Back to the Interstate

28 degrees this morning, coldest morning yet.  But, after all, it is the end of September and we’re still at 6,000 feet in elevation, so this is to be expected.

We left our nice little campsite and headed down towards civilization, stopping briefly at Mores Creek Summit again to check emails.  The mountains have been enjoyable for the last couple of weeks but now we will head down to more populous areas as our volunteer work approaches.  I do appreciate a twisty mountain road more than the Interstate, but to the Interstate we go.

Our destination for today, after stopping at a Walmart in Mountain Home for supplies, was Bruneau Dunes State Park.  This showed up on a few different searches as a place to visit.  Kind of an odd geological feature, this park features several sand dunes situated in an area of dry buttes, sagebrush and cheat grass.  One dune, creatively named Big Dune, is the tallest single-structured dune in North America, so it earns an honorable mention in our World’s Largest collection.  It rises 470 feet above the desert floor.

During our conversation with Carla at the Visitor Center, we learned that this park is a bucket-list item for a lot of people, particularly families with teens.  The thing to do here is to slide down the dunes on special sand sleds, or on something very closely resembling a snowboard. And, conveniently, you can rent said sleds at the visitor center for fifteen bucks a pop, or twenty five for two.

We paid our twenty five bucks and drove to Big Dune.  May as well go big or go home.  Little Dune is also a favorite sliding hill, but it is only 70 feet high.

One thing that became apparent immediately is the need for a chair lift. Climbing a 470-foot dune takes a lot of time and energy.  After nearly 20 minutes of carrying the sleds all the way to the top, it took all of twenty seconds to reach the bottom.  And the wax that needs to be applied to the bottom of the sled before each run wears off after the first 10 feet, resulting in a complete stop if the slope isn’t steep enough.  I suspect a better slope would have been the back of the dune, which was steeper and longer, but that would mean a climb back up the steep side of the dune.

After one unspectacular run down Big Dune, we decided to give Little Dune a try.

Turns out this was much better.  It didn’t take near as long to get to the top and the slope was such that it made for good sliding.  We did this hill several times.

As it was now late in the day we decided to camp here.  We had already done a fair amount of driving today and the campground had a shower.  Sliding down the dunes gets sand ​everywhere.​  First order of business after selecting a campsite, taking a shower to rinse the sand off.  And then cleaning all the accumulated sand out of the RV.

Changes of Plans

Late last night we could smell the faint smell of smoke. It reminded us of campgrounds in Michigan.  Lots of campers clustered in a small area, each with a smoky campfire, which combine to create some pretty foul air, if the wind is not blowing.  This morning, as it grew light, we could see the pall of smoke in the low-lying areas, kind of like the mist of the morning that doesn’t burn off with the sunrise.

Maybe that’s why we were the only ones in the campground, because of the smoke.

Once we left, we found out just how good of a decision it was to stay there.  Everything between this campground and Lowman was roped off, closed due to the fire activity.  The one campground in Lowman that was still open appeared full.  If we had continued on, we probably wouldn’t have found a place to stay for the night.

We took off towards Lowman, hoping to catch a hot spring on the way.  Bonneville Hot Springs was closed, and when we reached Kirkham Hot Springs, there were almost a dozen cars in the lot beside the road.  We parked and checked it out.  There are several natural pools here, two of them having a hot waterfall pouring into them.  Unfortunately, the place was crawling with people, some of them having brought their music and their beer, and, in one case, even their dog.  There were signs expressly forbidding dogs, but, of course, that doesn’t apply to MY dog.

I’ll pass.

I’m not sharing a hot spring with someone’s dog.

Maybe Sunday morning was not the best time to visit this location. We moved on.

We arrived in Lowman and stopped at the ranger station.  It’s closed on weekends, but has signs outside about the status of the area wildfires.  We happened to meet a woman who also stopped there in her fire service truck and talked to her for a bit.

We asked her about the areas we were looking to visit.  “You probably don’t want to go there,” she said of the entire area.

Well, that changes things.  We had planned to spend the last few days in that area because we were there three years ago and wanted to explore it further.

New plan: continue heading south on ID-21.  Perhaps visit some of the state parks and national monuments before arriving at our work assignment on Friday.  For today, we at least wanted to head far enough south to pick up cell coverage so we could watch our church service and communicate with family.  Cell coverage here in the mountains is non-existent.

We took off on ID-21, called the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway.  For some of the distance, it could probably be called the Blackened Stick Scenic Byway because of the fire damage, but by the time we passed Lowman, we were out of the fire-damaged area.

