Road Trip Day 12 - Yellowstone

We woke a little after daybreak, not as early as it seems, it was a little after 8 am.  Too cold to make breakfast as a cold wind was howling through the campground.  We made coffee and drank it from the car.  Once the sun rose above the mountain, whose shadow the campground sat in, everything warmed up quickly, including us. 

We took down our camp as we weren't sure if we would camp in the same campground again this night.  There was one other campground at the southern end of the park, so we figured we would check it out and make our decision after seeing it.  After coffee we drove just down the road to Mammoth Hot Springs and checked out the small trail circuit that toured around the springs.  They were really impressive, lots of cool colors and crazy formations. 




Elk apparently do not mind the odor of sulphur, either that or they prefer the warm ground more than the odor bothers them, because there were tons of elk just hanging out around the hot springs.  We jumped back in the car and continued south through the park.  The landscape of the northern end consisted of rolling hills with mountains in the background and big valleys. 

The landscape is unmistakable because of the massive fire from 1988; you can see the scraggly remains of the trees that survived, which are few and spread out, and the much shorter but also much more dense lower level of new trees which sprung up after the fire.  Really interesting to see the contrast in size between the old level and the new. 


Not too far down the road we saw a large gathering of people pulled off to the side of the road with binoculars. 

Apparently we need a tripod and a much more powerful set of binoculars as we felt vastly underpowered when we pulled out our pint sized sets of binoculars.  The people gathered were all very friendly and allowed us to view the action through their much bigger and much, much more expensive viewing spectacles.  There were 2 grizzly bears up on the hillside above us and a pack of wolves gathered around a rock in the valley floor.  I was able to see the Grizzly bears moving around and pawing at the ground way, way up on the hillside; Lauren unfortunately did not see them.  The wolves apparently had been moving around just before we arrived and did not show themselves again while we watched.  Still, really cool to know they were right there.  This was the black tail pack and they were apparently in a different part of the park than what they are known to frequent; about 10 miles away from their normal hangout.  People were all hoping that the wolves had a fresh kill that would attract the bears attention to come down the hill so we would all get a great show, but that never happened.  People there were intense with their knowledge of the wolves.  Not just able to identify the different packs, but able to distinguish between each member in the pack and even have names for each wolf.  After watching for a while and making a new friend, who was originally from San Luis Obispo, we continued south the check out more of the park.  The entire time we rode through we were discussing our thoughts of Yellowstone.  Yellowstone is all about wildlife, if you want to see all different types of animals around every bend, then Yellowstone is the place to go.  You will see so many different animals, so closely, its amazing.  Also the hot springs and geysers are abundant and really interesting.  As we continued we stopped at several spots with sulphur springs and activity. 



The farther south we went into the park the more bison we saw.  Huge male bison literally 2 feet off of the road.  Their features are so exaggerated, it is really cool to see so close up. 


We stopped to have lunch at a spot called Tuff Peak. 


We then cruised past Old Faithful as we planned to see it tomorrow and continued south to the lower section of the park.  Lauren caught a glimpse of a coyote in the corner of her eye, so we pulled the car over and watched a few of them hunt field mice in a field.  This was really funny to see, as they hopped off the ground on all 4 legs to try to pounce on the mice.  As we continued on we realized that the lower section of the park may be further south, but it is actually the upper section as the elevation increased almost as quickly as the snow level did.  After passing the continental divide we found the only other campsite that was still open and all of the sites were covered in several feet of snow.  Despite the fact that this was technically still open we decided that camping in the snow at 2,000 feet higher than we had the night before wasn't the best option.  We made our way back up to the northern end of the park and watched sunset in the open valley where we had viewed the grizzly bears in the morning.  A large group was still assembled in the same spot; even some of the same people were still around.  Apparently the wolf pack had snuck off and moved and were not seen again on this day.  A huge group of elk gathered on the hillside and we watched that for a while before heading back to the campground.   On the way to the campsite we decided that we would at least check on hotel prices as it was just an extra 5 miles away and after finding out that they had very reasonable rates, as this is technically the off season, we decided to stay in a hotel for a night.  We were exhausted.  We had seen a huge chunk of the park and a ton of wildlife, but were both ready to do something with more physical exertion the next day.  The drive was great though, we got to see all of the terrain changes from the north to the south end of the park, and because it was the off season there was no traffic.  At times it felt like we were the only people in the park.  We were able to stop whenever and wherever we pleased anytime something caught our interest or our eye. 

We had a great day and were really excited to do some hiking and check out old faithful the next day.

Road Trip Day 11 - Noxon, MT to Yellowstone National Park

After watching the weather patterns over Yellowstone for a solid week, we found our window to get a few sunny days in the park.  We woke up early in the AM to head out and give ourselves enough time to make it to a campsite before dark.  After a quick breakfast and coffee we said our goodbyes to Bubba and Cheryl and were on the road by 8 am headed southeast to Yellowstone.  Not too far down the road we were excited to see a small group of bighorn sheep gathered together grazing.  We stopped to watch them for a few minutes and took some pictures before continuing down the road. 

