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swalker

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I am writing this from our trailer at Madison Campground in Yellowstone National Park. I will post this message to a new thread when we get to cell phone coverage so you can share some of the adventures we are having.

This has been an interesting trip. I debated long and hard about cancelling this trip, but after all of that decided to try the trip and take on each challenge as it unfolded. I made that decision about 2 weeks before we were scheduled to leave.

In the old days, we would travel to Yellowstone with one car loaded with a tent and a couple of sleeping bags. Now, it is as if we are on a major expedition.

For this trip, Lori drove the wheelchair van loaded with my Permobil C500 Corpus 3G wheelchair (my beloved C500s VS wheelchair is in the shop being repaired) and my Magic Mobiity X4 wheelchair. The van also carries our cat along with an unbelievable amount of cat support equipment.

I drive an SUV that tows the trailer. I require a special diet, so the trailer is loaded with a month's worth of food for me. How Lori squeezes all of that into the trailer's fridge/freezer is beyond me!

Before heading to Yellowstone, we decided to take the beautiful drive over Hagerman Pass, a six hour drive with signifiant four-wheel drive roads. At the top of the pass, many miles from any help, the car died. I was able to diagnose it as a repeat of a dirty Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor. This had happened on our return from our previous Yellowstone trip, so we new how to resolve the problem. We got the car started and it ran fine the for the rest of that day.

This happened in our Lexus Lx470, which is the vehicle we use to tow the trailer. Research indicated that a second failure indicated the MAF sensor was on its way out. It turned out that no Lexus or Toyota dealership in Colorado had one. In fact, I could not find any dealerships anywhere in the US that had it in stock. So, it had to be special ordered, and was not scheduled to arrive until Monday, two days after our scheduled departure to Yellowstone on Saturday.

The dealership told us to check in on Saturday, as the part might arrive early. We packed as if the part would be in on Saturday. Saturday morning the dealership let us know the part had arrived. We scurried to finish our packing and headed for the dealership, which took us on a 1.5 hour longer drive to our first scheduled overnight stay in Pinedale Wyoming.

We made it to the dealership and with my wife's help were able to replace the MAF sensor. The car ran perfectly after that. Whew.

We then headed off to Pinedale. Along the way, my cell phone died! It started continuously rebooting. This had happened a week before, and I had rebuilt the software from the original factory settings. I thought that had fixed the problem, but it had not.

We finally made it Pinedale that night and I slept very soundly and very long. It is a good thing the checkout time was noon! We left the hotel a bit after noon.

I will take a break here and post more to this thread as I have time and conectivity.

Steve
 
This post continues the story of our fall trip to Yellowstone.

The trip from Pinedale, Wyoming to Yellowstone National park was uneventful. It was stunningly beautiful, as always.

The drive takes us through Rim Station to the Hoback Canyon and then into Jackson, Wyoming. From there, it is a short ride to the Grand Teton National Park. We stopped in the park for lunch and then continued driving to Yellowstone.

The drive from Pinedale to the Madison Campground in Yellowstone was a bit under 6 hours.

When we arrived at the campground, Lori checked us in and then we headed to our campsite, where we unhitched and set up camp.

We are pretty efficient at getting camp set up by now. It is great that Lori can do all the heavy lifting!

After camp was set up, I went to bed and slept for 14 hours!

The next day we headed to the closest town, West Yellowstone, Montana to get cell phone coverage. There we used Lori's cell phone to start the process of getting me a new phone.

It took a week and three trips to West Yellowstone to get the phone, but it finally arrived and I was able to minimally configure it so it is useable for the rest of our trip.

As we were leaving for our first trip to West Yellowstone, I noticed a spot of oil under the SUV. I had changed the oil just before we left home (yep, I refuse to give up changing the oil, but maybe it is about time to consider it). I had installed the oil filter incorrectly and we had an oil leak. It took a week to get an appointment in West Yellowstone to have the oil changed and the oil filter put on correctly.

Despite all the little challenges we have run into, we have been having a great time. We have seen friends here and been able to watch some magnificent geyser eruptions.

We have also had some wonderful wildlife eperiences, though at distances too great for photography.

That is enough for now. I will write more later.

Steve
 
Oh Steve, you and Matt would be such a pair!! I think Sue and I would be a good team, too. I am glad that you made the trip. Your descriptions of your trips and the little bit I saw in May has put an extended stay in Yellowstone and the surrounding area on my bucket list. The car troubles sound VERY familiar. Wow.

Beckh
 
Steve-

I always read your reports on and from Yellowstone with great enjoyment. It seems this is the place where your soul feels at home.

I have been there, and I can picture in my mind the places you talk about and the experiences you have. The place is as close to what I envision a N American Shangri-La could be.

Thanks again for all your reports from Yellowstone. They are very enjoyable reminders my husband and I should visit there again.

I hope the rest of your trip does not involve any more unexpected visits to the auto repair shop.

