Tomorrow morning I'll hopefully have time to post some pictures from Yellowstone. Woo!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Custer State Park Pictures
Wow! Another campground with WiFi! This is sort of amazing. So here are some more pictures that I didn't get a chance to post last time, these are from Custer State Park.
Tomorrow morning I'll hopefully have time to post some pictures from Yellowstone. Woo!
Tomorrow morning I'll hopefully have time to post some pictures from Yellowstone. Woo!
Cody, WY and Yellowstone National Park
After Custer, we made our way to Cody, Wyoming. It's a town about 2 hours outside of Yellowstone. We stayed at Panderosa Campground, which as I mentioned earlier, actually had wifi! That us why you got to see some of the real pictures we took, instead of my iPhone pictures. We went out to dinner that night to some place called La Canteras or something like that. I got fish tacos (they were pretty good, except that they gave me hard tacos instead of soft tacos like I asked for) and a raspberry margerita (so good). After that, we just hung out at our campsite until it got dark. Our tent was right next to a little river, it was nice.
The next day we started our drive to Yellowstone! When we got into the park, it was really foggy and rainy. The temperature was crazy, some places were really cold and some were really hot. There were areas that still had snow and ice on the ground. The first place we stopped was a geyser basin, and we saw a bunch of really cool hot springs and fumeroles. It was really pretty. We went to Old Faithful after that. It was okay, not as exciting as it's hyped up to be. The lodge area was really pretty though, and we perused the gift shop a bit before going outside to watch the geyser explode.
While we were driving around we saw a ton if buffalo and elk, but I was waiting to see something really cool like a grizzly or a moose or something. Unfortunaly we didn't have any luck with that on Tuesday. We drove to Canyon Village, which is where we were camping. Once we got set up, we drove over to the north rim of the grand canyon of Yellowstone. It was really pretty, but it started to rain as soon as we got there. We headed back to the campground, where we took showers and then made dinner (ramen and black bean burgers, mmm). That night it was freezing, and I woke up a lot because of the cold.
The next day we went to the visitors center, which was so awesome. It had a lot of cool diagrams and models and information in how yellowstone was formed and how it has changed, and information about the geysers and hot springs and all that stuff. Then we drove down to the south rim of the canyon to hike down to the falls. We took a trail called "Uncle Tom's Trail." It was so exhausting, and really made me realize how out of shape I am. It was part downhill trail and mostly really steep metal steps - 328 to be exact. Going down was fine, but coming back up was horrible. They were so steep and there were so many, and it's such a high altitude so it's much harder to breathe. I legit thought I was dying by the end of it, my whole chest hurt so bad and my throat was burning like it does after you run in the winter when the air is really cold. It was probably worth it though, because the view from the bottom was beautiful.
After that, we drove up to Tower Roosevelt, and I tried again to find some grizzlies, but no dice. We saw a bunch more buffalo, and some more elk.
We had lunch in the tiny part of yellowstone that's in Montana, right next to a pretty river. Then we went to Mammoth Hot Springs, which was pretty, but not as cool as it could have been because the springs weren't flowing.
On the was back to our campsite, we finally saw some grizzly bears. First we saw a momma and baby near in a tree, but they were really far off the road so it was difficult to see too clearly. Then a few miles down the road, we saw a big poppa grizzly walking around in the grass just off the road. He was so awesome, and I got a ton of pictures.
We went back to out campsite, did some laundry, and made some yummy burritos for dinner. We went to bed, and again it was freezing.
So now we're driving again. We went through the Grand Tetons, and spent a little time walking around Jackson. There were a bunch of cool galleries with Native American art and stuff. (I took some pictures with my phone for you Cecilia!) There were also a lot of weird shops with leather and fur and way too many taxidermied animals, I guess that's to be expected in the west. Now we're on the way to camp somewhere in Idaho.
The next day we started our drive to Yellowstone! When we got into the park, it was really foggy and rainy. The temperature was crazy, some places were really cold and some were really hot. There were areas that still had snow and ice on the ground. The first place we stopped was a geyser basin, and we saw a bunch of really cool hot springs and fumeroles. It was really pretty. We went to Old Faithful after that. It was okay, not as exciting as it's hyped up to be. The lodge area was really pretty though, and we perused the gift shop a bit before going outside to watch the geyser explode.
While we were driving around we saw a ton if buffalo and elk, but I was waiting to see something really cool like a grizzly or a moose or something. Unfortunaly we didn't have any luck with that on Tuesday. We drove to Canyon Village, which is where we were camping. Once we got set up, we drove over to the north rim of the grand canyon of Yellowstone. It was really pretty, but it started to rain as soon as we got there. We headed back to the campground, where we took showers and then made dinner (ramen and black bean burgers, mmm). That night it was freezing, and I woke up a lot because of the cold.
The next day we went to the visitors center, which was so awesome. It had a lot of cool diagrams and models and information in how yellowstone was formed and how it has changed, and information about the geysers and hot springs and all that stuff. Then we drove down to the south rim of the canyon to hike down to the falls. We took a trail called "Uncle Tom's Trail." It was so exhausting, and really made me realize how out of shape I am. It was part downhill trail and mostly really steep metal steps - 328 to be exact. Going down was fine, but coming back up was horrible. They were so steep and there were so many, and it's such a high altitude so it's much harder to breathe. I legit thought I was dying by the end of it, my whole chest hurt so bad and my throat was burning like it does after you run in the winter when the air is really cold. It was probably worth it though, because the view from the bottom was beautiful.