The drive through western Montana was still stunning.  We seemed to cross river after river as we wound our way through the mountains.  We definitely crossed the Clark Fork at least 65 times, which was cool because it is a really pretty river. 

Soon we were off of highway 200 and on to the main interstate 80 which we would be on most of the day.  Highway 200 was stunning and would have been a better drive; but much slower and we had a small window of great weather before a week long snow storm would be hitting Montana and Wyoming.  We made a brief stop in Missoula to post some days on our blog as we finally had internet access.  Missoula looked much different than the parts of Montana we had just left behind, definitely not as pretty; really it isn't even comparable.  We continued east and made our way through Bozeman, which is in central Montana.  The landscape of western Montana is so mountainous and tree covered and loaded with rivers; while central and eastern montana were rolling hills and dry fields.  We arrived in Yellowstone via Highway 89 south through the Main gate of the North; the gate where Roosevelt gave his dedication speech for the park's opening.  We made it to the gate just before dark and just in time to set up our camp before nightfall. 


Just outside of the gate were two male elk that had their antlers entangled, so we had to watch for at least a few minutes.  It was really cool to see and also to hear the sound of antlers clamoring together. 

We quickly found the campground just a few miles from the entrance in the Mammoth Hot Springs section of the park.  As soon as we stepped out of the car it was apparent that we were right beside the hot springs as the fragrant odor of sulphur filled the air.  This didn't stop the coyotes from coming right beside our campsite and car, so we didn't let it deter us either.  It was really cold; and getting colder by the second.  We lit up our newly purchased propane heater and made a quick but great dinner including a salad, lentils with pita chips and macaroni and cheese.  After eating and cleaning up we quickly retreated to our tent as it was cold (freezing and miserable) and we were tired.   Once in the tent the temperature wasn't too bad, and we looked through the Yellowstone newspaper we picked up at the entrance to see what was happening in the park in November.

Just a note:

We've updated our previous posts with photos...Check them out! We're a few days behind on the blog, but we'll catch up soon. Just leaving Jackson Hole on our way to Utah.

xoxo!
Lauren and Clint

Road trip day 10 – Noxon, MT – 4 wheel drive to Gem Peak

After our late night out; we again slept in; we’re getting pretty good at sleeping in by now. We loaded up the 4 wheelers and drove in to Noxon. Bubba and Cheryl live outside of town by about 5 or 10 minutes. We parked the truck in the local park, directly across from Toby’s. We then set out on the 4 wheelers for the 15 mile drive up the mountain; on winding muddy dirt roads all the way. The ride up was awesome; 4 wheelers are a blast on Montana backroads, even more so when they are covered in mud thanks to days of rain and snow. The weather today was great; the temps were in the high to mid 50s and the sun was shining. We rode up about 14 7/8 miles before jumping off to hike to the top as the snow was getting too deep to drive in, and the 4 wheelers were starting to slide all over the trail. We weren’t sure how much further the peak was, but we were pleased once we got around the next curve; about 500 yards from where we parked to find the lookout tower on top of Gem Peak. This is an old Fire Tower Lookout that you can actually rent out to camp in from the forest service. It has a wood burning stove and beds and a table; and a ton of wood for the stove; all for $20 a night.

You walk up about 3 stories to the top of the tower where the lookout apartment is and the views are incredible. 360 degree veiws of all of the surrounding mountains. You can literally see to Canada and Idaho from the top. We took some photos and checked out some Elk tracks in the snow before heading back down the hill. Western Montana is beautiful; the whole section of the state could literally be a national park; it’s amazing. We rode through the snow back to the lower elevations where the snow changed to slush and mud.

After safely returning to the car; we loaded up and drove back to the house. It was going to be our final night here; which was sad; but our good weather window had opened up for Yellowstone; so we were setting out early to make the drive from Noxon to Yellowstone the next day. We had another great meal made by Cheryl; she cooked the entire time we were there for every meal for us; Bubba and Cheryl were so great to us our entire time; we both can’t wait to get back to Noxon! We had diner and then played a game of Spades; which Lauren just learned and now loves. During our game we were briefly interrupted by the howling of either wolves or coyotes in the trees just outside of Bubba and Cheryl’s house. Always something roaming around in those hills in Montana. We then took some photos of Max before going to sleep.


We really had an amazing time in Montana and both want to go back. The summer would be amazing, with all of the rivers. Lots of options for both fishing and rafting/canoeing!

Road Trip Day 9 – Noxon, MT – Hike to an abandoned mine

The next day we slept in again-until almost 11. We’re not sure if it was because of being in the car all day, or because of the gray weather, or just because we sere taking advantage of having a bed to sleep in as we knew we’d be camping in the very near future. We awoke to already made coffee and plenty of choices for breakfast. Bubba and Cheryl made sure we were both well fed and had plenty of choices for every meal. Our stomachs were never empty. After eating a quick breakfast and prepping some sandwiches for lunch, we were off to a trail that Bubba had recommended: a hike to an abandoned mine. This was also in the Kootenai National forest. Bubba and Cheryl had volunteered with the National Forest Service this Summer and knew the area extremely well, so they were able to give us millions of recommendations and directions to lots of sites.


