Day 8--June 28, 2011

The lengths one will go to for the sake of technology...

Yellowstone is...well, Yellowstone.  More magnificent than words can describe.

However...(isn't there always a however?) this particular park seems to have banned wi-fi in all of its glory.  We are able to get cell phone coverage near a couple of lodges, but we made the decision to drive to Montana to get online.  Not as bad as it sounds--we drove 30 miles into West Yellowstone, MT.  We knew that it was a good-sized town because we had stayed here with Erin in 2002 (Ryan was in school that summer).  So--nobody gag--we are sitting in a MacDonald's with free wi-fi.  In our defense, we did look for the public library with no luck.

Anyway, we were rewarded for our craziness.  On the way here, we passed elk, a distant large herd of bison, and a whole group of moms and baby bison next to the road.  The best experience was when we rounded a curve and there he was...the magnificent Buffalo Bill (my name) plodding up the highway on the other side of the two-lane road.  This huge bull was followed closely by a ranger with flashing lights waving at people to keep going as she "herded" him on down the road.  The creature turned toward our car briefly so I was able to catch his portrait out of Manskills' window.  Hot dog!  Miss Maggie didn't seem to notice.

Yesterday before dusk we were driving in a valley and I lucked out and spotted a wolf pack on the distant tree line loping along.  Wow!  Manskills, poor guy, was driving, so he missed them.  However, just after we had gone to bed, we heard wolf howls--very eerie.  We are guessing that they were wolves because they sounded different from the coyotes we have heard in Tucson, Death Valley, and Idyllwild. Later, as I was deep under, Manskills heard more howls and cries and joyousness which made him think that the wolf pack had found their midnight dinner.  Shudder.

We are staying in the only RV park in the Park--for hard-sided vehicles only--which leads us to believe that animal prowlers are nearby.  The only drawback is that generators are allowed from 8am-8pm.  If you haven't ever heard an RV generator, take it from me--it's loud.  So, at 9:30 pm we decided that we had had it and went to complain about two rigs near us who seemed to think that the rules don't apply to them.  The park manager graciously sent someone up to have a chat and it became blessedly quiet--how else would we have heard the wolves?

We are down to needing only four states to complete the 50!  If anyone knows of anyone touring up here from Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, or Rhode Island, let us know!  We have only seen three provinces, but expect that number will grow when we visit Glacier and Waterton Lakes.

I appreciate Manskills more every day--thanks to him I can enjoy fresh hot coffee every morning, hot showers, lights at night, a microwave, and our TV.  We are far removed from our first backpacking trips and our first car camping throughout the West with a Mercury Capri (smaller than a Corolla), a large Irish setter, and a 2-person backpacking tent.  Poor Christy, the dog, had to sleep outside the tent!  Heaven forbid the Divine Miss M should suffer such an indignity--despite the fact that it isn't allowed--she would be wolf and bear bait.

I may not be able to post another blog for several days, so this was a long one.  It's off to the geysers and maybe more bison--or even a bear.  Take care, all!