Part one of the Yellowstone experience!

May 13: Well the rain followed us and while we were able to decamp with minimal rain it started a steady rain as we left the Lazy R in Ranchester, WY. Kind of sad it was cloudy as it obscured what would have been a glorious sight as we drove into the snow covered mountains we saw the night before. Not knowing the road well I was ready for a steep climb. And it was. As we went back and forth on switchbacks my trustworthy Tundra did well pulling and didn’t overheat. I suspect one of the reasons was that the temperature was 41 degrees. Then 40-38-36-34-33 and the rain changed to snow that was heavy and wet though not accumulating. My fear was that it would start to ice up on the way up with minimal safe turn arounds as many weren’t plowed out and there were several at such a steep grade that even stopping there would be scary. When we passed a sign saying we were about 8100 ft I breathed a sigh of relief. Well that sign didn’t mean we were done climbing but after about 15 minutes of continued up and down we were headed down. Annnd the weather turned partly sunny and no precipitation with dry roads. It was a lonnnnng steep, switchback laden downhill trip but using low gears and a couple of stops to let people pass we arrived at the bottom (5000 ft above sea level lol). Brakes and Tundra not overheating and intact with only some shifted stuff in trailer. Phewwww. Oh and when I wasn’t shifting and checking gauges, the views going down were just amazing. How do they keep being so amazing and even more impressive.

We drove into Cody, a really nice town that very intentionally, I’m sure, looks like what I expected western cowboy towns to look like. I mentioned we should stock up so stopped at an Albertsons and got water and a few supplies. Then we headed into a valley/pass with huge mountains beside and in front of us as we drive along a beautiful river. 60 plus miles later of minimal civilization we arrived at the east gate into Yellowstone. Almost there? Nope another 25 plus miles of steep climbing and downhills with ongoing beautiful scenery. A bit frustrating as I had to keep my eye on the road and anticipate downhills to keep my speed slow before descending. I really just wanted to gawk at the scenery lol. Well we arrived at the Fishing Bridge RV campground (7900 ft a live seal level) and parked. Wow what a day’s journey. At the registration desk I was read a verrrry long list of do’s and dont’s mainly in place to protect from bears (no food or grills etc left out) and no fires to protect the landscape from the many examples of forest fires we saw coming in. We found our back in site and with Jo womanning the walkie-talkie and guiding me, we easily backed in. Let the booking up to power etc begin. Oh and the leveling I still haven’t gotten down lol. More on that later. Thankful to God for our safe but scary journey (clearly was listening to my mumbled prayers) and the beauty all around us. What a country we live in. More to come on our four day longest stay yet.