The hike was really nice. Again, the area had hundreds of types of mushrooms; some that we hadn’t even seen on our last hike; so we took more photos.


The hike to the mine was about 3 miles each way; we took our time and enjoyed the views at all of the river crossings.




Bridges had been built for all of them, but the river had washed out one bridge. This made for an interesting and tricky river crossing, as the water was cold and moving quickly. We were able to make our way across and continued up to the mine.


The mine was really cool; tons of super heavy and crazy mining equipment remained at the site. The site was spectacular; there was a large (30 feet or so) waterfall, and the mine entrance, and all of the equipment, all right in front of our eyes. We took some photos before heading back to the car.




We would have liked to explore around the mine a bit more; but the sun had turned to gray skies, and it was beginning to rain. We hiked back through a light drizzle, but there was a lot of tree cover, so we didn’t really even get wet.


It was amazing to think how they would have even gotten all of that heavy mining equipment so far back there. We probably drove 9 miles or so off of the main road down dirt roads before getting to the trailhead, which was about 3 miles from the mine. Not to mention this is way out in the woods of Montana, not very close to any major cities. We then cruised back to Bubba and Cheryl’s for dinner. By cruising, I mean flying down the tiny one lane highway at 70 mph; the speed limit in Montana is a safe and sane: 70 mph during the day and 65 mph at night. Don’t worry; it slows down to 55 mph through towns. You have to try to stay at 70 because it seems so foreign to go that fast on these tiny highways, but it’s really fun nonetheless. The freeway speed is 75; but obviously there’s a lot more room on those; so that seems normal.
This night for dinner we had big plans of heading into the bustling town of Noxon; first to visit the local favorite bar, Toby’s, and then to have dinner at the Hereford Restaurant.



Toby’s Bar was awesome; it contained tons of old time photos from the history of the bar; a jukebox full of country music classics and some old and really drunk locals. Beers were $2 and you got 7 songs on the jukebox for $1; pretty good prices. Also some interesting décor.


We stayed just long enough to see the Giants win the World Series! The Locals were rooting for the Giants; which was a surprise to me; but a welcome one!


After Toby’s, Cheryl, our DD, drove us over to The Hereford where we had dinner. The walls were lined with pictures of locals posing with their hunting victories. There is so much wildlife in this area; its crazy. Deer, Mule Deer, Elk, Moose, Black Bear, Grizzly Bear, Wolves, Coyotes, Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep and Mountain Lions.
After dinner, we headed home as it was getting late; we were out until about 10 p.m.-Bubba usually goes to sleep at 8 p.m., so it was great of him to stay up late just to entertain us. Both the bar and dinner were a great time; it was really fun to see the town and have a drink in a crazy western style bar. It wasn’t hard to imagine that that place has had some wild nights.

Road Trip Day 8 – Drive from Noxon, MT to B.C. and back

We set our alarm for 7 and were upstairs having breakfast by 8 am, as we wanted an early start on the drive into Canada. The weather forecast for today was rainy and cold; as opposed to the day before when the sun was out; so we figured it was the best day to spend exploring in the car.  The drive up to B.C. was really beautiful. We took a scenic route called the Selkirk Loop, which is a popular loop in the area.


The Selkirk loop covers parts of Montana, Idaho, and the southern portion of B.C.


We were hoping to see a lot of wildlife on the way, but did not see much due to the rain and we also presume that the hunting season was a factor. We did see a coyote (it was really close!), about 700 wild turkeys (which apparently are not native to the area; they were introduced and have thrived), and a few deer. The Selkirk Loop was a beautiful drive; and crossing into Canada was pretty easy.



We quickly found that all shops/restaurants were closed, both because it was Sunday, but also because this was apparently a popular summer activity and the area almost closes down in the winter. We found a café open right at the Ferry launch; it was their last day open before closing for the season; today was Halloween, the last day of October.


We had just missed the Ferry by about 10 minutes, as things sometimes go, and we did not want to wait 2 hours for the next one. Rather than ferrying to the other side of the lake and finishing the loop, we just retraced our steps down the road; we were really not that disappointed. We drove back to the border and had a really annooying border official at the ID state line. He asked us about 100 ridiculous questions, before letting us cross back into the U.S. After crossing back into Idaho, we continued the drive back to Noxon. We stopped briefly in Bonner’s Ferry, ID, as the sun had finally come out, to walk around and stretch our legs. The entire town was closed because it was Sunday. We saw a huge rainbow and then got back in the car to finish off the drive. We made it back safe and sound. All in all; a good drive; we were both glad that we had done it on a rainy day; as we would both prefer to be doing something outside if the weather were nice. And now we can both officially say that we have been to Canada - even if only for a few hours.