Fiona
 
Steve, if you happen to stop in at Jackson lodge look up Alex Kline general manager a good friend of mine. Have a great Yellowstone!
 
My previous posts have mostly dealt with the issues we faced in getting here and getting fully operational in Yellowstone. From this post forward, I will hopefully be sharing some of the wonderful experiences we are having.

For the first few days we had unseasonably warm weather. Then the weather turned cold and snowy. It has been very wet with occasional snow for 5 of the last 6 days. That weather has influence some of our activities.

One wet evening we decided to drive the lower loop of the main Yellowstone road (which is arranged as a figure 8). That loop is about 95 miles long. It takes us past Old Faithful, West Thumb, Fishing Bridge, and into the Hayden Valley.

We arrived at the Hayden Valley a bit before dusk. We were very forutnate to spot most of the Wapiti wolf pack. That pack has at least 17 confirmed members, though some respected wolf watchers have reported 18.

As we were looking through binoculars and spotting scope, we were able to count 15 of them. They were socializing and playing on the far bank of the Yellowstone River, which runs through the Hayden Valley.

There was a mix of black and gray colored wolves with both adults and this year's pups. It was a stunning sight and one of the best wolf watching experiences my wife and I have had.

A couple of days later, we took the long drive to the Lamar Valley. We did not have as much luck with wildlife, but we did have a wonderful time. We saw buffalo (bison), pronghorn (also called antelope in the US, but they are not true antelope), deer, and a variety of birds.

Yesterday, we took the equally long drive over Dunraven pass to the Blacktail Plateau. The wildlife was not abundant, but we did see buffalo, bighorn sheep, elk, deer, and a lone coyote.

On the way back to camp we took an excursion to the Hayden Valley, where we came across the Wapiti wolf pack again, this time near Otter Creek. We counted 10 of them with a mix of black and gray as well as adults and pups. They were apparently on a carcass and there were many people gathered to watch them.

We spent most of today around the campsite, with a short excursion to West Yellowstone to refill on popane and gas. With all the cloudy weather the solar panels have not produced much energy, so we have been running the generator a lot.

On the way back to camp we spotted a bull elk with a harem (it is elk rutting season here). After doing a few chores around camp and having an early dinner, I went back to that meadow, which is about 2 miles from the campsite. I found the bull with about 6 females. After awhile, a group of 15 cows and calves emerged from the treeline in the background and joined them.

All of this happened very close to a parking area and I was able to take a few pictures. With the heavy clounds, the light was really low, so I don't know if any will be worth keeping, but I sure had a great time photographing them. It is the first opportunity I have had to photograph wildlife on this trip.

After the last week of mostly cold, wet, snowy weather (daytime temperatures in the 30s and 40s [F] with nightime temperatures well below freezing), we are ready for a break. The forecast is for one more day of this weather and then a general drying trend. We can hardly wait!

The great news is I don't have to worry about the smoke from the wildfires in the western US causing me problems. The wet weather has washed all the smoke from the air.

Until next time,,

Steve
 
Steve, your story reminds me so much of a very good friend whom I had the misfortune of meeting years after my diagnosis and shortly after his. He has a tremendous love for Yellowstone, he has hiked literally every mile of trail in the park and most of the trails in Yosemite with the JMT being the only exception. His diagnosis of course like the rest of us was devastating but even more so I think to such an avid outdoorsman. He wrote a book that describes his final adventure in Yellowstone entitled,
"A week in Yellowstone's thorofare" it describes not only a canoe trip with his best friends who provided him with all the care and assistance he required for the trip and a number of other adventures prior to his developing ALS, it is a tremendous story, it can be purchased on Amazon, I think it's about 20 bucks. It would not surprise me if the to you are somehow acquainted. He has a Facebook page called "Hike for Mike" we encourage anyone to post records and pictures of their adventures, he says it helps him to relive the life that he has been forced to leave behind.

Good luck, have a great time and God bless,

Tom
 
Wonderful, your life is the best adventure!!!!
 
Thank you for sharing your latest trip with us, Steve. You should save your narratives.
 
Friday was another cold, wet, overcast day. We went to bed Thursday night with snow falling heavily. We woke up to a campground covered in snow, with light snow still falling.

The snow slowly transitioned to rain and then precipitation was on and off for most of the rest of the day. Late in the afternoon we actually had a few small spots of blue sky - the fist blue sky we had seen in many days.

Given the gloomy weather prospects, we decided to have breakfast at the Old Faithful Lower General Store. We have several friends who work there and other that usually stop by.

When we arrived, we were told that we had just missed a grizzly bear sow and cub that had walked through the meadow between Castle geyser and the Old Faithful Inn. It walked very close to the Lower General Store. My friends were excited to have seen it. We, of course, were disappointed to have missed it.

We had a very leisurly breakfast and then drove around the park looking for wildlife. We saw beautiful sights, but did not see much wildlife besides buffalo.

