Western Travels Summer 2017: The Detailed Recap
Ruby, here, taking over the Whompton blog! It's been about four months since we got back from the EPIC adventure out west and I rediscovered the play-by-play that we created at the end of each day. So here goes...
Day 1 - 6/24/2017
Day 8 - 7/1/2017
Day 1 - 6/24/2017
- Leave St Louis at 5:00a
- Stopped at rest area and saw a Great Horned Owl and Prairie Dogs
- Collected 43 of 50 license plates
- Slept in Wyoming in Rawlins @ Pronghorn Inn and Suites, which was surprisingly great!
- Left Rawlins for Grand Tetons National Park - Visitor Center
- Hike Taggart and Bradley Lakes Trail - beautiful wildflowers and views of Alpine Lakes
- Drove to Grant Village in Yellowstone - Saw first bison!
- THIRSTY mosquitoes and 40 minutes to register
- Set up camp at the H loop near the bathroom! - Learn how to use the camping gear
- saw Kepler Cascade
- Walked Geyser Hill
- Saw Old Faithful erupt around 8:45a
- Biscuit Basin and then had to abort the Mystic Falls hike because of fierce mosquitoes (this hike was recommended by the ranger because Fairy Falls was closed)
- Midway Geyser Basin and Grand Prismatic Spring (OMG. SO INCREDIBLE)
- Geysers flowing into Firehole River
- Lunch at overlook - South one stop
- Firehole Lake Drive - another visitor told us that Cone Geyser would erupt relatively reliably so we stayed to watch Cone Geyser
- Saw a marmot at Firehole Lake?
- tried to go to Fountain Paint Pots but parking lot was so full. Too many cars!
- Back to Old Faithful - saw it erupt again, watched the movie, Lola became a Junior Ranger, we read all the exhibits, saw Old Faithful erupt again, saw a bison by the Old Faithful Inn, like very close to the inn.
- Walked to Grotto and Morning Glory Pool
- Back to camp for dinner
- Failed to get to amphitheatre - but took nice walk by the campsites and lake instead - beautiful sunset!
- Played cards to stay awake to see stars--instead we all fell asleep.
- broke down camp after overnight rain
- Fountain Paint Pots - saw mud pots!
- Drove to Mammoth Hot Springs and saw a Gibbon Falls on the way on the side of the road. - Stopped in traffic because of construction
- walked down to see spring in the meadow
- Saw bison and elk
- Mammoth Hot Springs and Lower Cascade
- Walked up - Started to thunder and beelined to car as it started to pour to wait out the rain
- Drove to Wraith Falls - 1 mile walk - short, and lovely wildflowers
- too many people at Petrified Tree to go there
- Drove to Tower Falls - folks there reported a bear had just run through!
- Drove up the mountain - stopped at some overlooks - transitioned to high elevation ecosystems through Dunraven Pass
- Visitor Center at Canyon - Volcanoes!
- Checked in and people suck and want to change their reservations making everybody else wait...
- Set up camp and mosquitoes suck - We begin competition to kill them all - Scores so far: Ruby-8, Raina-6, Eric-4, Samantha-3 (in car)
- Move bison patty from campsite
- avert tent flood crisis - hope it works out
- dinner at Canyon Lodge - back to visitor center
- watch movie and played cards at Lodge
- Ranger program was supposed to be Pika Program - Instead we got disappointing "Living with Predators" because the ranger was called in last minute.
- depart to South Rim to Artist Point
- saw a crazy huge waterfall - Yellowstone Falls
- watched the sun reveal itself in the canyon
- hiked to Point Sublime - back to Artist Point and then Uncle Tom's Trail.
- Descended 300 steps to side of waterfall. Many steps back up!
- Hail! Small (bead-like). Brisk walk back to car
- Foggy at our campsite because of mist coming off waterfall
- ate lunch at overlook over Hayden Valley - birds, bison, wolf den (we were told there were 9 cubs)
- stopped at Sulfur Caldron - Mud Volcano - dragon mouth, Churning Cauldron, bison hanging out on mud geyser, Black Dragon's Cauldron, sizzling basin
- Drove to Fishing Village - visited visitor center, learned about birds
- Ranger warned about storm that was likely coming because the lights had flickered in the visitor's center
- Traveled to Storm Point trail on recommendation of ranger. IT WAS AWESOME. Meadows, WINDY along lake, beautiful forest, view of tall, snowy mountains with lake and sandy beach!, Lodgepole pines
- North Rim to view canyon and Upper Falls from top. Upper Falls is powerful! Lots of water
- North Rim Drive is packed so we skip and go back to campsite.
- Hail! Storms! - Sit in van. Krystal, Eric and Ruby sleep
- Cook Dinner in campsite - rice and beans
- Hang out in Lodge during rainy evening
- Drive North Rim to see Falls and that was about it - in bed at 9:00p.
