Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Mountain West Road Trip Day 5: Farson WY to Yellowstone to Cherry Creek, Hebgen Lake, MT

This is written Wednesday July 25, 2018, but reflects day 5 of the big Mountain West trip - a Wednesday of July 18, 2018.

The big highlight of this day was the first day in Yellowstone.

First, we woke up in the yard of Dr. Beavers's home, ate some snack cakes for breakfast, struck camp, and left.  Goodbye Rock Springs and Farson.  We loved you.

But, within 2-3 miles, we already had our first stop.  We became Hobbits and had a Second Breakfast - a ginormous scoop of ice cream at the Farson Merc.  What a nice place. 


Since we missed getting a "Welcome to Wyoming" when we entered Wyoming, I took a picture of this cool sign in the Farson Merc.


And, just another 100 yards, another stop....the Pony Express Station stop in Farson.  Neat.



I think we were on highway 191, high desert close to Farson that transformed to high mountains the closer we got to Jackson Hole.


We had a nice little lunch at the Jackson Hole McDonald's then of course took the obligatory picture at the Antler Archway in downtown Jackson.


Approaching the Teton Range.  Beautiful.


A quick stop at the South Teton Visitor's Center.  It was here that I purchased the Park Access Pass for $80.  I learned about this while eating a hamburger at the Jackson McDonald's.  If you are going to 2-3 or more National Parks, it pays for itself immediately.  Interestingly, I had retained my receipt for $25 entry into Rocky Mountain National Park (day 3), and asked Ranger Cooper if that could be applied toward the $80 access pass fee.  To my surprise, he said sure.  He asked for the receipt, I provided it, and he asked for $55.  With the $25 RMNP fee, the $35 Teton Fee, and the future $35 Yellowstone fee later on this day, I was looking at $95 in park entry fees, and I just paid $80.  I was $15 ahead.  I recommend the Park Access Pass.


Then entering the Grand Teton National Park.



A pretty stream I photographed with the Tetons in the background. A pic of the Tetons, and a pic of Jackson Lake.




Then, we entered Yellowstone.  The Grand-Daddy.



A stream/river near the South Entrance and Lewis Falls.  We loved Lewis Falls.




Then on to Old Faithful.  We arrived around 3:30PM MDT, and quickly learned that the next eruption was predicted to be around 4:14PM MDT.  We arrived and sat and waited.  Lots and lots of people seated circumferentially around the famous geyser which continuously steamed as we sat and waited.




Then, on to the walking tour of the Geyser Basin.  I was amazed to learn and discover that the whole Geyser Basin was densely populated with hundreds of other geysers, hot springs, vents, bubblers, and everything else.  It was otherworldly and your senses were constantly assaulted with steamy, wet, sulfurous air to breathe.





While we completed the Geyser Basin Walking Trail, we also got to see the rather unpredictable Grand Geyser erupt, and then returned in time to see Old Faithful go a second time.


Departing Yellowstone via the West Entrance, we then entered Montana for the first time, but with no noticeable Welcome to Montana sign.  We had plans to enter Idaho to both camp and to add another state to our destination bucket list (it was my second visit).  Those plans included a desire to camp at Henry's Lake State Park in Idaho.  We found it, but then took a pass on it.  We were to be asked to pay over $36 for a tent-site.  That's more than a little steep to occupy a 15 x 15 foot space for 10-12 hours, but the main kicker was that it was less for Idaho residents.  It became a mini-boycott for me:  I just don't understand why a state like Idaho will promote itself as a destination state, invite others to come there to vacation and spend money, but then essentially tell their out of state visitors: "You're not one of us - we need five more dollars from you."  I don't like it.  So our trip and stay in and through Idaho was very short.  We'll be back, but didn't feel welcomed to Idaho.


So, we pulled out our smartphones to search nearby campgrounds within the National Forests nearby.  If I've not written it before, I'll write it now:  The National Forest system is absolutely friendly and welcoming to road trip campers without a lot of frills and needs for reservations.  We found a nice campground on the SW shore of Hebgen Lake, Montana.  Campground was named Cherry Creek, and it was nearly on the beautiful shore of Hebgen Lake.  It rained on us off and on as we arrived and set up.  It got cold that night, too.  Samuel did much of the setup.





Thanks for reading.


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