Monday, August 31, 2015 Road Junkies 0 Comments

CANADA OR BUST, Chapter 21:  
IN WHICH WE LIKE GETTING HIGH
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Day 24:  Cody, WY to Gillette, WY
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After leaving the hotel about 8:15 this morning, we backtracked west to the Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir.  Unfortunately, the visitor center was not yet open but the interpretive signs and exhibits at visitor parking were quite informative.
     
Before leaving the area we planted a letterbox near the dam and picked up a few groceries at the local Albertson's.  Compared to the canyons and cliffs west of Cody, the terrain to its east was quite a contrast—mostly flat, fenced, buff-colored acres with grayish green knee-high scrub.  In the distance, a ridge of low hills limited the sweep of the horizon.  Grass along the roadside forms a golden carpet with occasional clumps of yellow-blossomed gorse providing a pop of color.
   
Trees grow reluctantly, only where planted by humans—mostly around homesteads.  Yet this part of the highway is marked scenic by AAA.  Go figure.  Maybe those doing the ratings favor monotony.
     
As we continued east, we passed through some farmland, then back to the dry scrub again.  In the town of Greybull (pop. 2,140), we filled up with gas before following US-16 as it turned south to Worland, along the Big Horn River.  There we found one of Peter Toth's Whispering Giant statues along with an equally impressive letterbox with one of Shorty's stellar carvings.  The sculpture was carved in 1980 from a Douglas Fir harvested in the Big Horn Mountains in nearby Washakie County.
     
Whispering Giant #36
A hand-carved rubber stamp in the letterbox nearby depicts the statue
Sticking with US-16, we continued northeast through the foothills of the Big Horn Mountains and the town of Ten Sleep (pop. 260).  By then, the scenery had become much more interesting—red rock hills, canyons, mesas, and buttes.  
    
Beyond Ten Sleep we were driving on the Cloud Peak Skyway, a 47-mile byway across the Big Horn Mountains and the southernmost road through these peaks.  At the north cove of Meadowlark Lake, we paused to check out the scenery.  Before leaving, we saw a moose calf enjoying his lunch.
    
Cloud Peak Skyway near Ten Sleep
On the way up toward Powder River Pass, the temperature dropped as our elevation increased—from 78° to 48°.  About 2 p.m., we stopped at the pass and were inspired to plant a letterbox at the summit of this beautiful route.  By the time we were back down to 4,000 feet in the town of Buffalo on the other side of the Big Horns, the temperature was pushing 80° again.
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Setting out on Clear Creek Trail
We stopped at McDonald's in Buffalo for cold drinks and got into an interesting conversation with Don, a sixty-something, silver-haired local entrepreneur. When we joined the line behind him, his cowboy hat, western belt, and dusty boots told us he was no tourist. After he took his ice cream sundae to a table, we sat nearby so Ken could engage him in a conversation about the incredible scenery west of Cody.
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In the course of the conversation, Don asked if we had wondered why we hadn't see more wildlife in the area.  We confessed that we failed to notice, and he plunged into an impassioned discourse about what he sees as folly—the importation of Canadian red wolves into Wyoming.  According to Don, the interlopers have decimated the local deer and elk populations.
   
We couldn't leave Buffalo without searching for another letterbox by one of our favorite Wyoming-based planters—the very clever Half Empty.  The temperature was above 80 and the hike was almost two miles on a gravel trail with only occasional shade, but, as always with his boxes, it was well worth every sweaty step.
    
Finally arriving in Gillette, we popped in at the local Albertson's for dinner supplies, checked in at the hotel, and collapsed into bed soon after we ate.
     
MONDAY, 31 AUGUST 2015

Daily Stats
  • Miles driven:  275
  • Miles walked:  4.2
  • Letterboxes:  2 found, 3 planted
  • Weather:  57° to 84°, sunny
  • Gas:  $3.22 in Greybull, WY
  • Moose:  2
  • Road kill:  46
  • Interstate speed limit:  80 mph

Sunday, August 30, 2015 Road Junkies 0 Comments

CANADA OR BUST, Chapter 20:  
IN WHICH WE SEE ONE MARVEL AFTER ANOTHER   
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Day 23:  West Yellowstone, MT to Cody, WY
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A cool front arrived as we slept, bringing rain overnight and a pleasant 46° start to the day under cloudy skies.  We entered Yellowstone National Park about 8:15, greeted by a much more pleasant ranger who actually offered a map.  On the entrance road, we stopped at the Mount Haynes overlook and planted a letterbox.
     
