Escaping the Mess of Yellowstone

Tuesday, July 17, 2012--Thermopolis to Jackson to Grand Teton to Yellowstone

Thermopolis is known for its hot springs.  I arrived at the Wyoming State Bath House at 8:45.  It's free to soak in the slightly sulfuric waters.  There's a limit of 20 minutes, then one must wait two hours before returning.  I was checked in by a lady who said that she and her husband are there from Bastrop to volunteer at the bathhouse for the summer.  There were maybe 5 other people soaking in the outdoor pool at that hour.  The water felt great.  After my 20 minutes were up, I showered and hit the road.

I headed for Jackson.  The roadway there was beautiful with views of Grand Teton National Park.  When I arrived, the city was overrun with tourists.  Many of them seemed to be Chinese.  I got a map of the city from the tourist office and walked back and forth going up and down the streets.  It's really a town for shoppers, and I had no interest in shopping.  The architecture was nice, though, with a western style to it.  I stopped at a bakery and bought a pastry before heading back to my car.

I entered Grand Teton National Park as I left town.  I have always admired the photos of the mountains in it, and they looked just as I remembered.  I was a bit surprised, however, that the roads in the park do not go through the mountains.  Instead, they stay in the valley.  They are closer to the mountains, however, than the road I followed going into town.  The views were spectacular.

Just a few miles after leaving Grand Teton, I arrived at Yellowstone National Park to be greeted by signs indicating that all campgrounds were full.  I followed a long line of traffic to enter the park around 16:30.  I pulled into one of the large developments with a visitor center and went inside to get information.  The woman said I could try the campground to see if there had been any cancellations.  She further said that sleeping in the car is not allowed in the park.  No camping sites were free, so I would have to go to the west and exit into Montana (about 90 minutes away) or to the east and exit toward Cody (about 2 hours away).  I decided to go west, because that route would at least take me by Old Faithful.

I realized the timing would be right for me to arrive there just before it erupted.  Sure enough, I pulled into the lot about 8 minutes before the beginning of the 20-minute period when it might erupt (anticipated at 18:51 plus/minus 10 minutes).  I sat on a tree back away from the main seating area and visited with a woman and her son from California.  At 18:55, Old Faithful erupted.  It was beautiful and bigger than I expected.  Hundreds of people were there to see it, and I kept wondering how horrible the crowds would be in mid-morning to mid-afternoon.

I rushed back to the car to get out before others could reach their own vehicles.  Still, I was in a long line of traffic due to the overall crowds in the park.  And the line of traffic would come to a standstill if anyone say any sign of wildlife.  Once, it was stop-and-go traffic for about 15 minutes, and when I reached the point of the delay, I could see it was because of two deer!!!  I was so frustrated by the time I got out of the park, I was wondering whether I wanted to return or not.

Even outside the park, there was a carnival atmosphere with people everywhere and lines of cars on the streets and roads.  A national forest campground recommended by the lady at the park had a sign saying it was full.  The traffic situation was horrible.  I was so frustrated at not finding anything, I started just driving away.  In a few minutes, I passed a sign indicating another campground.  I drove for about 20 minutes down a rough, washboard-type road and finally reached it.  I got there at 20:30 with just about 30 minutes left of light to see to get the tent up and my things inside it.  It was a nice location, however, beside a lake.

Steps Walked:  6623
Miles Driven:  375