Lower Geyser Basin

Ask a Ranger

When you visit Yellowstone or Grand Teton undoubtedly a number of questions will pop into your mind.  “How do you keep the bison in the park” is one I had to ask.  Another we asked: “Which wolf packs are active in the park now”.  You’ll see steam, mud, and boiling water gushing from the earth, “how?” or “Why”.

The rangers in the national parks are there because they love the outdoors and love the park system.  They are a wealth of information. Sometimes you may ask a ranger who’s grumpy, or can’t wait for dinner and a shower.  They may not be very conversational in that moment.  A bit later ask another ranger.  Typically you’ll get the answer (or a statement similar to “I don’t know really) and you’ll get much much more related information.

“Which wolf packs are active in the park now”  The “answer” included, “well,, the phantom pack is growing huge.  They had ten pups this season.  They range in this area.”  We’ve seen the Junction Butte pack every day we went looking.  We’ve never seen the phantom pack nor the 8-mile pack.  “Our” ranger went on to talk about grizzly.  We could find them up the Old Yellowstone Trail, a washboard dirt road used by river runner busses, or at Tom Minor.  He explained how to get to Tom Minor which we did yesterday.

Less well known, chat up any of the Yellowstone service people.  They are all here because they want to work in the park, love the outdoors, and may want to become a ranger.  You may be surprised at the experiences they’ve ‘had in the park. “I’ve had a wolf pack stride right past me while I was hiking.  They weren’t interested in me at all. I’ve seen lone bison walk past a pack.  You can tell when the wolves are on the hunt.”  This because I took the time to chat with her rather than just pay for my book and move on. “We’re closing up tomorrow.  I’m going back to Austin!”  “No, Austin is not a small town anymore.”   I didn’t ask where she had her close wolf experience.

Get Out There

As with most things in life, the more you do “it”, the better “it” gets.  Just being outdoors opens you up to experiences you would otherwise never experience.  Go outdoors often enough and amazing experiences may unfold.   You could be very lucky and have an extraordinary experience your first time out.

Get out there and to it.  “That was some real exercise”, said an overweight middle aged man to his daughter. After walking the boardwalk to Mammoth Hot Springs, they were sitting on a bench.  My first reaction was less than generous, “Really? You need to get moving more” I thought.  My second reaction was, “Good for you, at least you’re out soaking in a new experience”.

Closing Down

Yellowstone National Park remains open all year.  By December all the roads south of Mammoth Hot Springs are closed.  Many close earlier.  Dunraven Pass on the Grand Loop Road between Tower and Canyon Village  is now closed for the season.  https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/conditions.htm shows which roads are open, which are closed, and what construction is ongoing or planned.  It’s a valuable resource in late fall and early spring when sudden snow storms will cause partial or full road closure.

Now, October 14, all the campgrounds in Yellowstone will be closed today or tomorrow.  We will push south to Grand Teton where all the park campgrounds will also be closed.  We loved to stay at Coulter Bay Campground in Grand Teton National Park.  Coulter Bay is unusual; ;it has electric hookups for motor homes.  It closed a while ago.  We’ll have to stay outside Grand Teton and drive in daily.  Jackson is not all that far from last year’s moose sighting or Oxbow Bend.

We stayed at “The Virginian RV Park” last year at $110 a night!  They closed last week.  Jackson Hole Campground Fireside Resort is open year round.  After October 1st they provide electricity, WiFi, and Cable at $59 a night. We may get a AAA or Good Sam discount,  It is commonly available.  Jackson Hole is a bit out of the way for Grand Teton access, but it may be our only option.

Weather

Since the snow storm, the weather has been better every day.  We’ve had bright sunny days with temperatures hitting 50’s, then high 50’s and 60’s.   The weather will close out this thursday with rain and snow forecast.  This could make heading south from Jackson problematic.  Until we drop down from the high country, finding RV Parks with electricity could be difficult or impossible.  We depend on having an electric hook-up to run our tank heaters.  We’d be risking frozen pipes without an electric hook-up.  I suppose we could run the generator all night.  How would we sleep through that racket?

I’m not worried, I’m sure we’ can drive out of the high country if need be.

On the Move

We could drive through Hayden Valley going north to head south on a long loop.  I’d love to see Hayden Valley.  A simple drive through feels wrong.  As with Lamar Valley, a few days spent watching, waiting, and soaking in the feel of the valley would be a much better approach.  Simply driving through feels wrong.

We’ll save Hayden for another time.  Today we will depart Yellowstone National Park for Grand Teton National Park.  Though they are in close proximity, the two parks are quite different.  They feel different emotionally.  I wonder how the transition will effect me.  That phrase “something lost and something gained” springs to mind.  It is time.  Yellowstone’s great migration is underway.  Elk are moving out of the park along the highway 89 corridor.  Bison have left Hayden Valley for lower plains in the central park.  Winter is coming to Yellowstone.

 

“When do they let the animals out?”  I still cannot get over the implications of this question:  how profoundly unaware.