Center and Bob photographed an osprey pair in and about their nest. We also saw Obsidian Cliff, Roaring Mountain and more wildlife. In addition to another grizzly bear (male), we saw more bison, sandhill cranes and others we had seen the day before. Our animal highlight today was a healthy fox, with a beautiful coat.

 

 

Our dinner was delicious campfire smokies and kale salad. While we were preparing dinner another camper came by for help with fire starter and he mentioned he was the one with the ancient looking teardrop trailer we had seen arriving earlier. He said it was from the 1940s and invited us to see it in the morning time. We went to our camp accommodations with a light snow falling.

Gr@y & Blue Inaugural 03

Dave was up early making coffee and out for a stroll above the camp, where we all went after our camp breakfast. We had a great night and an efficient morning routine. We are finding our "rig" to be just right for us! And, we are gradually tricking it out.

 

After our stroll up the ridge we re-positioned to Mammoth campground and after a camp lunch went for a walk around Mammoth Hot Springs (which were amazing in dazzling colour and wonderful pattern) and en route we saw the geothermal Boiling River, which was closed to hikers due to skeleton park staff and therefore minimal emergency response personel.

We then went for a little 40min drive to Lamar Valley that turned into a 4hr safari! The travel time difference reminded Bob and Yolanda of their Fairyland 16K walk in Bryce Canyon, Utah, which took about 8hrs due to the splendour. On the drive, we saw beautiful sights and several wildlife firsts. We also saw some animals we have seen before, such as Black Bear, Sandhill Crane, Elk, Deer, and Antelope. The new birds were Mountain Bluebird, Ruddy Duck, and Kestrel. The highlights were free-roaming Bison (including romping calves), a trio of coyote dining on the last tidbits of a recent kill, and seeing a Grizzley sow with yearling cub! That was special! Due to the unexpected safari we arrived back at Gardiner and ate out at "Raven Grill" instead of our planned campfire dinner. The delicious food, beautifully presented was an anniversary treat from the Reids, as April 30, 2017 is Yolanda & Bob's 23rd anniversary - Dave was Bob's Best Man. (Yolanda & Bob are reciprocating a treat dinner out for Dave & Johanne in a couple of days, as they were also married in 1994!)

Gr@y & Blue Inaugural 02

With the overhead fan on low, we slept well and had no condensation inside! Today we named our "rig"! Blue had been our new, blue Mazda CX-5, and now our T@G is Gr@y (for a few reasons, and even the spelling is for a few other reasons, including the Bird of Canada being Gray Jay). 

So, off we go in Blue & Gr@y! Our e.t.a. rendez-vous with the Lethbridge Reids is 4:30pm in Bozeman, Montana and then on to Mammoth Campground in Yellowstone.

We provisioned in Bozeman and a bit more in Livingston, and got our CB radio lingo in tune with the Reids' via walkie talkie. Mammoth campground was full so we drove back about 10K to Eagle Creek Campground, a forestry site high above Gardiner (which is just near Yellowstone's north park gate). The site was quiet, though we set up camp by a flowing creek. We didn't hear it in the night, but the Reids did, as we had our humidity fan on (which turned out not to be necessary in the drier climate). Once set up, we ate, by the light of Bob's bike light duct taped to his tripod, our warm rotisserie chicken (from Livingston) and salads with quinoa and then chatted until late in the warmth of the Reid's VW Eurovan.