Established by an act of Congress and endorsed by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, Yellowstone was the first American national park and is also believed to have been the first national park in the world.  Today we planned to explore the lower half of the park, so we turned south when we reached the Grand Loop Road.  First stop was Foretold Canyon Road, where we found another mystery letterbox.

Back on the Grand Loop, the Firehole River was our roadside companion as we continued south toward Old Faithful.  But first we stopped at the Lower Geyser Basin, busy with tourists and geysers putting on a show.  

Next was the Midway Geyser Basin—with even more tourists—and the Grand Prismatic Spring.  The steam was blowing across one section of the boardwalk in such volume that glasses fogged and clothing and hair were saturated.  But the nice wind quickly blew everything dry again.
     
For some reason, most people seem to be in a big hurry today—both on the road and on foot.  We call them "hurry-warts" because they are oblivious to the effects their jostling has on others.
     
Cell service in the park is intermittent with large swaths Verizon-free.  Signals are usually available around visitor centers, and the Old Faithful area was no exception.  As we approached it, I checked my Yellowstone Geyser app and learned that the next 20-minute eruption window would begin in just ten minutes—giving us just enough time to park and find a viewing position around the two thousand or so already gathered for the big show.  Park officials realize that Old Faithful has hordes of loyal fans, so the expansive viewing platform around the geyser accommodates everyone comfortably.
     
Ken hung out near the web cam as we had done on our last visit in 2008 and notified cousins Bruce and Tom that they could see Old Faithful blow in a few minutes.  Bruce called later and reported that he had viewed the shower of power and had spotted Ken.  For the record, the reliable gusher spouted off just ten minutes after the 20 minute window.  Not bad for someone that ancient.

By the time we left the world's most popular geyser, we were ready for some lunch.  Perfect timing since the next letterbox on our list for today was at a picnic area.  But first we stopped briefly to check out Kepler Cascades, and since we had just talked to Bruce and knew he was available, we showed him the waterfall via FaceTime.

A savory salad at a picnic area on the Continental Divide refreshed us for the afternoon as we let our letterbox searches guide our sightseeing.  Next stop was the West Thumb Geyser Basin along the shore of Yellowstone Lake.  A cryptic clue fo a letterbox we were seeking indicated it was hidden in "West Thumb."  
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Though we didn't find the box, we did encounter a busload of Chinese tourists who were thoroughly enjoying the park.  Returning to the car with the new knowledge that the West Thumb reference was a red herring, we quickly deduced where the letterbox was hidden.  But it was a five-mile hike and we just didn't have the time to pursue it.
     
After pausing to find a new letterbox near the top of West Thumb and one off Gull Point Drive, we moved over to the Fishing Bridge area in search of another letterbox.  This section of the park is named for a small bridge spanning the Yellowstone River just before it empties into Yellowstone Lake.  

From 1908, the pedestrian lanes of the bridge were frequently lined elbow to elbow with anglers, their lines tangling and their hooks sometimes snagging passing motorists foolish enough to have their car windows open.  Finally in 1973, park officials closed to bridge to fishing to save the disappearing trout population.  The traditional name remains even though the bridge now sports a prominent "No Fishing" sign.

It was after 4:30 p.m. by the time we left the Fishing Bridge and we still needed to dive to Cody—with some letterboxing stops along the way, of course.  But we couldn't leave Yellowstone without visiting Hayden Valley, truly the place "where the buffalo roam."  In the two days we had been in the park, we had seen an occasional lone bison.  
     
But July and August mark bison breeding season, and the park's central herd always congregate in Hayden Valley, as do Yellowstone tourists.  Numerous pullouts are provided to prevent bison jams, and we were again stupefied by the willingness of tourists to approach these 2,000-lb wild beasts for the sake of a photo op.
   
Our buffalo hunt successful, we shuffled off toward Cody, Wyoming, where we would spend the night.  On our last visit to Yellowstone in 2008, we went through every park entrance except the east entrance, so we had no idea what a treat we had in store.  The Beartooth Highway (northeast entrance) notwithstanding, the triple marked US-14/16/20 around Yellowstone Lake and through Sylvan Pass serves up some of the most alluring scenery in the park.

When offered an overlook on a butte above the lake, we not only admired the view, we left a "Love This Spot" letterbox to lure others there.

But wait!  There's more.  Upon exiting the park, we embarked on the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway, a winding two-lane road through the Wapiti Valley.  President Theodore Roosevelt labeled this stretch between the park and Cody "the fifty more beautiful miles in America."  Having driven many U.S. roads, we can't argue with TR's assessment.
    
