September 17, 2013.. We started out today with it being a very beautiful day. We thought we were going to have an outdoors day with walking and photography being the favor for the day. We had not been up long before a big black cloud came over and it started to rain. It continued to rain all day as it is as I write this at 9pm. We got caught up on a few things like getting a few more supplies. I got one of the two 30-pound propane tanks filled so if we want heat during the upcoming cold period, we can have it. The tank was not totally empty but I got it filled anyway. I always use one of the tanks as a backup. Getting this one filled today gives us almost 60 pounds of propane.

I am hoping we will have a good photo day tomorrow. I want to go and take photos of an area of the park called Mormon Row. It was a Mormon settlement at one time. There is a beautiful barn there with the Tetons as a backdrop. That barn is on lots of calendar photos. I am determined to get a good photo of it while we are here. If only the weather will cooperate.
Another disadvantage of rainy weather is the camper storage batteries don’t receive much power from the solar panel on the roof. We sure don’t want the batteries to be low when it comes nightfall. They also receive charge when the truck engine is running so that helps a lot.

There are moose that frequent this campground but we have not seen them yet. Someone told us there was a grizzly here a few days ago and that would scare the moose away.They said that is why we have not seen any moose.

Tomorrow will be a real good day even if it is raining.

September 16, 2013.. Today was sort of a business day. We went to St John’s hospital in Jackson and got the blood tests run that were needed and the samples collected to send to UAMS in Little Rock. We then sent them UPS air to Little Rock. Next, we went hunting for a campsite in Grand Teton National Park. We found a good site at Gros Ventre campground which has a view of the beautiful Tetons.

I did not take one photo today. I hope to do better tomorrow.

It is due to get much cooler here Wednesday with the nightly lows forecast to be below freezing.

September 15, 2013.. We moved today from Yellowstone National Park to Jackson Hole, WY. We came through Grand Teton National Park before we arrived in Jackson. We will stay in Jackson tonight and tomorrow we will move to Grand Teton National Park.

Jackson is as nice as we remembered it and we look forward to spending a few days in Grand Teton National Park with some side trips into Jackson.

Today was rainy most of the day but stopped late in the day and is currently not raining.

Along the route from Yellowstone to Grand Teton NP

We stopped along the route as we came through Grand Teton National Park to get some photos. I am sure I will make many more in the next few days.

September 14, 2013.. Today was a rainy and cool day in Yellowstone. We retraced our route back to Old Faithful today and visited some geysers along the way. We visited Old Faithful Inn and took a few photos.  The inn came close to being a victim in the 1988 fire that burned many acres in the park. It rained most of the day. It was a light and gentle rain so it did not keep us from doing things we wanted to do. By sunset, the temperature had dropped to 45 so it looks like it will be a cool night. As I write this, we are at the laundry near the campground doing our laundry. There are very nice laundries located at the major campgrounds in Yellowstone. We are going to have to hurry. It closes at 9pm and it is 8:45 now.

Tomorrow, we will leave Yellowstone and head for Grand Teton National Park. It is a short drive. I will need to go to the hospital in Jackson, WY Monday to get blood samples drawn to send to UAMS in Little Rock.

We got to see another Old Faithful eruption. They occur about every 90 minutes. 

Part of the large crowd waiting to see Old Faithful erupt

Old Faithful Inn from the outside

Old Faithful Inn on the inside

Note the woodwork in the inn

Some geysers and springs between Grant Village and Old Faithful

This area is called Biscuit Basin

Heading out for the walk around Biscuit Basin

September 13, 2013.. We moved from Madison campground to Grant campground today. This area is called Grant Village. This is the last campground we still stay in before we sadly leave the park. We stopped and visited Old Faithful on the way down today. I guess Old Faithful is the trademark for Yellowstone. There were lots of tourists there and I get the impression that some people will see Old Faithful and not see much else of the park. There were many busloads of people there. We have seen lots of busses with people from other countries here in the park. Old Faithful Inn is quite a place. It was almost lost to the fire in 1988.

The low temperature last night was 42.

Here are some photos from today.

This is one of the modes of transportation for tourists inside Yellowstone.

I took an early morning walk at Madison campground. This is Madison River with elk grazing in the fog. 

Along the route between the Madison area and the Grant area 

A bull elk watches over his group of females. 

