Grand Teton NP - Sept. 14 - 17

Click for photos

One would think 3 days of rain would give me time to catch up but there always seems to be something to do and see even in the rain. We just finished up our 4th day in Grand Teton NP. Coming in early on the 14th with bad weather on the way, we had our pick of some great sites at Signal Mtn. Campground. Folks from OR packing up to leave flagged us down, told us their site was the best and that we should take it. We did and it is wonderful! We have our own path through the back to a spectacular view of Jackson Lake and the Tetons and a decent amount of privacy in an intimate campground. 

The first day was grand with sun and views and then the rain and cold moved in. Regardless, we’ve got some short hikes in, seen great wildlife (bison, elk, deer, fox, coyote, moose), found picnic and bird hotspots, visited the Clark Thomas Discovery & Visit Ctr., eaten out too much and got some shopping done (mostly food) in Jackson.

More photos

Ellen gave me a tip about the Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve. Up until this morning, the area was closed due to increased bear activity. Harry’s knee is giving him more trouble so I planned to take a quick hike until I met rangers who said bears were seen on the trail 20" earlier. Having neglected to bring bear spray, I immediately lost interest in a solo hike. Instead, wimp that I am, I signed up for a guided hike on Saturday. Noisy but safe.

We plan to stay on at least till Sunday with the hope of some sunny days.

Yellowstone National Park - Sept. 11 - 13

Click for photos

Coming into Yellowstone from the NE was spectacular. Just 6 miles from the entrance the night before, we were able to spend time in the Lamar Valley where we saw the most wildlife including several wolves. Although we didn’t know at the time, this area turned out to be our favorite. In hindsight, we should have tried to get a campsite at Pebble Creek, the most NE campground, and spend more time here. Instead, we had already made reservations at Canyon CG, a tight, oddly designed area that we only went back to when it was time to sleep.

More photos

Yellowstone is diverse, beautiful, awesome and should be on everyone’s bucket list. The photos describe best. The weather was perfect. What kept us from staying longer was the unexpected crowds of people, traffic and campground sites that were zooy. Harry’s knee was also giving him enough pain that hikes were difficult. There doesn’t seem to be an off season. Once the kids are back to school, large groups of foreigners plan trips and then the campgrounds start closing mid to late September.

Along the Beartooth Scenic Hwy. - Sept 10

Click for photos

A photo journal.

Drive to Cody - Sept. 9

Click for photos

Devil's Tower - Sept. 7 - 8

Click for photos

Devil’s Tower perhaps best known from Close Encounter of the Third Kind, was a great stop to rest for a couple days. The tower is sacred to many tribes and hiking the base we saw many prayer clothes tied to trees. There were also several rock climbers making their assent. A ranger told me there is a shortcut they can take making a 4-5’ jump across a crevasse to a section called the Meadows where they can walk to the top. Right!

Wind Cave NP & Custer SP in SD - Sept. 6

Click for photos

We decided to chance leaving Iowa on Sunday of the long holiday weekend and picked Wind Cave in SD because there are few services. This wouldn’t be the type of CG for weekenders. Perfect choice for us. The CG was nice and it was here that we learned from Ranger Mike that there are no buffalos in the US. Forget the buffalo nickels. They are bison! The herd at Wind Cave is tightly controlled, DNA tested and said to be 100% pure bison. Here and in Custer State Park, we got into some large herds making driving down the road both exciting and challenging.

The cave itself was a bit of a disappointment. Having gone to Carlsbad Cavern in NM several years back, most caves would pale. Wind Cave is dark, dank and with narrow passages. What is unique to this cave is the box works structure (see photo) but there isn’t any of the limestone caves and rock formations that you see in other caves.

Part 2 - Sept. 4 - 5

Click for photos

After 1424 miles, we came into Iowa on a Thursday before the long Labor Day weekend. This complicated finding a place to stay. After trying a couple campgrounds, we grabbed a spot on Clear Lake for the night and then departed early to a county park, Oak Grove CG, up on a hill in Hawarden, a better choice with a nice breeze and views of a farmer rolling his alfalfa.

Iowa, land of corn and soybeans, is beautiful. Many of the fields have labeling of Pioneer, Asgrow and others which are some of the GMO seeds from Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta but there also seems to be a growing movement of farmers turning back towards non-GMO seed.

Tomorrow will take us through the Badlands of SC and into the Black Hills.

Westward X-Country Trek - Sept. 1 - 3

Click for photos

Trading sea for land, we are off again heading west to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks in Wyoming. The Fishers led the way for the first two days to Seneca Falls, NY and Elkhart, IN. Had I done my research, Seneca Falls would have been a several day stay visiting the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Next time!. In IN, we parted ways with T & J hoping to cross paths again down the road in Wyoming.

Last Leg Home!

Click for photos

All about birds in Cape May

Click for photos