We returned to the trailer for an early dinner. After dinner, I went out to photograph the elk that are now within about a mile or so of the campground.

I drove to a pullout and parked the van, where I set up my camera just outside the van. I anticipated the big bull elk would eventually move my direction.

After about 90 minutes, I lost patience and drove down to the next pullout where he was hanging out (too far for pictures, but worth looking at with binoculars).

As I drove to that pullout, the bull finally started moving toward my original position! I turned around and returned to the original pullout and got a great view of the bull, as well as a few pictures.

He now has 26 cows in his harem, but he is a small enough bull that I think he will have trouble holding on to them.

As the light faded I returned to our campsite and warmed up in the triailer. Cold really affects me and even though I was appropriately dressed for the occasion, I was still chilled to the bone.

I have been able to write more about this trip as it is happening thanks to my bluetooth keyboard. I bought it to work with my text to speech application on my cell phone. I have found it is wonderful to type these notes about our trip. I can type them directly into my cell phone and then paste the text into the forum web site when I get to cell phone coverage.

Till next time,

Steve
 
Steve, you are a wonderful story teller. I always enjoy your trips!
 
Today we got off to a slow start, as usual. I slept over 13 hours. It was cloudy most of the day, but there were a few spots of blue sky throuout the day.

We left camp at about 1:30 and proceeded down the Madison valley to see what the elk were up to. Most of the elk were tucked up in the trees, as is their habit that time of day.

At the seven-mile bridge, about half way between the campground and West Yellowstone, we found a few cows emerging from the trees. One started limping badly after crossing the Madison River, so will likely become prey of wolves in the not-to-distant future.

We then drove through Norris and over to Canyon. We then made our way to the Hayden Valley, stopping at Grizzly Overlook. There, I was able to see a lone wolf through the spotting scope at a distance of about 1.5 miles.

While we were watching that wolf, an immature balt eagle flew overhead.

We then continued south through the Hayden Valley, stopping at another overlook, where we saw elk, four trumpeter swans, numerous canada geese, lots of waterfowl, and three different mature bald eagles. It was a wonderful place to stop and spend some time.

We then drove to Fishing Bridge, where we saw some very large bull buffalo next to the road.

We returned to the Madison valley for sunset and watched the group of elk near the campground. The bull was hiding in some trees, but made occasional appearances in a meadow with the cows. He bugled and strutted with typical rutting behavior

One of the adventues we had ealier in our trip was to journey to the Grand Prismatic Spring overlook. There is a trail that runs behind Grand Prismatic spring, the largest hot spring in Yellowstone (and perhaps the world). It has beautiful bacterial mats in its runoff, but the pattern they create is only visible from above.

There is a hill behind that triail and there has been an illegal use trail there for years, which I have never done because it is illegal.

The Park Service closed the main trail for 1.5 years and put in an official trail and overlook so that Grand Prismatic Spring can be viewed from a higher elevation (several hundred feet above the spring).

The trail and overlook opened on the last day of our summer trip. Lori hiked to it and assured me I should be able to do it in the wheelchair. Doing this trail was a high priority for this trip.

During the first few days of the trip, when the weather was nice, we gave it a try.

The main trail behind Grand Prismatic Spring is a double track and very easy in the wheelchair. After about a mile, there is a side trail that goes up to the overlook. That is the new trail built by the Park Service.

The wheelchair handled the trail well, though there were a few tough parts (including a waterbar that had to be crossed). I made it to the top of the trail, where there are 5 steps onto the viewing platform. The wheelchair could not do the steps, obviously, but I am still able to. So, up the steps I went and onto the viewing platform.

It was everything I could have imagined. There was a very nice metal railing I could hold on to. The views were maginificent. There were many people there. Some made inane comments about wishing they had a wheelchair:). I have become used to those and don't mind them.

I took many pictures and look forward to processing them when we return home. I will try to post some to this thread, but it will probably be a month or more before I can do so.

After seeing the sights from the viewing platform, we returned to the main trail and then proceeded on to the Fairy Falls trail. We turned left there and continued to within about a quarter mile of the falls. There, a large boulder in the trail blocks my way (as I have learned from many previous wheelchair excursions on that trail).

At that point, Lori and I separated. She continued on to Imperial Geyser and the Imperial Meadows trail and then to the Fountain Flats end of the trail (around 5 more miles).

I explored on the main trail for a few miles and then returned to the van. I went a total of about 8 miles in the wheelchair. I then drove the van to the Fountain Flats end of the trail and arrived at the parking lot just as Lori was walking the last few paces of the trail. Perfect timing!

It was a glorious day of hiking and reaffirmed that, really, life is very good despite the limitations I might have.

That is my report for today. Until next time,

Steve
 
Here are a few minimally processed pictures.
 

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Absolutely beautiful photos yet again, Steve. Beautifully composed- the bull elk calling is really something.
 
Love, love, love your photography! Amazing shots!
 
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