Sometime in early May, when we were all really stuck inside the house, I saw something on Facebook about camping in Yellowstone, and I thought, yes, why not! So even though at the time I actually thought there was no way we would even be allowed to travel cross country in late July, I booked several nights camping (with fully refundable reservations) and then I started to plan out a two week road trip getting there and back.
I titled the document, Yellowstone…or not. Because I didn’t want to get too excited about it, and well, because I didn’t think it would happen. But planning the trip gave me something to do, and something to think might maybe happen. As it got closer, I started to worry that even though we COULD go, maybe we shouldn’t. Would it be a stupid thing to do? After all, there are people that don’t wear masks and go out to eat as if nothing has changed, when still most of my friends are unemployed or underemployed, and entire sectors of the country (the arts and music in particular) have completely shut down, with absolutely no end in sight. (It is worth noting that this week alone I have lost four weeks of theater work that I would have had in the fall.)
But we decided to go. Louie and I decided that yes, maybe it was a stupid thing to do, and yes, we were upping our COVID risk, but we would do our best to be safe, we would always wear masks inside, near people, and we would never eat in a restaurant or spend any significant amount of time inside near people. Additionally, we planned to try to social distance outside as much as possible and avoid the busiest places at the busiest times. I was under no impression than Yellowstone wasn’t busy at this time: I had read online that that visitation from UP from normal years, and that the area was completely slammed, but I also knew if we set out on foot, perhaps 50 yards from our car, crowds would dissipate and I knew that the Park was huge and we could get away from people no matter how busy it was.
We set out on the morning on a Saturday and headed west. We had packed a good amount of our food for the trip though we planned to get takeout here and there and do a few drive-throughs along the way as well. The first day we had about an 11 hour drive planned, from St Louis to Bridgeport, Nebraska. It was a long day driving, but we listened to the 1619 Podcast and enjoyed the scenery. If you let yourself enjoy the scenery, Missouri is nice and Nebraska is actually quite beautiful with the cornfields and the open skies.
We stopped a few times along the way, lunch at McDonalds (did the drive thru, ate outside out of car), snacks and cold drinks from the cooler. We got to Bridgeport around 8:00 and first ended up at the wrong motel! Somehow in inputting the address I had put the Meadowlark Motel instead of the Meadowpark Hotel and we ended up about 1/2 mile from where we wanted to be (at a motel that didn’t look like I thought it should, nor was it very nice, plus no reservation..then I realized, oh, this is entirely the wrong place yet somehow the name is so similar, which frankly is just really weird.) Nonetheless we ended up at the motel I had booked which was perfectly nice. It was part of an RV Park as well, so we were in one of a small amount of very decent motel rooms which overlooked a nice grassy area. We relaxed outside of our room enjoying the fresh air for a bit before going to sleep.
The next morning we found a nearby Taco John’s for breakfast. Last year we had inadvertently discovered Taco John’s and their Potato Ole’s and fallen in love, and we made a point a few times to visit this summer when possible (there are none near St Louis.)
We drove about an hour west in Nebraska until we reached our first quasi-destination for the day. Chimney Rock! Now, there wasn’t much to do, but last summer we had driven by in the night and this summer I wanted us to see it during the day.
Chimney Rock was a famous landmark for people on the Oregon Trail back in the day. There’s a lot of Oregon Trail history in this area (and really, the land is very beautiful) which is both cool to read about but then you start feeling kind of weird and awful about the idea of settlers and all of the colonization taking place back then…being taught all of this land was open and nobody lived on it, when in fact, there were tens of thousands of Native Americans already living there.
But it is a kind of cool landmark. There was an RV Park right next to it which looked like the place to stay if you really liked Chimney Rock.
Next we drove on into the empty space towards Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. I thought we should see a different National Monument in Nebraska than last year and as always the National Parks Service did a good job. The drive north from the Scottsbluff area was really beautiful, full of nothingness and cell towers and farmland, but gorgeous (in an understated way, not in an obvious Montana way). At one point the birds were really on the road and didn’t like to get out of the way of the car and that led to a rather upsetting moment and after that we honked the horn every time. Finally we arrived at Agate Fossil Beds, and not a moment too soon as I really had to go the bathroom by then. The tough part of road trips is that you never realize how often you use the bathroom until you can’t just go whenever you want.
