Forum Index > Trip Reports > Badlands, GT, Yellowstone NPs, trip report added, pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!



Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
PostThu Jul 10, 2008 11:55 pm 
I wrote a nice, long TR, but stupid Firefox browser crashed and it's all gone. mad.gif (Edit: see newly added trip report below.) Here's the pics, anyway.
Prickly pear flowers BNP
Prickly pear flowers BNP
cool flowers, BNP
cool flowers, BNP
Birds nests BNP
Birds nests BNP
even more badlands
even more badlands
More Badlands
More Badlands
Badlands
Badlands
Prairie dog Badlands NP
Prairie dog Badlands NP
Colors!
Colors!
Flower
Flower
Cool pool
Cool pool
Bison
Bison
More YNP
More YNP
Yellowstone NP
Yellowstone NP
Bacterial mat
Bacterial mat
Near MHS
Near MHS
More Mammoth HS
More Mammoth HS
Something or other terrace
Something or other terrace
Hardy plant, Badlands NP
Hardy plant, Badlands NP
Rushmore
Rushmore
Doe and fawn
Doe and fawn
More Jackson Lake
More Jackson Lake
Jackson Lake GT NP
Jackson Lake GT NP
Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone Lake
Old Faithful
Old Faithful
Emerald HS
Emerald HS
Yellowstone NP
Yellowstone NP
Motorhome
Motorhome
Norris Geyser Basin
Norris Geyser Basin
Yellowstone river
Yellowstone river
Elk
Elk
West Thumb Geyser Basin
West Thumb Geyser Basin
Mammoth hot springs
Mammoth hot springs

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Hiker Mama
Member
Member


Joined: 25 Jun 2006
Posts: 3448 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lynnwood
Hiker Mama
Member
PostFri Jul 11, 2008 6:29 am 
It looks like you went on an epic road trip. Too bad about losing your report. But your pictures are cool!

My hiking w/ kids site: www.thehikermama.com
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bobbi
stillaGUAMish



Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 8012 | TRs | Pics
Location: olympics!
bobbi
stillaGUAMish
PostFri Jul 11, 2008 6:48 am 
no need for words! your photos tell your TR - beautiful area, lots of wildlife, geysers, presidents in stone, mountains. oh, great rig, too!

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!



Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
PostFri Jul 11, 2008 8:22 am 
Thanks. Words are over-rated, aren't they? suuure.gif Trip stats: 3,700 miles driven, 221 gallons of gas, 16.7 mpg (not bad for 75 mph with air conditioning blasting), 3 national parks visited, 8 nights spent "camping" and only $48 spent on campsites. Average price of gas: $4.04. That includes some expensive gas bought in GT NP. Without that, gas averaged $3.98/gal. Cheapest was in Luverne, Minnesota ($3.85), 2nd cheapest Coure d'Alene, Idaho ($3.87). Calling Tanja on the cell phone, having her look up gas prices, then purchasing when gas was cheapest, saved me over $40 (out of $850 total spent on gas). The vehicle's 535 mile cruising distance on a full tank (31 gal) sure helped. I went from the west edge of Ohio all the way to Minnesota without buying any expensive Indiana or Illinois or Wisconsin gas. tongue.gif

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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!



Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
PostTue Mar 17, 2009 1:11 am 
I'm finally over my emotional distress at losing my original trip report due to computer malfunction. So, here's a truncated version, told through the haze of eight months of time. My parents, God bless 'em, decided that they no longer needed their camper van/motor home, being 80-some-odd years old (the parents, not the van), and in their "wisdom" decided to give it to me, instead of other, more worthy members of the family. So I hopped on an airplane headed that way (Connecticut) and had a nice little visit with the parental units, plus my daughter who lives out there, my grandson, and my son. After three days reminiscing about the good old days, it was time to hit the road back home in the camper van (1998 Roadtrek 190 Popular based on the Dodge 3500 Xtravan). It was July 1st or so. I drove from CT to Ohio the first day, and slept for free in a highway rest stop that had actual campsites for motor homes, and the machine that took the $15 fee was broken. Then I drove (on less than a tank of gas) from Ohio all the way to the Minnesota border, sleeping in a fabulous rest area perched above the mighty Missisip, well away from the freeway, also free. I stopped at Lake Michigan in heat thick enough to cut with a knife, and was amazed at the fresh water ocean. I was caught in a thunder storm of epic proportions just past Chicago, so bad it caused the freeway traffic to stop dead, zero visibility. Day three had me crossing Minnesota and South Dakota, ending at Badlands national park, where I camped for $10 in the park. On day four, the fun began. Badlands NP is a beautiful and bizarre place, almost dreamlike in some areas. The weird shapes of the land, the colors, the relentless sun and heat, it was truly amazing. I did all the short hikes in the main area, called I think things like "The Door" and "The Window". I went beyond the normal areas and off the trails a bit and found solitude among the mini-canyons. Returning to camp I found out there is a free campsite on the other side of the park, so I camped there that night. It was great, lots of prairie dog towns on the way there. Day five I motivated early and drove to Mt Rushmore, which was very cool. I'm not normally impressed by the works of man, but Rushmore is also partly natural, so it was OK. In the afternoon I drove across Wyoming by the back road highways, all the way to Grand Teton NP. What an excellent drive that was. I headed south from Rushmore, then west, maybe Highway 26? I camped in GTNP, paying for only the second time. Day six I explored Grand Teton by car, seeing all the touristy stuff, since I only had one day. It was great, lots of scenery and wildlife, huge bison, elk, etc. I camped there a second night at a different campground. Day seven and eight I spent at Yellowstone NP. I went to all the geysers and valleys and whatnot, really trying to see as much as I could in two days. I stayed mainly to the south end the first day, then spent a lot of time at Mammoth hot springs the second day. I don't think any words could adequately describe the beauty, grandeur and strangeness of the park. My pictures partially capture it, but not the smell of the sulfur, the heat from the steam, the motion of the roiling water. I left the park at 8 pm on day eight to get a jump on the long drive home the next day. After driving a couple of hundred miles or so I was tired, and at a mountain pass I saw a sign for a trailhead, so I exited the freeway, drove to the trail head and camped there for free. Day nine I drove home through the last bit of Montana and then Idaho and good 'ole Washington State. I wisely got off the freeway and took Rt 2 all the way back from Spokane. I toured around the Palouse a bit since it is so awesome, and really enjoyed the drive through coulee country. I-90 is so boring, and RT 2 is so scenic.

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Dane
Other



Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 2466 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
Dane
Other
PostTue Mar 17, 2009 4:17 am 
Slugman wrote:
I wrote a nice, long TR, but stupid Firefox browser crashed and it's all gone. mad.gif
Don't you hate that! Grrrr. These days I type up long posts in Word and copy/paste into the browser so I don't get burned again. Nice write-up and sweet pictures. Getting out of Washington is sounding better all the time...

Without judgement what would we do? We would be forced to look at ourselves... -Death
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Grizzy
Yellow Cedar Hugger



Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 1936 | TRs | Pics
Location: Switchbacks
Grizzy
Yellow Cedar Hugger
PostTue Mar 17, 2009 11:46 am 
Dane wrote:
Slugman wrote:
I wrote a nice, long TR, but stupid Firefox browser crashed and it's all gone. mad.gif
Don't you hate that! Grrrr. These days I type up long posts in Word and copy/paste into the browser so I don't get burned again.
I do that now also, thanks for sharing the pictures Slug! I used to work in YP, love seeing the photo's...

All the birds have flown up and gone; A lonely cloud floats leisurely by. We never tire of looking at each other - Only the mountain and I. ~Li Po~
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