We made it through the hot weather in Washington (without pulling that television out), stayed at a couple of really nice RV parks in Montana before entering Yellowstone. We met a very nice couple from Florida who were on their fifth week of full-timing. We spent a great evening talking full-time and Alaska. They are planning on doing the Alaska trip next summer so we had a lot to talk about. Hope we can catch-up with Ellen and Mario in Arizona this winter.
As we were about to enter Yellowstone we spotted a few elk alongside the road. Of course, we had to pull over and take a few pictures but as we were watching the elk a large herd of Big Horn Sheep came down the mountain very close to us. It was fun watching them until they decided to cross the highway. It made us nervous to watch them slowly cross a very busy road but they all made it.
We made reservations for two nights in Yellowstone and very glad we did because the campgrounds were full. The campground we stayed in has over 400 sites but the way it is set-up it is hard to tell there are that many units in it. We used their shower system and never had to wait to take a shower. Even with the CG being full the traffic through the park wasn’t bad until we went through Hayden Valley where the buffalo roam. We spent a good part of each day just parked with the mini on a pull-out in Hayden Valley watching the buffalo and the people. We can’t tell you which we enjoyed more watching the people or watching the buffalo.
Joe and I love the east side of Yellowstone where the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is located, the upper and lower falls, artist point, and of course, Hayden Valley. We decided to just stay on that side of the park and enjoy what we love the most. We did a few hikes around the falls and artist point. It was nice to have the mini because we just pulled her up next to a beautiful little lake and made lunch and enjoyed the peace of Yellowstone.
We are currently in Cody, WY enjoying the beautiful weather. Tomorrow we head to the Big Horn Mountains for a few days of dry camping and then to South Dakota. Not many miles left before we are back in MN.
A few notes – the mini is official on the market. We have For Sale signs posted in the windows and we’ve had one person talk to us about it. Who knows we might get lucky and sell it on the road. We both know we will feel sad when she goes. It really worked out great for us.
Second, the morning we were leaving for Yellowstone we made a stop at urgent care for Joe. He had a really bad rash on his back and side with a lot of pain. He had it for about four days and at first we thought he had a reaction to something. But it was getting so bad he couldn’t sleep and he suspected shingles. I thought no way since we both had the shingles shot. But the doctor confirmed what he suspected. Joe had shingles. He was lucky he went in and got some meds. The doctor told him shingles can go to the lungs and that is very dangerous. He has a really hard time sleeping because of the pain but the rash is started to slowly get better. He was told six weeks or longer before it would be completely gone. If he had to get it we are glad it happened at the end of this trip and not when we were just starting off for Alaska. We laugh that it must have been from the stress of the Alaskan highways. This was just a small bump in the road of our lives.
Stay safe! Love to all family and friends.