After that, we drove up to Tower Roosevelt, and I tried again to find some grizzlies, but no dice. We saw a bunch more buffalo, and some more elk.
We had lunch in the tiny part of yellowstone that's in Montana, right next to a pretty river. Then we went to Mammoth Hot Springs, which was pretty, but not as cool as it could have been because the springs weren't flowing.
On the was back to our campsite, we finally saw some grizzly bears. First we saw a momma and baby near in a tree, but they were really far off the road so it was difficult to see too clearly. Then a few miles down the road, we saw a big poppa grizzly walking around in the grass just off the road. He was so awesome, and I got a ton of pictures.
We went back to out campsite, did some laundry, and made some yummy burritos for dinner. We went to bed, and again it was freezing.
So now we're driving again. We went through the Grand Tetons, and spent a little time walking around Jackson. There were a bunch of cool galleries with Native American art and stuff. (I took some pictures with my phone for you Cecilia!) There were also a lot of weird shops with leather and fur and way too many taxidermied animals, I guess that's to be expected in the west. Now we're on the way to camp somewhere in Idaho.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Panderosa Campground, Cody, Wyoming
Holy shit! This campground has WiFi! Okay, so I'm going to take this opportunity to post some pictures off the camera. Yay!
Mt. Rushmore and Custer State Park, South Dakota
Custer State Park
Custer state park was really awesome. Before we went to our campsite we went to Mt. Rushmore, which was alright. It was kind of cool, but you have to pay to park there and then there were so many people, so we basically just took a few pictures and then peaced it. After that we walked around Keystone a little bit, which is super touristy and cheesey.
Then we drove up to our campsite, which took forever because it's like 20 miles off the highway and it's basically up this huge mountain. There were a bunch of really narrow one lane roads and tunnels, and huge rocks all over the place. It was really pretty, but kind of scary because we were really close the edge and it was along way down. We saw a bunch of buffalo which was really awesome! They were crossing the street in front of the car, and there was a few little baby ones too!
Once we set up camp, we decided to go for a hike. We drive down to the lake (which was so beautiful) and took the "Sunday Gulch" trail. It was SO intense. You had to climb all sorts of rocks and walk through the river and down stone steps that were in the water so they were slippery and the water was rushing down so fast and pushing you forward. It was 2.8 miles long, but the constant up hill, down hill, climbing over trees and rocks was exhausting. By the end of it I could barely feel my legs, but I managed to make it to the end, so I was proud of myself.
It rained that night as soon as we got back, which sucked. Everything got soaked, and it was really hard to get a fire going to cook dinner. Eventually we managed, and then just went to bed. It thunderstormed all night, too.
We left in the morning after eating some eggs and veg sausage, and headed to mystic hills campground a few miles outside of Deadwood.
Custer state park was really awesome. Before we went to our campsite we went to Mt. Rushmore, which was alright. It was kind of cool, but you have to pay to park there and then there were so many people, so we basically just took a few pictures and then peaced it. After that we walked around Keystone a little bit, which is super touristy and cheesey.
Then we drove up to our campsite, which took forever because it's like 20 miles off the highway and it's basically up this huge mountain. There were a bunch of really narrow one lane roads and tunnels, and huge rocks all over the place. It was really pretty, but kind of scary because we were really close the edge and it was along way down. We saw a bunch of buffalo which was really awesome! They were crossing the street in front of the car, and there was a few little baby ones too!
Once we set up camp, we decided to go for a hike. We drive down to the lake (which was so beautiful) and took the "Sunday Gulch" trail. It was SO intense. You had to climb all sorts of rocks and walk through the river and down stone steps that were in the water so they were slippery and the water was rushing down so fast and pushing you forward. It was 2.8 miles long, but the constant up hill, down hill, climbing over trees and rocks was exhausting. By the end of it I could barely feel my legs, but I managed to make it to the end, so I was proud of myself.
It rained that night as soon as we got back, which sucked. Everything got soaked, and it was really hard to get a fire going to cook dinner. Eventually we managed, and then just went to bed. It thunderstormed all night, too.
We left in the morning after eating some eggs and veg sausage, and headed to mystic hills campground a few miles outside of Deadwood.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
The Badlands are amazing! It's so beautiful there. The cliffs are huge and amazing and so pretty. We went for a hike, which was really intense. It was about 5 miles, first up one if the cliffs, then flat for a while, then down again. It was really amazing, and the views were incredible. I can't wait to post pictures from it.
After our hike, dinner, and hanging out for a while, we went to this astronomy thing which turned out to be really lame. I wanted to see some sweet stars, but the guy just had a stupid power point and then led a group sing along after thanking all of the veterans in the audience for being "stars." Very strange. We left shortly after that happened.
Overall, the badlands were gorgeous. I know I'm very behind, I have to pose about 2 other places we've been to, but I haven't had service in a few days. Hopefully I'll be able to do it soon, because were going to yellowstone tomorrow and I know I'll have a lot to post about that.
After our hike, dinner, and hanging out for a while, we went to this astronomy thing which turned out to be really lame. I wanted to see some sweet stars, but the guy just had a stupid power point and then led a group sing along after thanking all of the veterans in the audience for being "stars." Very strange. We left shortly after that happened.
Overall, the badlands were gorgeous. I know I'm very behind, I have to pose about 2 other places we've been to, but I haven't had service in a few days. Hopefully I'll be able to do it soon, because were going to yellowstone tomorrow and I know I'll have a lot to post about that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)