The visitor’s center was closed, but they had nice portapotties out front and there was a ranger there as well giving out maps and information. We did the two trails there and learned about the area and why it is a National Monument. The first trail we did was the Fossil Hills Trail which is about 2.7 miles. Back closer to 1900 men found a lot of the fossils in the area and excavated them (with horse and wagon) and took them to various museums further east. Nowadays we tend to leave the fossils in place for further study but back then it was thought to collect them for museums for people to visit more easily. Many of these fossils were of animals that are now extinct but that lived long after the dinosaurs, bear dogs, giant pigs, small rhinoceroses, and land beavers. We had learned about some of these animals at the museum in Branson the year before as well, so it was nice to see them again in a more reputable source.
This was part of where the fossils had been. It was a neat hike up a large hill.
Doesn’t this just scream “America” at you? Of course some of us know that America means more than wheatfields and cowboy hats, but it’s very “Americana” I guess.
The first of many selfies we took on the trip. Hardly anybody was around, though we did pass a few people on the hike. We had our masks handy, though I don’t know if taking it in and out of your pocket is actually that effective?
The Ancients Beavers made these spiral burrows. This was on the second trail we did called the Daemonelix Trail, only about 1 mile. The heat of the day was getting to us by now (it was noon or so by now) and the sun was hot! We really enjoyed our visit to the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. It’s too bad the visitor’s center/museum was closed because we peeked in and saw some nice looking displays, but we doubt we will go back—it wasn’t too out of the way, but it was a bit out of the way from anything!
Next we were headed to Wyoming. Our destination for the evening was a campsite at Boysen State Park’s Lower Wind River Campground. We drove about 4 or so more hours, many of them on roads that were under construction, but Wyoming is so beautiful we hardly even minded.
We got to Boysen around 5 pm and found our campsite easily. It was a small campground, with water and vault toilets (that means, they don’t flush, they sort of compost and are totally decent when they aren’t used very much). We had a nice site near the river, but the downside was that the campground was right near a highway. I’d thought the traffic would die down overnight but I’m not sure it did.
We set up our tent and then explored Boysen State Park further. There is a gorgeous reservoir formed by a dam in the Canyon. I think the Park is mostly used for water recreation, but it was really gorgeous.
Right near our campsite.
I loved our campsite. We weren’t right by the water (I’d had a hard time deciding which site to reserve and possibly should have picked the one over, but we were Site 13 and it ended up being quite nice.)
Just a cool rock formation with the Forester. And below, the sun over Boysen Reservoir.
An excellent selfie by the Wind River, in the possibly better campsite (which was unoccupied). We were right near a few tunnels as well, a couple for the road and a couple for the train, which was neat to watch coming in and out of the tunnel.
We made our first camping meal of mac and cheese with tuna and canned peas (what can I say, we eat like kings while camping) and made a fire. They didn’t actually sell firewood at the campground which is unusual but we found a bit to burn and the camp host said we could have a few logs and we took her up on it. We would have enjoyed the evening more with a few less biting flies though, and turned in on the early side.
The next morning we had to pack up the tent. We were off to nearby Thermopolis next to visit Hot Springs State Park.
The town of Thermopolis feels like a throw back from the 70s or 80s. Lots of independent motels and in the park there are two privately owned hot springs play areas which feel very 80s with music, water slides, pools and more. But our destination ended up being the public baths, because you get a free 20 minute soak, it was outdoors for the most part and it wasn’t crowded at all. We hit the jackpot because we could also shower for free while there!
The hot springs in Thermopolis are formed differently than the hot springs in Yellowstone but I have already forgotten the difference. The park was lovely, not crowded and was nice to just wander around. There is also a scenic drive and a bison herd!
We walked across this bridge.
The colors caused by the various organism in the hot waters are really gorgeous. The round building in the background is Hellie’s Teepee Pool, one of the privately owned pool/bath places.
More hot springs.
One of the neat things is when you find evidence of the CCC, the Civilian Conservation Corps. These stairs were built to help people get to the hot springs here and soak in the water I guess. Back in the day (1920-1950’s) people went more crazy over hot springs and would even camp in the area in order to take advantage of them. (Sometimes I feel like I’m failing a test when I am trying to remember what we saw in order to tell you. I do write some things down, but not everything. I don’t recall exactly what these steps were to, but I do recall they were built by the CCC and that I always enjoy a good set of stone stairs).
We drove up the scenic drive. There was also hiking to be done, but it was hot and we didn’t feel like doing more than just walking around after having showered and cleaned up! We also found the bison herd but they weren’t too close to the road so we just said hello from the car (not really, but yes) and moved on, knowing there would be more to see in Yellowstone!