With the Shoshone River bubbling nearby as a constant companion, we meandered along with panoramic views—often up close–of the Abasaroka Range.  Unusual rock formations by the hundreds greeted us around every bend in the road.
    
We stumbled a bit with the clues to three letterboxes we found along the way, so darkness was falling by the time we neared Cody.  But there was still enough light to let us know that we need to return tomorrow to get a better look before continuing east toward South Dakota.
     
SUNDAY, 30 AUGUST 2015

Daily Stats
  • Miles driven:  176
  • Miles walked:  5.9
  • Letterboxes:  10 found, 2 planted
  • Weather:  48° to 84°, sunny
  • Yellow buses:  26
  • Bison:  115
  • Lodgepole pines:  1,670
  • Bicyclists:  5
  • Fly fishermen:  22

Mount Haynes

Firehole River falls

Fountain Paint Pots Trail

Fountain Paint Pots

Midway Geyser Basin

Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring

Old Faithful

Abyss Pool

West Thumb area

Letterbox on the shore of Yellowstone Lake

Bison in Hayden Valley

Bison walking the East Entrance Road

US-14 en route to Cody

Saturday, August 29, 2015 Road Junkies 0 Comments

CANADA OR BUST, Chapter 19:  
IN WHICH THINGS COME TO A BOIL
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Day 22:  Yellowstone National Park
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Though the forecast promised a cloudy day, when we left our little cabin just before 8 a.m., the sky was much clearer than we've seen in many days.  At 45°, the air was crisp, and mountain tops were actually visible.
    
Ranger Grumpy at the west gate this morning was not having a great day—no response to our "Good Morning" greeting, no information until we asked for it.  Soon after we entered the park, the wildlife spotting began with two bison and two elk.  The bull elk was being stalked by misguided camera-toting tourists.
     
Like many Americans, we used to play the license plate game when we traveled, trying to spot car tags from each state.  We haven't indulged in that counting game for a while, but when we saw cars from seven states in a parking lot before 8:30, we decided to give it one more go.
     
As we drove along US-191 and then onto the Grand Loop Drive, we continued to follow the Madison River, a shallow clear bubbling stream racing over its stony bed.  

After a brief stop at the Gibbon Falls overlook, our first attraction was the Norris Geyser Basin, one of Yellowstone's hottest and most acidic hydrothermal areas.  Many Norris hot springs and fumaroles have temperatures above the boiling point, which shouldn't be surprising since it is part of one of the world's largest active volcanoes.
   
Steamboat Geyser in one of its smaller sprays
Days, months or even years may pass between major eruptions of the unpredictable Steamboat Geyser, the world's tallest active geyser and a major feature of Norris Basin.  Major eruptions may shoot water more than 300 feet high for as long as 40 minutes, but even in its more dormant state, Steamboat frequently ejects water bursts 10 to 40 feet high.  An impressive sight.
     
Porcelain Basin
Still in the Norris area, Porcelain Basin pulsates from steam and hot, acidic springs full of boiling water below the surface.  A boardwalk takes visitors through this vaporous bowl for as-close-as-you-dare views of the milky blue pools saturated with silica.  
    
From Norris, we continued on Grand Loop Road north toward Mammoth Hot Springs and soon found ourselves in a major construction zone, where the asphalt had been removed down to the road subsurface.  We were following a dump truck and saw only other dump trucks heading south.  Yes, we had seen an "Expect Delays" construction sign, but nothing indicating that the road was closed.

Finally we saw another car behind us and eventually we reached the delay point where drivers had been there so long they had vacated their cars.  In less than five minutes after reaching that point, we moved along, left the construction zone, and continued toward Mammoth.
   
Minerva Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs
Mammoth Hots Springs area
Just before noon, we stopped at the Albright Visitor Center at Mammoth Hot Springs.  By that point—3.5 hours from when we began—we had seen license plates from 37 states and five Canadian provinces.  Leaving the center, we inadvertently turned north instead of east to continue the loop.  As it turned out, we would have missed some great scenery around Mount Everts had we not made that wrong turn.
    
Back on track, we drove east toward the Tower-Roosevelt area, stopping at Undine Falls (short walk, nice falls) and at Wraith Falls (exactly as named, moderate hike).  Near the top of Wraith, however, we found a letterbox.  After that we stopped for lunch at the Hellroaring trailhead, where we located another letterbox.
   