ID-21 reminds me of another very curvy road, called Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee, a favorite road for motorcyclists because of all the curves.  This road could rival Tail of the Dragon but it’s a lot longer and a lot higher elevation.  It’s a beautiful drive, with a few turnouts giving a view of the mountains and valleys.

At one point we were rounding a corner when my phone lit up and started pinging like mad.  At the same time, Deb spotted a wooden sign that said “Phone Hotspot - Verizon”.  There was a turnout there so we stopped. Sure enough, cell coverage, only on that corner.  We parked the RV far enough off the road and stayed for a while, first streaming the church service, then making some phone calls, texts, and emails to family members.

What a great place to stream a church service.  If we can’t be there in person, then we can be in the great cathedral of God’s creation with a fantastic view, listening to a sermon from Romans 1 about (among other things) how we have no excuse for ignoring/suppressing the Truth because God reveals himself through his creation for everyone to see.

A little farther down the road, we stopped at Whoopin-Um-Up campground to make lunch.  We also hiked for 2.5 miles on the trails there as we have been sitting most of the morning.  These trails go through some fire-damaged areas that are starting to re-establish themselves.

The trail we were on also goes rogue for a while and we felt we were bushwhacking as we were following the blue blazes.  It was well marked but there was no evidence of an established trail around the markings.  But it was a good hike and got the legs moving.

A few miles further, at the Mores Creek Summit, we again picked up a cell signal, so we stopped in the parking lot at the summit to call other family members and to view a teaching video for the Romans Bible Study we are working on.

The last few Sundays have been like this: not so intense on the hiking and outdoor activities and an effort to keep up on the teachings and to connect with family.  Even we nomads need a day of rest.  And an occasional working Internet connection.

Just before we reached the summit we passed an area that looked like a good possibility for camping.  So we drove down into it and decided to stay here for the night.  Nestled along Summit Creek and inside a few switchbacks of the road, it just begged to be a camp.

This RV has nearly everything packed into a small package, but one thing sorely lacking is an oven.  So any meals have to be made on the stovetop and the microwave.  And any baking?  Forget it.  So we had to get a little creative.  A few years ago, we purchased a stovetop oven and have used it to do normal oven stuff, although on a much smaller scale and a circular shape.  This evening, Deb wanted to make brownies.  The mix called for an 8x8 pan, but we have a round oven with a hole in the middle.  So she divided the mix up into smaller batches, put it into muffin molds, and put that in the Omnia Oven.  The result: Brownie Bites.  A great snack for when we run out of ice cream.  My contribution in all this: I helped to eat them.

Fourth of July

It got a little chillier than expected last night, down to 33 degrees.  I didn’t have the furnace set to turn on so it was 47 in the RV when I got up.  We used a fair amount of our dwindling propane supply to make it comfortable.  When things were warmed up and the dishes were washed, the propane gauge read 3%.  Probably ought to get some fairly soon.

There’s an abundance of trails around here.  Lots to do if you hike, bike, kayak fish, and probably some other activities.  The Fourth of July trail was recommended by the Forest Service person and it appears to be a popular hike.  Internet research indicated that early arrival is recommended to procure a parking space.

The one hitch about this trail: it’s 10 miles down a dirt Forest Service road.

We drove that Forest Service road.  Average speed: 10 miles per hour.  It took us an hour to navigate that stretch.  But in that 10 miles, there was a nearly 2000-foot elevation gain.  I noticed that especially coming out as I had to use the brakes nearly constantly.  We got a few strange looks from people we passed by.  They probably don’t see a motorhome on this washboard dirt road very often.

Despite the bumps and the swaying of the RV, it was a beautiful road.  The Fall colors around here are at their peak and the Aspen trees are aflame with color.  Very enjoyable watching this, in spite of dodging potholes and large stones.

We also saw another area that set the trees aflame: fire-damaged sections.  Even some of these were pretty in their own way as the Aspen trees had sprung up amongst the sticks and snags that were still standing and lent their color to the burned-out landscape. 

We did find a place to park the RV in the almost-full lot and set out on the Fourth of July trail.  Destination: Washington Lake, nearly six miles round trip.  A gradual and steady uphill climb, nearly 1000-foot gain.  But we were treated to two lakes nestled among the peaks, and spent some time enjoying and having something to eat at both of them.

