Jackson and Wilson, WY

City park in Jackson, WY

A festival was going on in the park

Statues around town

Million Dollar Bar

Gros Vente Campground and the Grand Tetons

I moved from Mammoth Hot Springs Campground in Yellowstone NP to Gros Vente Campground in the Grand Tetons.  There were about 20 WINs who gathered here to explore and kayak.

The campground is campsites surrounded by scrub brush and sage.

You could see moose wandering through the campground daily.  We had not only this bull moose, but another bull moose, a female with two calves and a female with a single calf.

Arriving at Phelps Lake.

You could walk right out to this small waterfall which was on the trail to Phelps Lake.

I had hung back from the main hiking group and spotted not only this deer, but an elk.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the elk.

Phelps Lake was carved out by glaciers, thousands of years ago.

I had always wanted to kayak the snake river.

This sign did make me wonder what to expect.  

But I guess we can be considered highly skilled since I saw no real challenge on this stretch of the river.  I do understand it can get a little more challenging just past where we took out.

It is the middle of September and the trees are already starting to change color.

I prefer to kayak in warm weather, but will put on a jacket when necessary if that is the only option.

Beaver Pond Loop and Upper Loop, Yellowstone NP

The Beaver Pond Loop is a 6 mile trail which starts behind the Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge.  It winds up the hill and through a meadow before coming to a series of small ponds, never saw any beavers though.  Then through a patch of woods before trailing back down.

First thing we saw upon reaching the top of the hill was this elk.

There was a series of these small ponds.

There was this small wooden bridge which went across the end of the pond.

The next wildlife we saw was this grouse.

Then another young elk.

Even though we didn't see any bears (which we were warned by several other hikers that bears had been sighted earlier that day), it was a great hike.

When I was at the Grand Tetons earlier in the summer, I drove the entire lower loop, but didn't drive the upper loop.  This was the what I saw on my trip of the upper loop.

The cliff was named for the Shoshone Indians, who were also known as Sheepeaters.  This basalt cliff formed the vertical columns nearly 500,000 years ago.

Roaring Mountain

All alongside of the road were signs of the volcanic activity which is still going on today.

Built in 1886, this was the U.S. Army outpost for the cavalry soldiers assigned to protect the new park.

Wandering through Norris Basin

Fumeroles or steam vents are the hottest spots in the park, and have been registered at 280 degrees F.

Whale Mouth

Steamboat Geyser, which last erupted July 31, 2013.

The Lower Falls from Inspiration Point.

Looking downstream from Inspiration Point.  Notice the intense colors on the cliffs.

Tower Falls

These herds of buffalo (or American Bison) are great at stopping traffic along the road.

Beartooth Highway

I had been told Beartooth Pass was a beautiful scenic drive.  Although it was still a ways from where I was staying, I knew I would get no closer this year.  It was an all day event and I drove over 200 miles, but it was very scenic.  I'm glad I did it.

The Beartooth Highway runs through Gallatin National Forest.   Because of the time of year, most of the National Forest Campgrounds and Picnic areas were already closed for the season.

We did stop at one picnic area and wandered down to the ruins of the old flume and power station.  The flume and power plant were built in 1916 on the Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone River, but all that remains today are some piers of the flume and some concrete pillars from the power house.  Built by the Western Smelter and Power Company, it provided 250 KW of electricity to the nearby mines.  The power station only operated until 1925.

The only business on the route was this Top of the World Store.  They had water, drinks, snacks and gift items.  I found some socks to purchase.  Interestingly, they had no trash facilities.  It was pack it out yourself.  And their bathrooms were porta-potties.  I guess the garbage man doesn't run up here.

It was beautiful scenery.  Lots of high mountain lakes.

Never did figure out what this for.  Almost looks like a ski lift of some type, but this was not a ski area.  It just went down to the valley, with no indication there was any purpose at the bottom.

I think there is a valid reason they do not recommend taking RVs on this road.

Outside Red Lodge, MT, was the remains of the Smith Mine, part of the Bear Creek Coal Fields.  In 1947 an explosion in the Smith Mines killed 74 people and was Montana's worst mine disaster.  Because of this explosion many changes were made in the mining industry to make it safer.  This mine operated from around 1910 to 1953.

I made a large loop, going up the Beartooth Highway and returning to Yellowstone via the St. Joseph Scenic Byway.  A leisurely excursion, it took 12 hours to travel the 200 miles.  Lots of stops and of course lunch in Red Lodge.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Found a spot in Mammoth Hot Springs Campground in Yellowstone National Park.

I don't think there was a day went by I didn't see Elk wandering through the campground.

One day about a dozen females and their young decided to bed down in the field inside the campground.

Met these wonderful people from Lousiana.  Hi Don and Betty, see you in February.

The old headquarters building for Fort Yellowstone is now the visitor center.

A large cone which once spouted a geyser, or at least some visible activity.  Although it looks totally dormant, the ranger says there is still hot water which rises up to 15 feet inside the cone.

Palette Springs.  They say the hot spring activity changes all the time, so if you come back several years later, it just might look totally different.  The white is fairly recent lime deposits from the hot springs, while the yellow area shows current activity (the yellow is the deposit of microscopic life forms).  The grey is the front is older, past activity, the grey being dirt and such which has taken up residence on the lime deposits.

This butterfly decided to hitch a ride.

Some areas hadn't seen hot spring activity is some time.  The ranger said this area was very active last year.

An indication of how the area changes.  They had to block this trail only this spring.

Cleopatra Springs

Opal Springs.  This area is next to some of the ranger housing, and some years ago was a tennis court, before the hot springs became active in this area.

Although you don't see a lot of water, you can see some steam rising above the cliffs, so there really is hot spring activity in the area.

Now I'm on top of those cliffs and you can see the activity much better.

Overlooking old Fort Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge.

You can always tell when a European has imported their RV.  I don't think anyone in the US makes them like this. 

After some rain showers there were these wonderful double rainbows.  I could actually see the entire rainbow, but couldn't get pictures of the entire thing.