- not raining! But it is wet
- Oatmeal breakfast and pack up all wet things
- broke down camp
- Saw a bear on side of road snacking on our way out of the park
- Stopped in Bozeman for Chipotle, Walmart, and grocery restock
- drove to Columbia Falls and stayed in Western Inn at Glacier -- it was AMAZING.
- Big rooms, beds for everyone, playground, laundry, refrigerator and they let us dry out all our gear (Which took no time because...well..it's a dry heat). And wifi!
- Departed after breakfast of nutrigrain bars and muffins at the hotel
- Drove into Glacier - Apgar Visitor Center.
- Ranger Leigh is the best ranger we have encountered yet (I hypothesized that she has worked at camp...)
- Day hikes
- Howe Lake - wildflowers, jumpshots, Darth Whompton returned -
- Lunch
- Rocky Point - stared at lack on rocks. I put my feet in
- Set up camp - loud and bountiful neighbors. Fit two tents very close (no fire)
- John's Lake Loop - beautiful forest -- the lake is NOT the highlight. Sacred Dancing Cascades were stunning, skipped rocks, sat by water, rapids were close. Turquoise water
- Walked along Lake McDonald and Village
- Dinner - eggs/breakfast burritos - Eggs are hard to cook on a stove. Hard to clean up from pan too.
- Raina is at 18.5 mosquito kills and is in the lead
- walked to Apgar Village - learned about boats for tomorrow
- Brushed teeth at Visitor Center
- Drove to Goat Lick and saw goats licking and running along mountain side
- Krystal narrowly avoids hitting a deer and manages to keep us on the windy mountain road. Go Krystal!
- (SPOILER ALERT) Harry Potter cast his human patronus - I slept in my hammock
Day 8 - 7/1/2017
- early start to get parked at Avalanche - Trail of the Cedars to Avalanche Lake - dramatically read poems on Trail of Cedars
- Beautiful alpine lake with waterfalls feeding it and then there was a grizzly bear walking up the shore that was not scared off by humans. - TOO CLOSE.
- But got away without too much drama and with the 20 other people that also saw the bear. - Beautiful views of mountains and creek on the trail
- Back to the campsite for campsite shuffle and lunch
- Paddled on Lake
- One 3 person kayak with Krystal, Lola, and Eric
- Two solo kayaks for Samantha and Raina
- One SUP for Ruby
- I made a sacrifice to the Glacier Nat'l Park gods when I jumped in for a refreshing dip into the Lake (on purpose!) and the screws that were holding my GoPro to my chest harness failed. BOO cheap plastic! Enjoy the GoPro and the family memories Lake McDonald
- Bald Eagle and nest sighted on lake
- Despite the offering to the glacier gods, the SUP on the Lake was my all time highlight of the trip.
- Junior Ranger at Apgar (Agpar? Agraba? Abracadabra?)
- Back to campsite to rest. - One tent swarmed with mosquitoes. Eric slaughtered 11 and doubled his running count
- Dinner - chickpea deliciousness (yay for mushrooms, crushed red pepper and fresh spinach)
- Huckleberry desserts at Eddie's - Server Ryan gave ideas for all the hikes and gave free huckleberries to Samantha
- were late to Ranger Stephanie's winter migration/hibernation ranger talk at Apgar Campground due to a typo on the schedule. Lovely view on the lake
- Ranger program on wildfires at Fish Creek (Lola was a tree on stage!)
- Stars/telescopes @ Apgar Visitor Center. Saw incredible views of moon (so detailed), Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and its rings, ring nebulas, learned about summer triangle, Vega and friends, satellites (those crossing S->N are usually military reconnaissance and surveying, E->W are communication), saw shooting stars and then it got cloudy and we got back to tents around midnight.
- also Lola did not remember going home due to sleep zombie state.
- break down camp @ Fish Creek and drove Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan's Pass. Lots of cyclists. Scary and beautiful drive
- Logan Pass-->Jr Ranger complete with Ranger Stephanie
- walked in SNOW to Hidden Lake Overlook
- Lunch watching others come down Hidden Lake trail and beautiful meadow with a ground school and a bee/hornet that indulged on Lola's granola bar
- Attempted to find parking at St. Mary's
- There is none - so we had a bright idea! We'll take shuttle from Rising Sun, waiting 30-40 minuts then not enough space on shuttle so we drove to the camground
- setup camp - campsite is very different from others--wide open, grassy plains-->beautiful views of mountains, no trees!