Fourth of July Lake

Washington Lake

It took us almost four hours to do the 5.8-mile distance, including resting and eating at Washington Lake.  It took us another hour to drive the 10-mile dirt road back to Highway 75.  We drove back into Stanley to load up on propane, diesel fuel and groceries.  I paid 80 cents per gallon more than usual for diesel fuel, but this is the only game in town and they can set the price where they want.  It turns out that a communication problem between the propane guy and the cashier resulted in an undercharge of roughly the extra amount I paid for the diesel. I figured this out after we had already left.

We headed out of Stanley on Highway 21 towards Lowman, hoping to find a camping spot between here and there.   Just a few miles out of town the forest became a moonscape of blackened sticks, and smoke could still be seen in the distance from several areas.  This is the still-active Wapiti fire, which has burned over 125,000 acres so far.  We stopped at a roadside picnic area to make dinner and to consider our options.  Lowman has a few fires nearby, and some of the other areas we would like to visit in the Sawtooth mountains also have active fires.  So we’re not sure what we’re going to do. 

We moved on towards Lowman, as the fire maps indicated an area of the forest unaffected by fire between here and there.  All of the side roads and campgrounds were closed for a while, until we emerged from the fire-blackened areas.  We stopped at the Bench Creek Campground, figuring that we may not find anything further up the road.  So we’re camped here for the night.  Who knows what tomorrow may bring.

Soaking in the River

It was a cloudless morning, just like the last several.  Somewhat cool, 39 degrees when I got up this morning.  After being driven out of the Bighorn Mountains by a blizzard, the weather has been fantastic, ideal for the outdoor stuff we have been doing.  And it turns out, a chilly morning was ideal for what was to come.

We left the campsite and followed the Salmon River through a narrow canyon that would widen occasionally for a small farming operation or a small town.  Very picturesque drive.  We stopped in one of those small towns, Clayton, with a population of 9.  Near as we could tell, the only operating businesses were a saloon and a tiny post office.  But they had decent cell service, so we sat by the side of the road for a bit and did any Internet-related stuff.  Deb also mailed a post card.

Deb used the time to research the location of some hot springs.  There are a couple around here that are not very well documented and we figured out that one of them was near the town of Sunbeam, which is really more of a ghost town.  Sunbeam’s heyday was around 1910, when mining was big here.  There was a dam built across the Salmon River to power the city which ruined the salmon fishery above the dam.  The dam was dynamited 20 years later to restore the salmon runs and the Salmon River is now designated a wild and scenic river.

We found the hot spring a few hundred yards west of Sunbeam.  A wide spot in the road and a sign marks the location.  Two recycled tubs and a bunch of natural pools are accessible by a scramble down the embankment.  The water in these pools range from way-too-hot to river-cold.  In the chill of the morning, the hotter pools were throwing off lots of steam into the air.

We changed into swim gear and found a pool that was just about right.  The soak was fantastic.  Especially when the air temperature was 39 degrees. What fun finding a little natural gem like this.

We tested the tubs, but the water was just too hot to be comfortable.  The rocky pools was where it was at.

Once we got out and changed, we figured out that the Custer Motorway, which we debated taking yesterday, comes out here, in Sunbeam.  We really had no agenda for today so we drove in to investigate, as this end of the road looked better than the other end.

This road winds through a very narrow canyon, following the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River for quite a distance.  After a few miles we began to see enormous piles of rocks that didn’t look very natural and at 10 miles in was a historic site, a dredging operation that started when gold was discovered here.  The river was dredged by the largest self-powered dredge ever to operate in Idaho.  The dredge dug out rock and recovered gold by washing and separating the rock, dirt and gold.  The big rock piles we saw on the way in were the tailings from this operation.

There are tours of this massive machine daily, but only from Memorial Day to Labor Day so we just had to look at it from the outside.

A couple miles farther up the road is the ghost town of Custer.  Once a bustling mining town, Custer became a ghost town in 1910.  Only 7 buildings remain but some of those buildings have been preserved and can be toured between--you guessed it--Memorial Day and Labor Day.  So the buildings were all boarded up for the winter, but a lot of the mining equipment is still scattered about.

We left here and drove the remainder of the way into Stanley, which is at the crossroads of three scenic byways.  We noted one additional hot spring on the way, in case we wanted to come back for another soak.