Trail to Wraith Falls
Continuing east on the loop, we stopped at Calcite Springs Overlook, high over the Yellowstone River.  There we met a North Carolina police officer who spends his weeks in Yellowstone each year.  He told us about seeing wolves in Lamar Valley in the early morning, a grizzly bear who comes to a parking area near Mount Washburn an hour before dark, and a black bear at a campground at the same time each day.  Ranger Grumpy could take some lessons.
     
View of the Yellowstone River
At Tower Falls, named for the geologic features above it, we stopped at the overlook and hiked about halfway down to the river to find another letterbox.  Of the three short hikes (less than 2 miles) we did today, this was the most difficult due to the change in elevation and lack of oxygen at the 6,650 altitude.

On our way to Artist Point to search for yet another letterbox, this one by our friend Brown Cow's daughter and son-in-law, we pulled into Crittenden Road to check out the Mount Washburn parking area in case the grizzly we had heard about was in residence.  Though we didn't see him, we decided to plant a letterbox there.

While sitting in the car preparing the box, we heard what sounded like a foghorn going off about eight times.  Later we learned that there was a grizzly just down the slope—out of our line of vision—and a hiker had scared him away with the foghorn.
     
Back down on the loop road, it wasn't long before we spotted that quintessentially Yellowstone sight—a bison lumbering up the center of the road.  Dodging him, we continued to the Canyon area and visited the North Rim Road, which offered excellent views of the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.  Then we were off to the South Rim Drive with its spectacular view of the colorful Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Upper Falls.  As an added bonus, we found two letterboxes off the south drive, leaving the site of the second at 7:15 p.m.
   
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Driving back into the town of West Yellowstone, we enjoyed views of a beautiful sunset.  Exhausted from a long and active day, we returned to our little cabin at 8:30, made dinner and fell into bed to dream about finding elusive letterboxes.
    
As we were driving around the park today, we were searching for a landmark mentioned in an old Wyoming mystery letterbox.  Sure enough, we stumbled across one today.  What a thrill when we were able to decipher the rest of the clue and find the box!
   
SATURDAY, 29 AUGUST 2015
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Daily Stats
  • Miles driven:  155
  • Miles walked:  7.5
  • Letterboxes:  6 found
  • Weather:  40° to 71°, sunny
  • Gas:  $3.03 at West Yellowstone, MT
  • Geysers:  132
  • Bison:  462
  • Elk:  15
  • Chipmunks:  7
  • Hikers peeing in the woods:  8

Found the letterbox!

Friday, August 28, 2015 Road Junkies 0 Comments

CANADA OR BUST, Chapter 18:  
IN WHICH WE LEARN ABOUT THE PRE-INTERNET 
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Day 21:  Helena to West Yellowstone, MT
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Watching Project Runway last night cut into my accomplishing as much planning as I wanted to do for Yellowstone.  But today dawned right on schedule anyway—our travel day to Yellowstone National Park.
     
On our last visit to the park in 2008, we were letterboxing newbies, having found only two boxes ever before the trip.  With almost seven years of experience, we have a list of boxes for today that is longer than our list for that entire two-week trip.
     
At a rest area near Jeff City, we found a ponderosa pine letterbox hidden at the base of a ponderosa pine.  A bit further south, we turned off I-15 onto MT-69 and stopped at the rather eccentric Boulder Springs Inn, a conglomeration of buildings cobbled together over more than 100 years.  The parking lot looked like a scene out of the 1980s, and the letterbox hidden on site was placed under a pile of stucco debris.
    
The seen-better-days Boulder Hot Springs Inn
By the smell of it, that little corner trash pile is a popular al fresco restroom, so we declined the letterbox and moved on down MT-69 to I-90.  Taking the exit for US-287, we drove south through farmlands surrounded by views of the buff-colored Tobacco Root Mountains.  Around 11:30, we turned east on MT-84 to check out a letterbox at the Warm Springs Day Use Area along the Madison River.  The letterbox had a great view of the river and a small creek leading to it.
     
Reception should be great
Then we were back on 287, heading south.  We couldn't resist a stop for a photo op at a giant boom box on a trailer parked in front of a quirky museum in the little burg of Norris.  While there, we talked briefly with a couple from Arizona and helped them with a photo.  Having recently visited Yellowstone, they just cancelled their Glacier plans due to the smoke cover and are headed back south to Grand Teton instead.  Smart choice!
     