These are cameras used for the Old Faithful geyser webcam. It is live video from Old Faithful. If you would like to see it, you can go to http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/live/live4.htm

If that does not work for you, Google Yellowstone live webcam. That will take you to it.  

September 10,11,12, 2013-----------------------


September 10, 2013.. We moved from Mammoth Hot Springs to the Madison area of Yellowstone. It took quite a while to make the 34 mile drive since we stopped often to look at things,  take photos or take short walks on trails. We have not had Internet since we left Mammoth except when we went into the small town of West Yellowstone for a short time. I didn’t have time to post anything when we were there.

On the drive to Madison, we passed by lots of area that was burned during the big 1988 fire. It is still easy to see where it was and the area is still recovering.

One of the things we have enjoyed at Madison campground is the fireside ranger talks at night at the amphitheater near the campground. If you have never been to one of these, let me try to tell you what it is like. We attended one each night we were at Madison. They start at 8pm, which means by starting time it is getting dark. The air is a little brisk and we are sitting on seats made from rough cut lumber. There is a nice fire going inside the fire ring and a quarter moon overhead. In the distance, we can hear the elk bugling  one time after another.  The Madison River is a short distance behind the screen at the amphitheater.  The ranger presents his interesting information using a projector and a computer slide show onto a large screen. We learn things about the park or the creatures in it we could not have learned any other way. The talks last 45 minutes to an hour. Then, we walk back to our campsite which is about an eighth of a mile away. This is one of the big advantages of staying at a National Park campgrounds. We attend these fireside ranger talks whenever we get the opportunity.

September 11, 2013.. We drove back north today to go to several geyser basins including the Norris geyser basin where Steamboat Geyser is located. It does not erupt often and sometimes goes as long as 50 years without erupting.  I heard on the news when we were back home that it had erupted. They even interviewed someone that had witnessed the eruption. That was on July 31 this year. I asked a ranger how long it lasted and he said 9 minutes.  We did lots of walking today and lots of photo taking. We had to hurry to get back to the campground in time for the fireside ranger talk. The high temperature today was about 75 but it got down to 36 last night.

September 12, 2013.. Light rain started this morning in Yellowstone. I had time before the rain started to take a walk over to the Madison River and get a few photos and video of a bull elk on the prowl. We did a bit of thinking to decide what would be a good thing to do on a rainy day in Yellowstone. We decided to come back to the town of West Yellowstone  and go to the Imax theater. We saw a movie on Yellowstone. It was great. Since it was drizzling rain and I have Internet again, I thought it would be a good time to catch up on the blog. The low temperature last night was 44. It looks like it is not going to get as cold as they forecast. I hope I am right. Tomorrow, we leave Madison campground and head to the Grant Village area of Yellowstone.
I don't know when we will have Internet again.
None of the white in the photos is snow.

Here are some photos I made since I last posted any. 

Gibbon Falls 

Pearl Spring...It was easy to see why it is called that. 

September 9, 2013..  The Mammoth Hot Springs area of Yellowstone National Park is located near Gardiner, Montana. We took the short drive over there today and got a few supplies. When we came back, we went for a hike around the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces making photos along the way. When you see the photos below, remember none of it is man-made except the walkway. The dead trees are not just dead trees but they died after they absorbed calcium carbonate in the mineral water and they became like rock according to the information that was provided along the walk.

The temperature today was about 72 and a low last night was about 44. It is due to be much cooler in the next few days.

Tomorrow, we move to the Madison area of the park. So, I don't know if we will have Internet. So far, we have been fortunate to be able to have Internet in the camper each night. As I write this, I am running the computer off battery and my cell phone is providing the Internet service for the computer. Ain't technology wonderful? There is not electricity in any of the campgrounds we are staying at in Yellowstone.

Along the route to Gardiner, Montana from where we are staying

Roosevelt Arch...the historic northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park

Gardiner, Montana....Not a big town

A van we saw sitting in a lot in Gardiner. It had hit a buffalo. The van had Smith county Tennessee tags on it. 

This elk was in a more peaceful mood than the bull  elk we saw last night

The photos below were all made at Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces and the white is not snow.

Overlooking the park headquarters and the old Army buildings. The Army was here to protect the park in the early 1900's.

Note the moon in the sky on the right. 

This photo is of an area about 1.5 feet wide. There were lots of these beautiful formations.