We stopped at the information center in Stanley, and the girl there was either uninformed or unwilling to part with information about additional hot springs in the area.  The gal at the Forest Service office three miles down the road was much more helpful.  Turns out we found the two natural springs that they would recommend.  Most of the others are owned and run by commercial enterprises or resorts

We noted earlier that Redfish Lake looked like a good kayaking destination and the gal at the Forest Service office confirmed that.  So this was our next stop, paddling around in Lower Redfish Lake, and then, after making dinner, more padding in Redfish Lake.  Beautiful views of the Sawtooth Mountains from the kayaks, and a great way to close out the day.

All the campgrounds around Redfish Lake were full as it is now Friday night and the weekend crowds are coming in.  So we found a site at Sunny Gulch Campground, just down the road from Redfish Lake.

Cowpokes

When the day dawned, I finally got to see what this area we spent so much time driving into looked like.  The map said we were next to Fish Creek Reservoir, but it appears this reservoir is nearly empty, save for a small puddle at the bottom.  There is a dam across the way from us but it is sticking way out of the water.  The boat ramp branches from the parking area where we camped, but ends a few hundred feet from the water.

I heard a quad go tearing by on the road just after I got up and then I heard the lowing of cattle as Deb was taking a shower.  Looking out the window, there were a few hundred head of cattle being herded by the guy on the quad, many of them clumping their way right next to the RV.  I never dreamed I would be stuck in the middle of a cattle drive.

We left our spot just after the last strays had disappeared around the bend in the road.  We caught up to a bunch of cows and had to slow down for a few on the road, and even herded a few of them in the right direction with our RV.

You’re welcome.

Ten miles of dirt road and twenty miles of pavement brought us back to Craters of the Moon National Monument.  This is known for its vast expanse of lava rock and volcanic activity, which gives a very other-worldly look and was avoided by early explorers including Lewis and Clark because it appears so desolate.

In terms of anything volcanic, this place has it all, including cinder cones, craters, frozen lava flows, lava tube caves, and the like.  We climbed a cinder cone, hiked amongst some huge craters, and peered into some of the lava tube caves.  Most of the time, we were just hiking on either loose black volcanic gravel or large flows of former lava.

We debated staying here for another night. This area is designated an international dark sky park and it is great for star viewing.  We stood outside last night at the reservoir and gazed at the stars for a while.  With no lights anywhere near, we could plainly see the Milky Way and so many other stars that are obliterated by the light pollution where we live.  So cool.

Deb and I are reading through Genesis and just finished the account of Abraham.  If God would have promised him offspring that numbered like the stars in the sky in our day, he would have looked up in the sky, counted the several dozen stars he could make out, and would have been somewhat impressed.  However, the entire earth was a dark sky area in his day, so it appeared much like we could see last night, where the sky was ablaze with countless stars.

And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5)

When you put it in context, the promises become even more amazing.

We thought about staying, but we decided to move on.  We drove a couple hours north on US-93, eventually ending up in Challis, where we made dinner by the city park.  We debated taking the Custer Motorway, which twists and turns up out of Challis through a couple of ghost towns and over a mountain pass, but it was not recommended for large vehicles because of the slope and washboarding, so we drove south on State Highway 75, stopping for the night at Deadman Hole Recreation Site, a small campground along the Salmon River.  It’s a beautiful drive through a narrow canyon.  And we are parked right along the river.  Looks like a great place to spend the night.

Continuing West

The area in Idaho immediately outside of West Yellowstone and continuing to the south is a beautiful area.  We’ve seen it referred to the Island Park area on several brochures.  Island Park is actually a town along this route.  Its claim to fame is that it has the longest “Main Street” in the world, at 33 miles long.  Yet the town has less than 300 people and is only about 500 feet wide in most locations.  The town was incorporated by owners of the many lodges and resorts along U.S. Route 20 in 1947, primarily to circumvent Idaho's liquor laws that prohibited the sale of liquor outside of city limits.

Since we drove through this town, we will add it to our World’s Largest collection.

This area is definitely worth coming back to.  Lots of outdoor opportunities here, including some of the best angling in the country, lots of backcountry trails for hiking, horseback riding, and ATV riding, and lots of great dispersed campsites.

Deb did another one of her Turn Here! calls when she spotted a sign for Big Spring.  This became our first stop of the day.  Big Spring is the primary source of Henrys Fork of the Snake River and produces over 120,000 gallons of crystal clear water each day.  It is also known for the large rainbow trout that congregate near the bridge over the river and wait for people to feed them.  We took a few crackers along and were throwing bits of cracker into the water and watching the fish snatch then from the surface.  We also walked around Johnny Sack’s cabin that is situated on the spring, but it is closed for the season, so no looks inside.  We’re seeing more and more of that... places shutting down for the Winter.

