Day 12 – Yellowstone National Park to Anaconda, MT
By late-afternoon yesterday, the wind had finally swept the clouds away, leaving a stunning blue sky. It was nice while the sun was shining. But I knew that without that cloud cover, we’d be in for a cold night. While Keith, with Charlie in the Teardrop, was all toasty in his new long-johns, I spent one of the coldest nights I can remember in the tent with Clare and Natalie. In some kind of middle-of-the-night delirium, I worried that the girls were going to catch hypothermia. And when I checked, I foundClare buried at the foot of her sleeping bag. Poor little thing.
We woke up to brilliant blue skies, calm winds – and a picnic table and tent covered in frost. After the cold, cold night, I spent a blissful few minutes by the campfire with a hot bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee as the sun started to warm the campsite. Ahhh. This is what it’s all about.
We packed up camp and stopped by the Junior Ranger Station so Charlie and Natalie could turn in their completed activity books and receive their Junior Ranger badges. They are so proud.
In the meadow behind the Junior Ranger station, we watched a few elks graze. We were so disappointed that we had to leave today. It was an absolutely picture-perfect day: clear and cool. I had overheard a few women in the campground bathroom saying that the weather for the last three or four days has been wet, cold and miserable. I’m glad we only caught the tail-end of that.
As we drove the 14 miles to the park’s west entrance, we passed a long, long line of bumper-to-bumper cars headed in. Yikes!
We stopped in West Yellowstone to do laundry, shower and get a few supplies. Keith dropped me off at a Laundromat where I did four loads of laundry and tried to get caught up on the blog while he and the kids filled up the propane tank, picked up groceries store and ate lunch. I had a great time hanging out with the laundry and ended up chatting with a young woman named Amanda, who, with three companions, is on a bicycle trek from Astoria, OR, to Virginia. They plan to finish the ride by about mid-August, and everything they’ll need for the next two months is packed with them. I admire their spirit and sense of adventure and wish them all the best. They’re blogging on their way, as well. Check out http://www.douglybeck.com/.
When Keith and the kids returned from their errands, we all got cleaned up (this friendly little Laundromat also has pay-showers -- $3.50 for six minutes – shortest shower of my life) and hit the road again. From West Yellowstone, we went northwest through Ennis toward Butte – past mountains and rivers and grassy ranches nestled in between. Saw lots of fly fishermen and fly shops and it made me want to see “A River Runs Through It” again.
We ended up at the Philipsburg Bay campground, a National Forest Service campground on Georgetown Lake, about two miles off of Highway 1, which runs through Anaconda, MT. The campground host mentioned that it snowed last night – and that the winter snow completely melted only two or three weeks ago. But this evening it’s clear and warm – maybe 65 degrees. It’s a completely peaceful spot – even compared to Yellowstone. Last night, in Yellowstone, I could hear the people next door making popcorn, and I could hear traffic and even road construction. Here, I hear nothing. Just the wind in the trees.
By late-afternoon yesterday, the wind had finally swept the clouds away, leaving a stunning blue sky. It was nice while the sun was shining. But I knew that without that cloud cover, we’d be in for a cold night. While Keith, with Charlie in the Teardrop, was all toasty in his new long-johns, I spent one of the coldest nights I can remember in the tent with Clare and Natalie. In some kind of middle-of-the-night delirium, I worried that the girls were going to catch hypothermia. And when I checked, I foundClare buried at the foot of her sleeping bag. Poor little thing.
We woke up to brilliant blue skies, calm winds – and a picnic table and tent covered in frost. After the cold, cold night, I spent a blissful few minutes by the campfire with a hot bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee as the sun started to warm the campsite. Ahhh. This is what it’s all about.
We packed up camp and stopped by the Junior Ranger Station so Charlie and Natalie could turn in their completed activity books and receive their Junior Ranger badges. They are so proud.
In the meadow behind the Junior Ranger station, we watched a few elks graze. We were so disappointed that we had to leave today. It was an absolutely picture-perfect day: clear and cool. I had overheard a few women in the campground bathroom saying that the weather for the last three or four days has been wet, cold and miserable. I’m glad we only caught the tail-end of that.
As we drove the 14 miles to the park’s west entrance, we passed a long, long line of bumper-to-bumper cars headed in. Yikes!
We stopped in West Yellowstone to do laundry, shower and get a few supplies. Keith dropped me off at a Laundromat where I did four loads of laundry and tried to get caught up on the blog while he and the kids filled up the propane tank, picked up groceries store and ate lunch. I had a great time hanging out with the laundry and ended up chatting with a young woman named Amanda, who, with three companions, is on a bicycle trek from Astoria, OR, to Virginia. They plan to finish the ride by about mid-August, and everything they’ll need for the next two months is packed with them. I admire their spirit and sense of adventure and wish them all the best. They’re blogging on their way, as well. Check out http://www.douglybeck.com/.
When Keith and the kids returned from their errands, we all got cleaned up (this friendly little Laundromat also has pay-showers -- $3.50 for six minutes – shortest shower of my life) and hit the road again. From West Yellowstone, we went northwest through Ennis toward Butte – past mountains and rivers and grassy ranches nestled in between. Saw lots of fly fishermen and fly shops and it made me want to see “A River Runs Through It” again.
We ended up at the Philipsburg Bay campground, a National Forest Service campground on Georgetown Lake, about two miles off of Highway 1, which runs through Anaconda, MT. The campground host mentioned that it snowed last night – and that the winter snow completely melted only two or three weeks ago. But this evening it’s clear and warm – maybe 65 degrees. It’s a completely peaceful spot – even compared to Yellowstone. Last night, in Yellowstone, I could hear the people next door making popcorn, and I could hear traffic and even road construction. Here, I hear nothing. Just the wind in the trees.
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