Yellowstone & Grand Tetons National Park

 29 May     Idaho Falls, ID - West Yellowstone, MT              123 miles     2 hours   

We have arrived in West Yellowstone and very excited to be here! This year marks the 150th Year Anniversary for Yellowstone National Park. Our last trip to Yellowstone was 13 years ago. On that trip we just passed through. We saw Old Faithful and a couple of other things but didn't get the chance to really explore. On this trip we're at Yellowstone for 9 days. 

We're staying about 20 minutes from Yellowstone National Park at Yellowstone Holiday RV Campground in Montana. We'll be here for 4 nights, they offer a Good Sam discount $82.62 per night. Kind of pricey but all the parks in this area is. This campground is right on Hebgen Lake, it's absolutely beautiful. 

Today has been very cold and rainy, the high was 48 degrees and more rain expected. Hopefully it's warmer tomorrow, we're not used to this cold weather!

What a difference a day makes! We woke up this morning and everything is covered in snow. It's very cold but very beautiful. 

Our view of Hebgen Lake

For our Yellowstone and Teton visit, I purchased an audio tour from Gypsy Guide for $15. It's like a tour guide in your car. Narrated driving tours that automatically play stories, local tips, and directions, based on your location. No cell or wifi signal required. Just download the app, hook it up to your bluetooth and enjoy the tour. 

We highly recommend this audio tour for anyone making this trip to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. 

31 May       Today we spent the day exploring the Mid and Upper Geyser Basin area, also the Old Faithful Village. The Upper Geyser Basin, home of Old Faithful, hosts the greatest concentration of active geysers on Earth.

One of the many hot springs

Old Faithful    

Most of this area has boardwalks to see the geysers. There are signs all over to stay on the boardwalks. There have been a lot of injuries and even deaths to ignorant people who wander off the boardwalks to try and get closer to the geysers.

There has also been injuries to people getting too close to the wildlife in this park. Especially the bison. We have witnessed this....people are stupid! There are warnings all over for bears too. It's recommended to always carry bear spray.

 01 June       Yesterday we overdid it so today we cut it a little short and explored the Norris Geyser Basin Area today. I say cut it a little short but it was still about 6 hours of exploring. It's still very cold during the day but we're making the best of it. So much to see......

02 June     West Yellowstone, MT - Fishing Bridge RV Park, WY     70 miles  

Today we moved to a campground inside the park. Fishing Bridge RV Park is the only campground in Yellowstone with full hookups. A little pricey at $95 per night but worth it. We're here for 5 nights. There's a lot of bear warnings at this campground. Never leave any food or anything with odors out because it will attract bears. This campground does not allow tent camping, only hard sided trailers or RV's because of the bear activity in the area. 

03 June     We explored Mammoth Hot Springs today. This park is huge, so even though we're camping inside the park, it still took over an hour to get there. Mammoth Hot Springs terraces are like living sculptures, shaped by the volume of the water, slope of the ground, and objects in the waters path. Travertine builds up rapidly here and causes the features to change quickly and constantly. 

04 June     The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was spectacular. The Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River add to its grandeur. 

There are a lot of hikes in this area but Joe and I caught some kind of bug. Both of us not feeling great so we just drove to the lookouts and did very little hiking today. It's been very cold and rainy these past few days so that doesn't help but we're still managing to enjoy the park. 

Old Faithful may be more famous, but the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring is the most photographed thermal feature in Yellowstone. That's because of its crazy bright colors and enormous size. Its massive expanse stretches approximately 200 feet across. The high temperature of its water -160 fahrenheit-ensures that the spring is often cloaked in steam. 

Grand Prismatic at ground level

We walked around the Midway Geyser Basin and checked out the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring, that was at ground level. Then couple of days later we hiked the Fairy Falls Trail to get an aerial type view. It wasn't a very clear day and the colors weren't that brilliant but it was still pretty nice. 

  There were some bison on the trail and some people were getting too close.....again.

06 June      We drove out to Yellowstone Lake and West Thumb Basin today to do more exploring.  Yellowstone Lake is the largest high-elevation lake (above 7,000 feet) in North America. The lake is covered by ice from December to May or June. 

 

West Thumb Basins boiling springs sits on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. 

Its June and there's still ice on the lake

During our time here it snowed on us twice. The temperature dipped below 30 at night and a lot of times mid 40's during the day. A little too cold for us. We still managed to see most of the sights but not able to do any hard hikes. Lots of walking though. Plenty short walks on the boardwalks to see the different geysers and hot springs. Even though the weather was cold and we got sick, we still enjoyed our stay at Yellowstone. 

Ready to hit the road

Black  bear

Woke up to all this snow

07 June     Fishing Bridge RV Park - Grand Tetons National Park      99 miles   3 hours

Few landscapes in the world are as striking and memorable as that of Grand Tetons National Park. Rising abruptly from the valley floor, the Teton range offers a testament to the power and complexity of nature. The mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers, and skies are home to diverse and abundant plants and animals. 

We have arrived at Grand Tetons National Park. We're staying at Gros Ventre Campground located inside the park. Its dry camping, so no hookups. Staying for 4 nights, $47 per night. This campground is huge, over 300 sites with different loops. 

Our campsite at Gros Ventre Campground

08 June       Phelps Lake is the southern-most of a string of gem-like lakes nestled at the base of the Teton peaks. It sits at the mouth of the impressive towering granite walls of Death Canyon. 