We took State Route 47 and stopped at Upper Mesa Falls and Lower Mesa Falls.  This road is probably one of the most beautiful roads I have driven in a long time as it winds through a canyon following Henrys Fork.  This is a hidden gem as I had never even heard of it before.

Ok, maybe not so hidden.  We arrived at Upper Mesa Falls about the same time as three school busses and shared the view with a whole crowd of middle schoolers.

Lower Mesa Falls could be viewed either from the end of a 1-mile trail (which we did) or from an observation point high on the canyon wall (which we also did).  Both offered amazing views of Lower Mesa Falls from rather far away.

As we continued driving, the route eventually climbs out of the canyon into an entirely different landscape, that of flat rangeland and large irrigation circles.

We noticed  the restaurant listings on an exit on US-20 had a Dairy Queen listed and both of us had a hankering for an ice cream fix, so we stopped there for some ice cream.  The chill of this morning had turned into mid-80’s heat, so ice cream really hit the spot.

Since we’ve been out in the wild for several days, it was time for some re-stocking, and Idaho Falls had a Costco and a Walmart.  The Costco gas station was one of the few in the country serving up diesel so we topped up on fuel also.  After these essentials we parked the RV downtown along the riverwalk, made some dinner, and took a bike ride.  Idaho Falls is named for the waterfall that divides the downtown and it has several miles of greenway bike trail along the river.

A major icon in the skyline is the Mormon Temple.  I think they intended it that way.

Deb found a dispersed camp site in the direction of our next intended visit.  A small campsite on Fish Creek reservoir, about two hours’ drive from Idaho Falls.  So we headed there.  We made a stop at Craters of the Moon National Monument to see if there were any campsites available as it was quite dark, but it was all full.  Google Maps said that Fish Creek was another half-hour west. Turns out the last 10 miles were dirt roads so it took us nearly an hour an a half to get here.  

It’s dark here and the stars are amazing.

Leaving Yellowstone

Thirty degrees when I got up this morning.  Good layer of frost on most surfaces.  A reminder that the seasons are marching towards Winter, faster at these higher elevations.  Also a reason we’re burning through our propane supply.  I’ll probably have to pick up some more in the next few days.

We took leave of our lovely camping spot and headed back into the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park.  First stop, after dropping off a postcard in Grant Village, was Old Faithful, not that we were dying to see Old Faithful spout off but we wanted to take the overlook hike behind the geyser.  My impression was the same as that of 25 years ago.  A vast parking lot serving a small city.  We arrived just before the next scheduled appearance of the geyser, so we waited the four minutes or so until it erupted.  Us and a few thousand other people.

It erupted right on schedule, accompanied by a chorus of camera clicks.  I wonder just how many pictures are taken each time Old Faithful erupts.  I added a couple more.

We hiked the overlook trail, which offers a higher view of Old Faithful and the surrounding area

I also had a view of part of the massive parking lot which was really filling up since we got here. This was just one section of one parking lot.

Maybe things will be quieter once we get to other points along the road away from Old Faithful.

Wow, were we wrong.  We were going to hike to Mystic Falls, but the parking lot and the trailhead were closed so we drove up the road to Midway Geyser Basin.  The Grand Prismatic Spring is here and we wanted to take a look.  The parking lot doesn’t allow large vehicles, not that we would fit anyway since it was full, so we parked at a crazy angle by the side of the road and hiked in.  Fist stop was the overlook.  A platform about 15 feet wide with 50 or so people all jockeying for that perfect shot or selfie.  I managed to get my time next to the railing to take my picture.

We were able to add a couple things to our Worlds Largest collection in Yellowstone.  The above picture is the world’s largest hot spring and the adjacent geyser, Excelsior, is the world’s largest geyser.

We stopped in the parking lot of  Excelsior, actually found a space big enough for the RV after waiting in line for 15 minutes and spent a little time walking the boardwalks around Grand Prismatic and Excelsior.  You get a better picture from the overlook, but being close by is cool also.

Every point of interest we have been to has been crowded.  And this is mid-week in September.  I can’t imagine what it must be like during high season.  I feel like a foreigner as the majority of people aren’t speaking English.  The majority is Chinese.  I figured out later that it’s perhaps because many Chinese have some time off for the annual moon festival and a good percentage of them ended up here.

We made for one or two other points of interest but their parking lots did not allow large vehicles so we moved on, eventually exiting the park at the west entrance.

