Days 5 and 6, July 1 and 2
Left around 8:45 from Shell, WY. Rain from Greybull on to Cody. Behind us, as we left the storm, the sky was black behind us. Jim realized at Greybull he needed to get more of one of his eye meds, the vial of drops he had had leaked a bit. Okay, switch drivers and let him call Walgreens. He was worried about the whole fill-it-away-from-home situation, but they got him settled so it could be picked up at 10:30 a.m. in Cody. Cool. Screenshot the address before we lose the heck out of any kind of cell connection.
Got to Cody right around 10 a.m., and spotted the Walgreens we’d need. Yay. And then basically as we just passed the Walgreens,-super-yay, they sent the confirmation that the scrip was ready! Made a hasty turn into a next-door sporting goods store, parked probably a bit illegally, Jim went in and got his meds and we were golden.
Met up with Pete & Dorothy at the Cody Museum Complex, all the museums you’d want under one roof. What a treat. Finally found better RV parking for our rigs, rather than kind of behind the hospital next door, and went in to enjoy the museum for a couple of hours. Checked on the dogs a couple of times to be sure they were fine, and they were. Got some water for them and it was a cool day for them to be stuck in the car.
Came out of the museum after having taken in guns, art, and natural history, as well as a nice little lunch, just in time for a big rainstorm to start thinking about threatening us.
Decided to go to the Wal-Mart on the far side of town to pick up a few provisions on our way to Yellowstone. That storm was about to hit, so I stayed in the truck and sent Jim in to shop. Unsupervised, he picked up so many sodas and the giantest bottle of gin and lots of beer, in addition to other things on the list. Lili and Buddy and I sat together in the truck while they freaked out about the thunderstorm. Sigh. But it passed, and so did their nervousing.
A lovely drive into Yellowstone through the East entrance, following the valley for a good bit. So wide and wild. Up through a pass at about 8000 feet, which didn’t feel all that high. Pulled into Fishing Bridge campground, D ring, site 106, for what that’s worth. Trees made it fricking difficult to back into the tiny slot we were assigned. Jim ran round the campsite twice to take another stab at it. Finally got her settled and leveled and unhitched as another camper was waiting for us (of course). Ah. Home sweet home for three nights.
Made a great little shakshuka that first night (we wanted to make shakshuka at Shell for the alliteration, but the wind and heat got in the way, so instead we made an easy tuna and chickpea salad situation). We were proud of that delicious creation. Hung out with P&D in their trailer for a while, then came back to ours to sleep.
First day’s scouting revealed I think 3-4 other Airstreams, all huge, bigger than our 23’. Good for them. Many from California, surprising to no one.
Okay, so then today, July 2, we got up early with the intention of going to see the canyon and the falls before the crowds got too nuts, and avoid whatever heat might be in store. I think this is the last week of cool weather here, so we are lucky. Walked the dogs first, to get them peed and pooped, checked out Airstreams in one circle, and then I said hey, let’s go up to the E ring to see what that’s like. Apparently that’s a new addition – they recently renovated this park; where we are camped has been shifted from the old way, as I understand. We have trees; they do not, and it’s huge up there. Did a half a loop with the dogs and thought we should head back to get breakfast and coffee.
Well, as we headed toward the connecting road to the D ring, Jim noticed a couple of trucks on the little road had stopped in their tracks. They’re looking at something. OH GAWD, it’s a BISON. Hokay, back up. Keep your distance and do NOT pet the fuzzy cows. We watched this giant beast as he leisurely munched the grass at the end of one of the camper rows, and talked with various campers about their campers or travel plans, and of course, this bison. The dogs were surprisingly not too fazed about the presence of this giant animal. I was mostly anxious because we were wanting to leave at 8:30 a.m. and it was close to 8 and we’d had no breakfast and there was no signal to text and let P&D know that we were delayed by a BISON. Dude eventually moved on and we scooted home, made a quick coffee and had a speedy breakfast. Got out in good time still to beat the crowds.
