Adventures in Yellowstone: Fall 2022

[swalker]

My wife and I returned from our fall trip to Yellowstone last week. It was a good trip and the weather was much better than on recent trip we have taken to that part of the world.

We spent a week in the Grand Teton National Park and then three weeks in Yellowstone National Park.

We camped (with our motorhome) at the Colter Bay campground in the Grand Teton National Park and at the Madison campground in Yellowstone National park.

There was a significant haze due to smoke from wildfires in Idaho while we were in the Tetons. There were days when we could just barely make out the presence of the Teton mountains across Lake Jackson due to the haze. It did improve a bit during the week we were there, but we never got the crystal clear sky that the Tetons are known for.

We had a few issues with our motorhome on this trip. By now, we are pretty accustomed to having issues, as there always seems to be something ready to fail on such a complex item. I will provide a few details on those failures in subsequent posts on this thread.

I am less able to take pictures now. In fact, I don't think I took a single picture during the week we were in the Tetons. I did take a few pictures in Yellowstone, but none of wildlife.

I was pretty disappointed to not return with any wildlife pictures, but there were several reasons wildlife photography was not practical on this trip. First, I have less capacity than on previous trips. Second, some of the park is still closed from the spring flooding, including the Lamar valley, which usually has abundant wildlife. Third, the weather was unseasonably warm for much of the trip, which prevented the wildlife from coming out.

With the nicer weather, we did spend a lot of time in the geyser basis looking at all the wonderful thermal features. We managed to get out for a few exciting backcountry wheelchair rides, which was especially nice.

I also was able to accomplish a goal I had set out a few years ago, which was to do a wheelchair ride from Moose Junction to String Lake and back. That is a ride of over 20 miles. I will describe it in a future post.

It was a great trip, but I was pretty wiped out by the time we returned home. I am so thankful I am still able to make this kind of trip. I don't know home many more I have in me, but plan to keep travelling for as long as I can.

Steve

 

[affected]

no matter what you lose Steve, I always see more rejoicing in what you still have.
Making that 20 mile ride goal should have you grinning for a very long time!
Great to hear from you.

 

[swalker]

I will start with a description of our trip to the Tetons.

We had beautiful weather for the two-day drive to the Colter Bay campground in Grand Teton National Park. The first day, we drove to Rock Springs, WY, where we spent the night at an RV park.

Unfortunately, on the first significant descent, we discovered that the motorhome's engine exhaust brake (jake brake) did not seem to be engaging. That was a bit concerning, because this trip would involve crossing the continental divide a total of 10 times. What was worse was that the most challenging descents were not associated with continental divide crossings!

I have a lot of experience driving in the mountains and knew the route we would be taking well. I believed that I could safely complete the trip without the jake brake, so we continued on our way.

We did make it safely to the campground in Rock Springs, WY and spent a pleasant evening there. We woke up the next morning to clear skies and departed for the Colter Bay campground.

We had crossed the continental divide twice the previous day, and there were no more crossings on our way to Colter Bay. However, there was one steep descent to be concerned about and that was from Rim Station, WY through the Hoback canyon to Hoback Junction (about 20 miles south of Jackson, WY).

As we were making the descent through the Hoback canyon, we spotted quite a bit of tire debris on the road, as if a truck had a tire blow out. As I rounded a curve, I spotted a flatbed truck that had lost both rear tires on the passenger side. It was driving on the rims and was going less than 10 miles an hour. This was on a narrow, winding, two-lane highway. There was absolutely no opportunity to safely pass the truck. I managed to slow the motorhome down and we proceeded to a safe passing zone where I got around it.

About that time, the engine warning light came on in the motorhome. I was able to find a spot to pull over and Lori and I did some research on the error that caused the light. Our engine has a turbocharger and the error indicated that the control system was not getting a pressure reading from a particular sensor associated with the turbocharger. The result was that the control system would derate the engine (limit the engine's power output), but that we could safely drive the motorhome.

While we were stopped, the truck riding on rims passed us. Fortunately, we were stopped long enough that we never caught up to that truck again.

We completed the trip to the Colter Bay campground, making the beautiful drive along the base of the Teton mountains.

When we arrived at the campground, we were able to get the motorhome set up without any issues.

It was an eventful trip, but overall quite a pleasant drive.

Steve

 

[KevinM]

I always love your posts after the trips, Steve, although I continue to be amazed at the number of issues you’ve had with the motorhome. No one needs that added stress on each trip, though as with everything else you handle it so well. Thank you for being you. Kevin

 

[bhg]

I too really enjoy your posts, Steve. Thanks.

 

[swalker]

Our stay in the Tetons was very nice. There was a lot of smoke from wildfires in the western states and that smoke did degrade the views quite a bit. However, the weather was very pleasant.

My wife and I went on many hikes together. There is a wonderful set of trails around the Colter Bay campground. With my four wheel drive wheelchair, I could follow a trail from the campground down to Lake Jackson. From there, we could explore a network of trails that ran along the shores of the lake.

