Subject: Trip Report: Yellowstone et. al.
Hey now,
I'm writing beside the fire again. Haven't done this
since Stillwater cove campground in CA over a month ago. It is 9:15,
16 August, we are at the Sinks Canyon state park, Wyoming. The canyon
walls reach high above us, creating a frame for the evening stars,
while the Popo Agie river flows busily past. And smoke from the fire
blows in my eyes... ;-) All in all this is one of the best campsites
we've had this entire trip, and it's only 4 bucks. I like Wyoming...
;-)
We left Spokane early on the morning of the 14th, and
drove through northern Idaho and Montana, en route to Yellowstone. We
ended up camping out behind a Conoco station just off the interstate.
They've made themselves a little RV campground back there, but it
doesn't seem to be much of
a hit. With about 30 spaces, we had the place to
ourselves. Not a destination, but ok for 6 dollars.
The Conoco station is about 110 miles from West
Yellowstone, and we got a late start, so we didn't get into
Yellowstone until about 1pm on the 15th. Basically we ran in a circle
around the park, checking out all the hot springs and whatnot, taking
pictures of the wildlife, and generally being tourists.
I
finally got a close look at the VW/Winnebago Rialta
while in Yellowstone, interesting vehicle. I'll stick with an
aircooled Westy, thank you... We went to see Old Faithful at about
5:30, and Old Faithful wasn't going to go until 6:42. We still had no
campsite, but decided to hang around and take our chances. We figured
we'd get something down towards Grand Tetons NP. We saw Ol' Faithful,
along 
with about 600 other tourists. It looked like some of
those pictures you see of
Yosemetie,
with traffic jams. I'm not sure I like being that
packed in when trying to enjoy nature. Ol' Faithful blew, and so did
we, south towards the Tetons. We hit Flagg Ranch campground-a private
campground just between Yellowstone and the Tetons-with the knowledge
that they had a few sites left, and that the rest of the place was
packed. The nice girl working the desk told me of the 18 dollar price
tag,
and commiserated with me on the status of highway
robbery in America today. Then she told me of Forest Service
campgrounds nearby. They don't have water, but they're free. Free is
a good word. We tanked up on water and headed down the dirt road, as
the sun set. It was about 8 pm, and we didn't have to go far at all.
Only 1.5 miles from Flagg Ranch was a small campground, only 4
spaces, and only 2 occupied. Just off the Snake river, this was an
excellent place, and we set up camp. A very interesting vehicle
occupied the site next to us, but we couldn't really investigate
until this morning.
What was that vehicle, you may ask? Get this. A 1927 Chevy,
"renewed", as it's owners like to say. Mr.
Sunny Baba and Mrs.
Prairie Rose, of Twin Lakes, CO, graciously let us ogle at their
vehicle, and even told us where the local hot springs were. ;-) Sunny
did
all the work himself, and he really did a marvelous
job. The original steel body-no bondo-was widened 6.5 feet,
lengthened 6 feet, the firewall recessed 6 inches. Why? For the new
4.3 liter Chevy V6, of course, which powers a 4 speed Chevy truck
tranny, with a 5:13 Ford 3/4 ton rear end. He gets 15 mpg pulling 9k
pounds-including the trailer, which has their portable organic
garden. The wheels are spoked-hickory-wood, and the body is of
Pennsylvania red oak. It has an oak and pine interior, sleeps 2. It
is equipped with solar powered lights, music and refrigerator, and a
propane stove and oven. The windows are all beautiful stained glass,
all of it done by the owners. The quality on this job is just
unbelievable, they've really done it up right. The project took about
11 months start to finish, and they live in it at the moment. They're
in the process of buying a piece of land at Twin Lakes, CO, so
they're selling their
baby.
Only 40K. If I had that kind of cash I might consider
it, although I'm more the type to go with making it myself. I'll post
some of the pictures I took whenever I get the film developed.
After taking our leave from Sunny and Prairie, we did the tour of
the Tetons. Really gorgeous place, but we still think that Kings
Canyon holds the prize... We waded a bit in Jenny Lake, checked out
Summit Peak, and saw the Church of the Transgression, then headed for
287 south. And that's how we ended up
here. I just looked at the map, and a state park
seemed like a good place to try-I figured it would beat KOA hands
down, and might even be cheaper. I was right.
Tomorrow we will visit with Stuart Habel, his girlfriend Kit, and their cat. Stuart graciously responded to our request for places to stay, and offered his residence in Denver. So that's where we're going. The night after that we will see my sister in Clovis, NM, and the following night we will be home. That makes this our last night of camping, so I'm very pleased that it is in such a wonderful and affordable setting. Next time we come through Wyoming we might want to stay here an extra day or so... So I guess that's it for now. "I'm gonna listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul..."
Peace,
Eddie
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