We had to stop for pictures by this crazy thing. It was called the Teepee Fountain and what will blow your mind is that it is sort of man-made.
This sign shows how it initially looked and the water has done the rest over the years! It was built in 1909 to vent steam and over the years the mineral deposits from the water have built it up.
Our last stop in Thermopolis was just down by the river again.
After that, we hit the road again, headed to Cody, Wyoming. People on Trip Advisor love the town of Cody, and the one thing we would like to do someday but we didn’t want to do this time was visit the museums. Cody has what they call “5 museums in 1” about the west: history, art, weapons, and more, and supposedly the museums are Smithsonian quality. I didn’t think a pandemic was the best time to visit a museum that they say you should devote the whole day to, so we just stopped by and then had camping reservations at nearby Buffalo Bill State Park.
When we got to Cody we saw a sign for Mexican Tacos from a Truck (living the dream) and so we screeched to a halt and quickly ordered. We ate outside at a picnic table surrounded by a parking lot and it was glorious. You had your usual suspects, the people who didn’t wear masks when ordering (the people in the truck were wearing masks) and then the guy who left his truck idling the whole time he waited on his order (there was nobody in the truck and no, it just doesn’t take that long to cool your vehicle back down, but eating next to an idling truck sure is less comfortable). Perhaps this is why we didn’t like Cody that much: the people. After our late lunch we picked up a few supplies at the grocery story, which thankfully had a mask requirement, and then we walked around the downtown area a bit. We didn’t feel terribly welcome for the most part because we saw just a few too many t-shirts about how the current president was the best, and so after an hour or wandering or so (and wondering if it would rain) we continued on our own way.
We stopped at the Buffalo Bill Dam next. It was just starting to storm when we got there, so we stayed in the Visitor’s Center a littel longer than I might have liked, but it wasn’t too busy and there were some very interesting exhibits and a short movie telling you how the dam was made. (Hint: it was very difficult to make and went way over budget). One thing I noticed was how many casualties were acceptable—these days people don’t expect any casualties during construction jobs but back 100 years ago dozens of people would get hurt and/or die, no big deal, seemingly. Nowadays we only expect that for school children from gunshots, I guess.
The storm passed fairly quickly and then it was hot again. I didn’t get many pictures for two reasons: fear of heights, and being a little too close to the dam for good pictures.
Our next stop for the day was our campground at Buffalo Bill State Park. We had a site booked at the North Shore Campground, and it was a beautiful location! The weird thing about this campground was that the water was centrally located in one place that wasn’t really walking distance from the site. Our site was a walk-in tent site and was an absolutely gorgeous location, though. (The next morning we had a bit of a miscommunication and I regret not understanding that Louie thought we should stay longer, whereas I was in “go-go” mode and wanted to get to Yellowstone. This ended up with us having an argument and both feeling bad..it’s hard for me sometimes to just be in the moment and relax when I know so many places the early bird gets the worm and waiting too long means that you end up with huge crowds, but this wasn’t that case and we should have stayed longer…vacations can be hard, especially camping vacations! But I digress…well, one more digression is that I was super stressed going into this trip about COVID and whether we even had the moral right to go on vacation, and that was hard to deal with also…)
The view of where we parked versus where our campsite was. Now, we have learned over the years to always stake the tent down. Children, let me tell you, you must always stake your tent down as well as you possibly can. Never say, oh, it’s very pleasant now. It could storm or be windy at any point and you will regret it if you don’t tie your tent down the very best way you can. We have learned though, so we did it, and we were very glad later, because the wind picked up tremendously and this was one of the windiest sites we had ever had!
But it was gorgeous. Right by the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, and very private too. There were wooden fences around it too.
For this campground they did sell firewood but we weren’t sure if they would so we bought some in Cody, just in case. You never know, and it usually turns out if we don’t have wood it isn’t there but if we do we shouldn’t have bought it and would have gotten a better deal at the campground.
After unpacking the tent we went out to do a little exploring in the area but realized truly the best view was from our campsite (Tent Site 4), so we went back. That’s when the wind had really picked up and we knew if we hadn’t tied everything down as well we easily could have lost the tent! But it was totally fine and we made a dinner (in the wind, it was tough!) and again went to bed early to finally get out of the wind.
I’ll leave this blog post here. Next stop: Yellowstone!