About 25 miles or so west of the west entrance, we stopped for the night at Henrys Lake, finding a few apparent campsites along the shore.  Most of these sites had a nasty slant to them so we ended up in the large lot by the boat launch.  This lot has a vault toilet with a feature I have not seen before: art.  Kinda hits you in the face when you open the door.

The area around the lake is mostly dry grassland, and farther out you are in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.  We passed quite a few decent dispersed camp sites on the way to the lake.  This one appears to be a bit more popular and better known.  Two other RVs pulled in after we did and now the parking lot looks like a campground.  So much for seclusion.

Room With a View

There are probably a lot of other areas of Grand Teton National Park we could explore but we felt the urge to move on.  Looking at our tracking history, we seemed to have covered quite a bit of ground.

So we left our gravel parking lot, so conveniently located, and headed north.

At Colter Bay Village we topped off with diesel fuel and drove to the campground to dump the waste tanks and fill with fresh water.  The cashier could not get the credit card terminal working so our ten-dollar dump fee turned out to be free.  Deb also mailed a postcard (remember those) in what turned out to be our last action in Grand Teton National Park.

We knew that Yellowstone was going to be much harder for finding places to stay.  Seems like they have all but rolled up the sidewalks for the winter.   Most of the major campgrounds are closed and the few that are open are full.  So we thought we would try the dispersed campsites along Grassy Lake Road, which is between the Tetons and Yellowstone, just outside the south entrance.

Deb researched this online and found out that these campsites, which are first come, first served, usually fill up by mid-morning.  Since it was now mid-morning, we may have a chance.

The sites are arranged along the road every mile or so, sometimes two or four sites together.  Camps 1, 2, and 3 were full but camp 4 looked like it had an empty site.  I drove into the very narrow access road and talked to the guy already parked there in a pickup camper.  Yes, the second site was open and he helped me get my RV turned around to I could back into the designated spot.  Not an easy task but once we were parked we could see how beautiful this site was.  High on a hill overlooking the Snake River, we have a great view of the valley below and the mountains beyond.  This whole area had a forest fire in 2016, so there’s a lot of dead stuff around, but looking the other way, over the valley, it’s a great view.

Mr. Pickup Camper told me that he has seen a bull moose every day walking along the river and he also showed me a video of a grizzly bear loping along on the other side of the river.  So far we’ve seen neither, but one can only hope.

We took a long walk along the road here, just to enjoy the area and the coolness of the morning and then had lunch with this as a backdrop.  Quite amazing.

After lunch we drove into Yellowstone, stopping in Grant Village to have our kayaks inspected.  This guy actually looked at the kayaks.  It will be another twenty bucks a boat to put them in the water here, but we’re not sure if we will do that. 

We went to the West Thumb Geyser Basin and walked the Lake Overlook trail.  This gave a great view of the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake.

We arrived back just in time to see a large tour bus parked next to our RV, disgorging an entire load of Chinese tourists, all coming to see the geyser basin.  This was a reminder that the national parks are very much a destination for foreign tourists, so much so that there needs to be signs instructing how to use such things as Western toilets:

We strolled around the geyser basin ourselves, probably showing up in the background of many Asian selfies.

Interesting that these pools of bubbling water didn’t smell near as much of sulphur as those in Thermopolis.

We drove back to our campsite, which we reserved by leaving a tablecloth and a couple of chairs.

So we had dinner with probably one of the best views of the trip, and certainly the most secluded.

One thing we discovered was that there were plenty of other people looking for somewhere to camp for the night, only they were coming by a little too late.  This was rather entertaining at times, but I felt sorry for those poor chaps who may not find a good place to park for the night.

One family came in a 30-foot rental RV. They came in the access drive and asked me if I knew of spots farther down the road.  I told him the ones that I saw on our earlier walk were all full.  He then attempted to turn the RV around in this narrow space.  Failing that, he backed up the access drive, and I heard a thunk as the RV contacted a tree as he was backing out into the road.  He disappeared farther down the road, but came by in the other direction about 15 minutes later.

A guy towing an Airstream trailer actually managed to turn around and a few people came by in cars, searching for a spot for the night.

The entertainment stopped when it started to get dark.  Maybe we're just easily entertained.

Tomorrow we will leave this beautiful place, spend the day in Yellowstone, and look for somewhere to camp outside the west entrance.  It would be nice to stay here for a few days, but the drive time to see anything significant is just too much.  Yellowstone is a big park and to get anywhere requires a lot of driving.