Virginia City
In Ennis, we took a detour on MT-287 to visit Virginia City (pop. 196) sixteen miles west.  We had read a bit about the preservations in this once raucous gold-mining town and territorial capital founded after a couple of prospectors discovered gold near Alder Creek.  Since that kind of news traveled fast, even in the days before the internet, many other gold diggers soon joined them and a mining district was established to formulate rules about individual claims.  Within just a few weeks, the town was established and populated with thousands of fortune seekers.
    
What had been a remote area of the Idaho Territory with no law enforcement was suddenly a boom town complete with the variety of unscrupulous characters a gold rush was prone to attract.  By the end of 1863, robbery and murder had become rampant along the roads and trails in the area.  Eventually vigilantes organized to fill the law enforcement vacuum and hanged as many as 15 road agents, including their alleged leader, the sheriff of Bannack, Montana.
    
Once the gold field was mostly mined out and the territorial capital moved to Helena in 1875, Virginia City, like so many gold rush towns, withered and eventually attained the status of a ghost town.
   
Virginia City
Fast forward to the 1940s and most of the town's neglected structures still looked as they had in the late 1800s when the town was mostly abandoned.  That's when wealthy industrialist Charles Bovey and his wife Sue visited the town.  They discovered that the few remaining residents were gradually tearing down the old buildings for safety reasons and using the remains for firewood.

The Boveys began buying buildings and restoring them to their late 1800s appearance.  In the 1950s, the town was opened for tourism, and today Virginia City and nearby Nevada City are owned and operated by the Montana Historic Commission.  With a half million visitors annually, the towns are the top state-owned tourist attraction in Montana, even though they're open only in the summer.
     
Based on advice from a local fisherman we met this morning, we stopped in Ennis and filled up with premium gas at $2.99, said to be 20¢ a gallon cheaper than the Yellowstone area.  Back on US-287, we drove, following the course of the Madison River.  Continuing through the Madison River Valley, we reached an area where the Madison Range of the Rocky Mountains, with peaks up to 11,000 feet, were on our left with the lower Snowcrest Range on our right.  Now this was a scenic drive.
   
Palisades Recreation Area
Near Cameron we stopped at Palisades Recreation Area, a popular launch area for drift boat fishing.  As the name suggests, a long wall of cliffs borders the river at this location.  Surrounded by natural beauty, with a cool breeze blowing and smoke finally clearing, we were finally inspired to plant our Love This Spot #19 letterbox.  In truth, it should have been #16, but we were without cell service and had no way to check Atlas Quest for the next number, leaving us with the only choice of making a guess.

A bit further south we detoured yet again, six miles out on a gravel road and across the Madison River, through large expanses of sagebrush and grazing cattle.  After we passed through a ghost town,  the prairie suddenly transitioned to an evergreen forest.  As we topped a rise, we caught a glimpse of Wade Lake, one of the "hidden chain of lakes" in the Beaverhead National Forest.  The setting was beautiful, and this time we found a letterbox.
   
In Beaverhead National Forest, definitely a road less traveled
Back through the dust and black Angus, we continued south toward Yellowstone, soon finding ourselves passing the eerie shores of Quake Lake.  Near midnight on August 17, 1959, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake shook this area, just west of Yellowstone National Park, triggering a massive landslide across Madison Canyon and creating a dam which trapped the Madison River into what became known as Quake Lake.  More than two dozen people camping in the area were killed.
     
Over the following weeks, water continued to rise until the lake was five miles long and almost 200 feet deep.  To prevent flooding of the entire area, engineers constructed a spillway through the quake-made dam.  Gradually over the years, the river has eroded the spillway, resulting in an infinitesimally slow drainage of the lake.  "Ghost trees," which were once completely submerged, now encircle the lake.  Eventually the lake will drain completely, allowing the river to resume its path.
   
Ghost trees at Quake Lake
Finally as we neared the town of West Yellowstone, we saw blue skies—our first in six days.  We are hopeful that smoke will not mar our views as we head into America's oldest national park tomorrow.  After we checked in at the Explorer Cabins, we prepared dinner and laid out a few plans.  Tomorrow we'll spend the first of two full days in Yellowstone.
     
FRIDAY, 28 AUGUST 2015

Daily Stats
  • Miles driven:  264
  • Miles walked:  2.8
  • Letterboxes:  9 found, 1 planted
  • Weather:  51° to 79°, hazy to partly cloudy
  • Gas:  $3.00 at Ennis, MT
  • Chain-up areas:  12
  • Square hay bales:  5,026
  • Snow fences:  603