One day, we decided to do the hike toward Hermitage Point. We knew we could not complete the hike, as the trail becomes too rough even for the 4 wheel drive wheelchair. However, we were pretty confident we could make it to Heron Pond, which is usually quite beautiful.

When we arrived at the start of the hike, we discovered there was a detour to accommodate some construction work they were doing on the trail. The detour took us along a very steep, rough trail. We climbed up over a ridge and then had to descend back toward to regular trail. The 4 wheel drive wheelchair barely made that trek! In fact, I almost rolled the wheelchair over while trying to negotiate the rough terrain.

But, we did make it past the detour and continued out toward Heron Pond. Unfortunately, there has been a drought in the western US. Lake Jackson is a reservoir and much of its water had been drained to supply water to farmers in Idaho and Oregon. This caused the water in Heron Pond to be extremely low. It was a very disappointing sight. There are several beaver lodges in the pond and all of these were above the water line. It made it easy to spot beavers, but was not what we were hoping to see.

We went as far as we could past Heron Pond and then turned around when the trail became too rough. We made it back to the trailhead (almost rolling the wheelchair once more on the difficult part) and then went back to camp.

Despite the disappointment of the construction and the low water levels, it really was a wonderful excursion.

Steve

 

[swalker]

It has been awhile since I was last able to post an update to this thread. We have been quite busy. When we returned from Yellowstone, we had a lot of things to take care of and then we departed on a two-week trip to the Grand Canyon. I have been recovering from that trip for the last two weeks and am finally able to resume posting a few stories about our Yellowstone trip.

I will pick up the narrative with a story about a wonderful day we had in the Tetons. I believe the Tetons are among the most beautiful, readily-accessible mountains in the US. It is a small range, but the scenery is just spectacular. While the skys were hazy due to smoke from wildfires in the western US, the views were still very spectacular.

My wife and I each had activities we wanted to pursue. For here, it was the long hike to Amphitheatre lake. For me, it was a wheelchair ride along the base of the Tetons from the Moose visitor center to String lake.

My wife's hike was about 10 miles with substantial elevation gain. We had both done this hike (and a bit more) on a trip in 1996. She had not been back to amphitheatre lake since. It is a fantastic hike.

My trip would be a ride of a bit more than 20 miles. I would need to take my Magic Mobility X4 four wheel drive wheelchair, as it is the only wheelchair I have with sufficient range and I would be going over some stretches of trail that a 2 wheel drive wheelchair could not traverse.

On the appointed day I dropped my wife off at the Lupine Meadows trailhead, a trailhead I had been to many times over the years, as that is the start of many of the climbing routes in the Tetons. It was a beautiful day with a bit less haze than on other days.

I then drove the wheelchair van to the Moose visitor center and unloaded in my wheelchair. Most of the ride would be on a magnificent bike path that was put in a bit more than a decade ago.

Oddly enough, the visitor center is outside the park entrance, so I had to ride my wheelchair past the entrance. I was required to show my park pass before I could enter, and they entrance is not set up for that to be at all practical. There is a curb between the path and the entrance station with lanes of traffic in between. There was absolutely no way I could get to the attendant! I simply waved my pass at them and they seemed OK with that. I don't think they see many wheelchairs coming through that entrance!

The ride was really special. I had been wanting to do it for quite a few years, but things had just not worked out to allow me to do it on past trips.

The wheelchair I was in is quite slow, with a maximum speed of 4 miles per hour. I plodded along, enjoying the scenery and serenity as I made my way up onto a bench and then across the base of the Tetons on a wonderful alluvial plain. I saw some wonderful birds along with a few chipmunks and ground squirrels. I expected to see a lot of elk, but did not see any at all. I did come across a couple of pronghorn antelopes.

I made my way to the Jenny lake area, which is one of the main attractions for tourists. I rode through that area and along Jenny lake off and on as I approached the String lake area.

I made it to String lake without any issues and was able to easily make my way down the dirt path to the lake. I then took a side trail along String lake all the way to its outflow. There is a bridge there and I took it. It was the first time I had been able to get to that bridge and I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I could only go a hundred yards or so once I was on the other side of the bridge.

I turned around and continued on the dirt trail until it met up with the paved bike path. I retraced my steps and made it back to the van.

What a wonderful trip. I was well and truly spent by the time I made it to the van. I have said before that I have a practical limit of 20 miles in that wheelchair, because it does not support my body well enough and because the only suspension is the pneumatic tires. This trip was 21.25 miles, which was beyond that limit.

I got the wheelchair and me loaded into the van and drove back to the Lupine Meadows trailhead where I had dropped my wife off earlier. She was waiting for me, having finished her hike about 10 minutes before I got there. Her hike was as wonderful as my wheelchair ride.

All in all, it was a wonderful day for both us.

