Day 9 – (08/11) Yellowstone, WY

Today turned out to be a honeymoon flashback.  We had a number of “been there, done that” experiences from 7 years ago.

The weather was perfect for moving to Yellowstone.  It was sunny, calm and in the mid-70s.  We were up, showered and hitched-up by 9:30, but spent an hour talking to neighbors from CA before pulling out.

The drive was only 83 miles.  We entered Grand Teton National Park, drove north to Jackson Lake, stopped at the Jackson Lake Lodge for pictures and a very nice lunch in the Mural Room.  We did the same thing on our honeymoon, except … it rained then.

Teton Range from Jackson Lake Lodge

View from the Mural Room was breathtaking

Mt. Moran

Highest Teton peaks were hidden by clouds

We continued north, left GTNP, drove the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway to Yellowstone National Park, and checked in at Fishing Bridge RV Park.

The RV park is very nice, very popular and very full.  We have no cell phone or internet service here.

Site #A15

We did some exploring after getting set-up.  First stop:  Fishing Bridge Visitor Center and Museum.  Dick got a funny feeling about the amphitheater outside the visitor center ... we were here on our honeymoon.

Fishing Bridge Visitor Center

Yellowstone Lake - behind the Visitor Center

Yellowstone Lake was cool and crystal clear here

Next stop: we drove to Lake Village just a few miles down the road.  We passed Lake Hotel … and it hit us!  We’d forgotten, but we stayed at Lake Lodge (a short distance down the road from the hotel).  We think we found the cabin we stayed in.

Lake Lodge

Lake Lodge reception area

"Our Cabin"

Yellowstone Lake from Lake Lodge

We had a light dinner in the trailer and went to a Ranger Program at the amphitheater.  The ranger spoke on “Lake Impressions”, a critique of Yellowstone Lake … past, present and future.  After the formal program, he guided us down to the shoreline and gave a great stargazing talk.  The sky was clear and the stars were bright.  We saw a number of shooting stars.  Coyotes howled in the distance as he spoke.

P.S.  The ranger is a high school biology teacher from the state of Washington.  He has been a ranger at Yellowstone for over 40 years.  His presentation was outstanding.  We wondered what it would be like to attend his classes.