- gado-gado and setting up tents near ground squirrel holes
- drive to find St. Mary's falls trailhead--mostly succeed after an unsuccessful try
- St Mary's Falls is stunning (looks similar to Gorilla in WNC) and Virginia Falls is amazing! Refreshing feel of mist/wind off water
- peek at Jackson Glacier - it will be gone in 13 years...or less
- Ruby showers (wait about 20-30 minutes in line to do so) and then collapse in bed
- wake up and the site is gorgeous! Perfect temperature--oatmeal and views and WIND!
- drove to Many Glacier and hike to Iceberg Lake--lovely views, saw a grizzly, and two cubs, goats, and a moose and no pika.
- Swiftcurrent Motor Coach Inn fails Eric --bathroom is being cleaned, water fountain is being serviced
- rest in Many Glacier - hotel with view of water--read and sleep
- people are hangry and sleep deprived and discuss plans for 2 hours--then go back to campsite to eat extra rice and beans (and marshmallows) and early to bed.
- wake up and the mosquitos are visibly waiting on the outside of the tent to feast--and yet aren't so terrible when we do get out of tent
- Oatmeal and go! Drive to Canada--dodge cows on road that look very evil when looking at you and then sun head on
- Krystal waves at border patrol and then answers there are only five people in the car to which we all respond "SIX!"
- Canada lets us in anyway and we drive to Waterton Lakes. Information centre lady encourages us to do the Bertha Lake hike--a moderate hike
- Actually, that hike is mostly uphill. Lovely steep climb. Glad to make it when we finally do because we literally climbed a mountain
- Upper Bertha Falls is on the side of the mountain and is fantastic. The lake is gorgeous. Eat sandwiches by the lake and start trucking back down the mountain. Lola cried on the way up. We all otherwise cried internal tears. It was steep. Two hours to go up and an hour and a half to come back down.
- Sat by the lake with the wind and the water and super cool rocks and awesome views
- Krystal and Lola became Xplorers of Parks Canada
- Visited Prince of Wales Hotel--it is Scottish and they were having afternoon tea.
- Visited Red Rock Canyon--pretty and lots of people.
- Canadians drive slowly and sleep limit is slow at the park.
- re-enter US and eat at Two Sisters Cafe--finish the license plates with Hawaii and Rhode Island on the license plate map at the restaurant on the wall. WIN!
- come back to campsite and read and chill
- drive and drive and drive
- Chinese Buffet in Lewiston and Albertsons
- saw Devil's Tower!
- sleep at Spearfish Days Inn
- Lots of HPMOR-Stanford Prison Experiment and SPEW
- weird prison/airplane toilet in Montana Rest Area
- late start after showers and continental breakfast
- drive to Mt Rushmore -- line is LONG to get in so we take photos from the road and keep driving
- follow Iron Mountain Road through Pigtail Bridges--narrow tunnels are a bit nervewracking
- cross into Custer St Park -- confusion about whether we are supposed to pay? See bison and two coyotes stalking pronghorn and prairie dogs
- Wind Cave National Park - get tickets for 2:30 Natural Entrance Tour--eat lunch, watch film (and nap), look at exhibits
- Park Ranger Mike (who has been doing this for 27 years) is excellent! Shows us lots of boxwork and popcorn formations. Tells stories about surveyors getting lost, cave being 147 miles and they are discovering 2-3 miles per year and a guy who is married to his job (how is it?--ROCKY!) HA!
- Drive to Wall Drug--stop at Rest Area to cook dinner. It is hot. Should have noticed the shelters int he shade.
- Wall Drug is crazy. Much stuff none of us need. We take photos at the jackalope and the t-rex. Eat ice cream and leave.
- Onto the Badlands. Set up camp and went to evening program about bison!
- get up early -- hit trail by 7:30a
- hike Notch Trail (with a crazy ladder up and down), Window & Door trails, Cliff Point trail
- went to visitor center to avoid heat --watched movie, become junior ranger (1 of three for the day), ate lunch, and plotted afternoon
- learned about the Cold War at the National Minutemen Museum Historical Site
- Lola and Krystal become Junior Rangers (2 of 3 for the day),
- Missiles! Almost ending the world! So many close calls!
- Went to National Grasslands Visitor Center -- Lola, Krystal, and Samantha become Junior Rangers (3 for 3!)
- Watched a video and did pushups
- Left passport books so we had to go back!
- drove scenic drive through the Badlands. It's hot! Take photos at a few overlooks and see the yellow int he formations
- hang out at Lodge for about an hour
- Make dinner and watch storm roll in. Get in van because of lightning. Lots of wind and lightning
- Watch tents bow in the wind
- Sold double rainbow -- stunning! And a gorgeous sunset opposite the storm clouds and rainbows
- Cumulus mammatus clouds end the storm
- drive drive drive to Nebraska
- stay at Tina and Frank's and play lots of Heads Up and eat tacos
- Sleep in beds and depart for home the next morning.
- Drive to St Louis
- Ruby drives to North Carolina
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