I am so thankful that we overcame various obstacles to make this trip happen. Taking trips to the Tetons, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, etc. requires an enormous commitment and ingenuity. The trips take so much out of me that I sometimes wonder if they are worth doing or if I should just be content to sit at home. Days like the one described here seem to make all the sacrifices and effort worthwhile.

Steve

 

[affected]

you make my heart sing Steve

 

[Mary2]

Wow! What a beautiful description of Yellowstone. We have never been there! Well worth the effort!

 

[Tomswife]

My PALS,Tom, and I went to the Tetons years ago with our daughter. Thank you for posting this. It brought back memories. I will read this to Tom since he should have a power wheelchair sometime in December.

 

[swalker]

I am glad folks are enjoying following along on our adventures!

All our 7 days in the Tetons were really wonderful. For this installment, I will describe an afternoon my wife and I spent at String lake.

String lake is another popular spot in the Tetons. There is a large parking lot and it is often a challenge to find parking there. There are several van accessible handicap parking spots and were were able to pull into one of them.

We unloaded the 4 wheel drive wheelchair and made our way down to the lake. It is a small narrow lake at the base of the Tetons on the eastern side. It is very pretty, with nice views of the Cathedral Group, which consists of the Grand Teton, Mt. Owens, and Teewinot mountain.

We walked/rode along the dirt path on the shore of the lake. There were folks on rafts, tubes, canoes, and paddle boards enjoying the water. We had great views of the mountains and the temperatures were warm enough that I was not uncomfortable at all.

We were able to do the entire dirt trail to the lakes outlet and take the bridge to the western side of the lake. Within a hundred yards or so there are large rocks in the trail the prevent me from taking my wheelchair farther. We enjoyed the views and then made our way back across the bridge and continued on the dirt path until it joined up with the main paved bike path. We followed the bike path back to the wheelchair van and then headed back to camp.

It was pretty magical to spend time together at that special place. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures while in the tetons this year, but will add a picture I took in 2019.

Steve

 

[affected]

stunning reflection and your stories mean the world Steve

 

[KevinM]

Thank you Steve, on so many levels. I know from your descriptions that the trips are getting very difficult and draining, and I imagine with winter upon us this will be your last RV trip until next year. It is my fervent hope that you can have several more trips.

 

[swalker]

Kevin, we have other trips planned for next year. I sure hope we are able to go on them. Travel has been a big part of our lives, especially travel to places where we can enjoy the beauty of nature.

Affected, thanks for your feedback. I sure have enjoyed photography, though it is becoming more difficult. While there are few pictures from this year's trip to the Tetons and Yellowstone, I did manage to get a few good shots on our trip to the Grand Canyon. I will share some of those when I get around to starting a thread about that trip.

For now, I am still in recovery mode. One of the things I have noted since diagnosis is that while I am still pretty functional is many ways, I have limited capacity. Since our fall trips, my capacity has taken a noticeable step in the wrong direction. I have been trying to take care of myself as we recover from the trips and am hopeful some of my capacity to do things will be restored.

Now, back to our story. My wife and I really enjoyed the Tetons, despite the atmospheric haze caused by wildfires in the northwest part of the US. We were able to make a couple of trips into Jackson, Wyoming, which is a special little tourist town south of the Tetons with some of the highest real estate prices in the US. It is amazing how many truly wealthy people have homes there.

We wrapped up our week in the Tetons and it was time to make our way to the Madison Campground in Yellowstone. That was a drive of about 75 miles. We would cross the continental divide 3 times and do another descent that is even steeper than those associated with the continental divide crossings.

Since our engine exhaust brake (jake brake) was not working, I was a bit cautious about doing this leg of the drive. We considered much longer and somewhat flatter alternative routes, but none seemed to make sense to us. I had consulted with the mechanics who worked on our motorhome and had done research on how to drive in mountains without an exhaust brake. The mechanics said it should be fine and the internet said to drive like I had always driven (I have a lot of experience in mountain driving). So, we headed out for Yellowstone.

Overall, the trip was uneventful. There was substantial construction going over 2 of the continental divide passes, which caused a bit of excitement. We did get stuck behind a group of 3 motorhomes that were travelling between 5 and 10 miles an hour for about 20 miles. There were no places to safely pass them (it was a narrow, two-lane, winding, mountain road). We just bided our time and enjoyed the scenery.

As we made our final descent into Madison Junction, everything seemed to be working OK. We turned into the campground, got checked in, and set the motorhome up in our new home for the next three weeks. It was great to have that drive behind me, though I knew I would have to do the entire drive home in reverse in another three weeks.

It was a great weather day, with no precipitation and no appreciable wind. The sun was out and the scenery was spectacular.

Steve

 

[KevinM]

Knowing (virtually) you and Lori, I am pretty darn sure you’ll be rolling the big wheels again next year!

If you took any photos of the coach at your site, I would love to see it as a former RV owner that loves your Country Coach pics.