The drive to the Canyon plaza or whatever was really nice, following the Yellowstone river, wide and sparkling along our right side. A set of rapids on the way, but mostly smooth. That river had no idea what was about to happen to it. The falls are SO Dramatic, green over the edge and into that big yellow canyon, where the light is such a factor in how it looks, shadows now, but changing as the clouds covered or lightened up. A real kick to see. I feel like I never saw it as a kid. Or I did and said hmph, big deal, another waterfall. I was so young to be so jaded.
Aside: When I was probably 7 or 8, my parents booked us up to Montana and Yellowstone on a 10-day spring break trip from Georgia. They were so excited for me to see what there was to see. I was unimpressed, I guess. At one point, they were like, “Catherine, look at the bison!” and from the back seat, I was like, “Yeah, well, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” Again, so young to be so jaded. Dad much later gave me a tiny buffalo figurine in a little jewelry-sized box, and written on the box is, “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” I still have the boxed tiny buffalo and just love that it was a silly thing I said way back when. I’m more excited about them now, especially the babies I saw in the field today. Light brown like little cows.
One bison wanted to almost follow us on our visit to Mud Volcano today. I was happy to get the heck out of his way. Then he wandered off somewhere. How do they know how not to step on some land that’s unstable or hot?
After our tour of the canyon, we went to the lodge, with its cool museum about how much ash has fallen over this continent in the last jillion years, and its excellent topographic map of the whole park and caldera. Then the gift shop, where I bought a lanyard and a Christmas ornament.
Why a lanyard? Oh, because I probably lost a set of trailer keys and they are definitely still in SD, possibly at the campground we stayed at. AirTags are useful if you actually pay attention to the warnings they give you about being left behind. Fuck.
So early today, before the bison sighting, we went to the ranger station to call Chris’ campground to see whether a set of keys had been turned in. No, but let me look, said Angel Lanna, and if they don’t turn up now, maybe at season’s end when the highschoolers come to scour the grounds, they may turn up then. My only worry is that the address for where the keys say they are is a little different than the campgrounds address, so maybe they’re in the weeds somewhere. Or we just order more. Ugh.
So after the canyon situation, we drove west to Norris. Not lots to see, except the Virginia Cascade, which was skinny and steep and only a few concrete barriers to keep you from falling off the edge of the earth on this one-way road. Once at Norris, there was a whole lot of no parking to be had, so we turned around and headed home.
Nap.
Then I mixed up a bread with probably not enough starter and let’s just see what happens.
Made a great instant-pot situation with chicken, rice, and broccoli and cheese. Delish. Especially since flying from seat of pants without a true recipe.
Meantime, in the beer-drinking hours, I asked a nice neighbor how her trip was going, and she said great. They’d been to Old Faithful and seen the geyser erupt twice, hung out a bit, dealt with the crowds. She’s a cute little person from San Diego with a double-pour of wine (zero judgement there) and was just chatty. Has two beautiful kids that are reflections of her and her spouse of 10 years. She and the kids were all curious to see the inside of our Airstream, and they were all mad for Buddy. Buddy was totally overstimulated by the kids and was trying to hump Lili in his mania, but we managed it. Their boy brought Buddy a PILE of sticks, and I went to see the tipi he was building with his dad. The daughter was also smitten with Bud. Fun to give tours to folks interested to see our rig. They have a Jayco with a big bump-out, plenty of room for 4 people. A little jealous, but not enough to trade ours in for stick-and-tin. I am jealous of another trailer down the way with cool blue lights on the interior ceiling of their trailer. I liked the neighbor’s idea of an open house of all the campers so we can see how everyone solved their various problems. You have a box on a frame, with electrics, propane, and water. How does it work? Many solutions are valid and depend on what you want out of your experience.
Now the bread is baking, it’s 10 pm and I’m hoping for the best. Looking good so far and fingers crossed. We’d burn the propane for either heat or the oven, and we are choosing the oven tonight.
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