Yosemite National Park

Our trip from Yellowstone to Yosemite was to take a couple of days crossing from Wyoming, briefly through Montana, spanning the entire length of Idaho before heading into Utah and finally into California.  During this trip we spent a night in Idaho at the quaint little town of Lava Hot Springs (the first of two hot spring towns we would stay in). We spent until late in the evening soaking our weary bones in the relaxing waters, some of the pools were far too hot to spend more than a few moments in. 

We also crossed the Great Salt Lake in Utah. 

Again, like most places, we were to arrive late in Yellowstone only to find that most of the camp areas were closed for winter, even though they are experiencing a very warm fall and there were people everywhere! We spent a night in an RV park outside of the park due to all camp grounds that were open being fully occupied. We decided the next day to go and reserve a camp site before exploring the park. We found a spot, paid the fee and went off for the day, safe with the knowledge we had somewhere to stay for the night. For those of you that have travelled in the national parks in the US, you will know that they get booked on a first come basis. It also relies on the honesty of the travelers as you self serve, filling in a slip that is attached to your site and putting the payment in a locked box. Unfortunately, there are some dishonest travelers in the world. When we arrived back close to 7 and in the dark, two Germans had taken out spot and claimed innocence and too many beers to move. So we had to go in search of a ranger who found us a road side spot to spend the night as the park was again full. Very, very frustrating! Apparently this is a common occurrence. 

Despite this, we spent a great couple of days looking around the park and Glen was able to catch some more trout, which was a miracle considering the lack of water at present. California is in its fourth year of a severe drought and is extremely dry. Nearly all of the creeks and rivers are dry and none of the waterfalls in Yosemite are  working. They are also undertaking major back burning due to the extreme fire risk. 

The Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks

Due to very little or poor wifi I am a tad behind in my blog. We arrived at Jackson Hole, Wyoming,  the gateway to the Teton Mountain and Yellowsrone National Park on the 9th October. 

One of the antler archers in the town square, Jackson Hole. 

The Teton Mountains during the day and at dusk.

    Some of the many Bison that               roam the park.

Before we left to do this trip I had researched campgrounds and so forth in the park. Most information said that the tourist areas were open through to late October but that it may be cold and we could experience snow. So the thermals wee packed and we were prepared for the cold. What we were lot prepared for was the fact that most of the camping areas closed on September 30 along with most of the services. We had to spend the first night in an RV park outside the park, before spending two nights at a dry camp in the Southern area of the park. The weekend we were there was the last weekend for the Yellowstone Inn and shops to be open at Old Faithful. There were people everywhere, due to unseasonal warm weather (which we have had everywhere) both locals and tourists alike were out in force. 

                         Old Faithful 

Glen was very happy to fish the pristine waters and caught 4 different species of trout. 

We managed to see Bison, elk and a wolf whilst in the park but were unlucky, or lucky, depending on how you look at it, not to see a bear or moose.

We spent our last night at Yellowstone in the western section of the park. We should have spent more time here. This is where the wildlife was and better camping facilities. It is also home to the Grand Canyon of the park.

We were sad to be leaving the park, but were also excited to be headings to Yosemite. 

An unexpected but welcomed delay, a hairy ride and the ever changing landscapes!

From South West Colorado we began our trek north to The Teton Mountain Ranges and Yellowstone National Park. 

We were not far into our journey when we discovered that the pass at Red Mountain was closed for road work and we were stuck in Silverton for 4 hours. We were disappointed at first but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Silverton was a mining town in the 1800's and now relies on tourism from the Durango to Silverton Steam train service and the ski fields that are close by. The town is like stepping back in time into an old western and we had lunch at the Brown Bear Cafe.

We also discovered Eagles Nest Leathers where we could have spent a small fortune, or rather, spent a larger fortune than we did! Our hall included a genuine skunk hat, a gift or two and of course the girls couldn't leave a shop without a purchase. I also brought myself a Navajo beaded blanket necklace from another quaint little shop. So after spending up we were finally able to set off into what was a wet, cold and bleak afternoon for the scariest part of our journey we have encountered yet. Red Mountain pass is 11075m at its highest point and it doesn't have a single guard rail on what are sheer cliffs. Driving in a massive vehicle, on he wrong side of the road and what was the cliff side was not pleasurable.

When the sun came out we were treated to spectacular country side, but we were so glad to get through that pass!

The view looking back from our destination for the day, Montrose.

The next leg of our journey was no where near as eventful but the landscape changed considerably as we left Colorado, re-entered Utah and crossed into Wyoming.

Overlooking the Dinasour National Monument.

          Flaming Gorge Dam, Utah

Some of the many mule deers we have encountered.

A not very good picture of the timid Pronghorn deer, these are beautiful creatures. 

Bison on the road as we came into the Teton National Park.

         Sun setting over the Tetons.

A Bayfield reunion!

One of our must do's on this trip was to travel to Bayfield, Colorado to catch up with the beautiful Dianne Milner and her gorgeous family, Mike, Sydney and Perry. 

Bayfield is a beautiful town with the Los Pinos River flowing through its centre and the snow capped San Juan mountains to the North. We had  a couple of days to explore the area and Glen fished where possible. 

One of the highlights of our stay was attending a varsity volleyball game complete with cheer leaders, band and the whole nine yards of Americana! And luckily for us the home team won, go WOLVERINES! The girls are dressed in pink for the game as it was a breast cancer fundraiser. 

The talent these girls displayed was amazing! 

There are many differences between ours and the American schooling system and the most noticeable one is the facilities.

All of my PE teacher friends take note, this is the spare gym or the 'auxiliary gym'. The main gym is pictured above at the volleyball game. 

Crazy hey, but those of you that are into performing arts, this is the new Performing Arts wing!!! 

And last but not least, Di's classroom where the students are attentive and want to learn. Not that this is completely different from every Australian school. 

We can't forget to thank Syd for the tour and include a picture of her locker!

We need to thank the entire Milner family for their hospitality, our great Mexican meal, the great company and for the memories and momentos we came away with xx

PS. Perry the girls are dead keen to get a bongo board, I don't think they will EVER get close to your record though! 

 

And onto Durango..

Durango is a beautiful town situated on the Animas River and is surrounded by beautiful mountains and valleys. Glen was in his element and was able to fish from the river that ran next to the RV park we called home for two nights. He managed to catch and release 3 trout from the river even though the locals said this part of the river wasn't that great for fishing. 

This is his fishing kit that he has with him here, complete with bear spray for emergencies! Hopefully he won't need it! 

Downtown Durango has many beautiful shops and I have had to restrain myself. There were a couple of home furnishing shops that we could have decked out our entire house in. So sad that we do not have places like this at home. Glen particularly liked the outdoors shops, but found that they were a lot more expensive than in other areas we have been in. 

Durango is also the home of my dads hunting guide friend and owner of Coyote  Outfitters, Donnie Moffit. We caught up with Donnie who took Glen and Tilly for an explore of the local mountains looking for wildlife. Apparently other than deer and bears, there are also huge mountain lions in these parts. Whilst they went on their tour of the mountains I stayed behind and sampled some of Donnie's special made red wine.

    

              Donnie and the girls

Probably one of the most disturbing things I have seen so far on our trip was unfortunately here in town.

Colorado has recently legalized the medicinal use of marijuana, however, given the amount of smoke and bong shops there are just in this small town, I highly doubt that it is all for medicinal purposes.