The trail begins on the sagebrush flats, rises gently along scenic Lake Creek through mixed forest, and ends at the south shore of Phelps Lake. 

09 June      We drove out to Colter Bay Village located in the northern part of the park. Enjoyed a hike on a trail that connects both Swan Lake and Heron Pond. The level trail follows Colter Bay shoreline with views of Jackson Lake and the Teton Range. 

Today, two picturesque barns highlight Mormon Row. Settlers John and Thomas Alma Moulton built these barns on adjacent homesteads. Photographers from around the world stop by the Moulton barns to capture this iconic historic structure with the Teton Range in the background. 

10 June       Jenny lake lies at the base of the Cathedral Group which includes The Grand and other highest Teton peaks. The cool inviting forest, the shining lake, soaring peaks overhead, and the promise of Cascade Canyon makes this the most superb of all Teton experiences. 

We got an early start to beat the crowds and took the boat shuttle across the lake to start our day. Hidden Falls is 200 feet high and is invisible until a sudden turn in the trail.         

Hidden Falls

Jenny Lake

Rocky trail

Inspiration Point is breathtaking although the climb left us breathless. The trail to Inspiration Point is a steady climb and the footing occasionally rough. We normally avoid hikes with all these switchbacks and elevation but we powered through and so glad we did. 

Inspiration Point

Cascade Canyon

 We continued on to the start of Cascade Canyon with the Grand Teton soaring a mile over our heads. It is one of the most spectacular canyons in the Teton Range. We didn't go too far in but sill enjoyable.

  

Schwabacher's Landing is a spot on the Snake River where the terrain flattens out and allows easy access to the river. When the wind is calm, the pond reflects the central Teton Range framed by spruce and cottonwood trees.

The reflection of the Teton Mountains in the still, flat water of the Snake River is majestic, making this a prime spot for photos. 

A curious bear

We've enjoyed the warmer weather here at Grand Tetons National Park. A little chilly in the mornings but it warms up pretty nicely. We had a couple of days in the mid 70's. We managed to do some hiking everyday, it's so beautiful here. This park is not as big as Yellowstone so we could cover the whole park in one day. I would stay longer next time, just so we can do more hiking and take our time finding animals in the early morning and late afternoons. 

 

Summer 2022

 

JJ and Blake    

We welcomed an addition to our family. Our daughter Miki and husband Justin had a baby boy on April 8th. Blake is our 3rd grandchild and our hearts are so full. 

Normally we spend our summers at home in Hawaii but this year we'll be traveling. The main reason is another Tiffin rally. This time in Rock Springs, WY. We'll be meeting our friends Mark & Julia who resides in Tennessee. They also have a Tiffin so we like to meet up at these rallies. 

We're headed to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park before the rally starts. Then after the rally Mark & Julia will travel with us to the Black Hills area in South Dakota. Then Joe and I will explore a new state, North Dakota. 

Should be an awesome summer, hopefully we'll find cool weather and low fuel prices. 

We flew from Honolulu to Las Vegas on May 22. Spent 2 nights at Orleans Hotel & Casino, then on to Las Vegas RV Resort to get ready for our road trip. 

26 May   Las Vegas - South Jordan, UT                      416 miles     8 hours    20 minutes

We had a long day of driving. We're boondocking at a friends house. This is our first visit to the South Jordan area. Very nice community. We had a nice visit. Spent the evening having a few drinks, dinner, and just talking story. 

Our boondocking site with beautiful views

27 May   South Jordan, UT - Idaho Falls, ID           236 miles     5 hours 30 minutes

On our way to Idaho Falls, we made a stop at the Potato Museum in Blackfoot, Idaho. This is a "must do it once" kind of stop. The museum has exhibits on the history and cultivation of potatoes in a former train depot. Of course, we had to try a baked potato in the cafe. 

                        

We're spending 2 nights in Idaho Falls and decided to boondock in the Walmart parking lot. A lot of Walmarts across the country allow overnight parking and this Walmart in Idaho Falls is pretty nice. 

I had big plans for Idaho Falls but the weather was not cooperating. There is a nice walking/biking path that goes a few miles through town. Even though it was kind of rainy, we managed to take a nice walk on the first day we were there. Very, very scenic along the river, we enjoyed ourselves. 

Then the next morning we went to the local Farmers Market. We also did some food shopping and stocked up for the next couple of weeks. 

Our next stop is Yellowstone and then Grand Tetons. 

 

Desert Hot Springs...Again

 30 Jan     Anaheim - Desert Hot Springs, CA      124 miles   2 hours 45 minutes

We left Anaheim pretty early this morning and made our way to Caliente Springs RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs. We went on a different route to avoid all the road construction on Hwy 91. 

We love this rv resort. It's located about 12 miles north of Palm Springs. This is the desert so very dry and can get very windy at times. A 55+ resort with lots of activities going on everyday. I think this is our 5th year in a row for us. 

Beautiful view from the resort

We love the mineral pools, playing pickleball and golf. There's so much going on, we don't even have to leave the resort if we don't want to. This time, we're staying for a full month. We're in site #101, a deluxe site for $905. This does not include electricity. We'll need to run our heat because the temperature drops to high thirties at night. Hope our electric bill is not too outrageous. 

Our site #101

At the very beginning of our trip, Joe scrapped the back corner of the RV coming out of our stall at the storage facility. It's been really bothering him so the first week here, he's worked on getting that fixed. Little bit of body work and painting. Looks like new! He's so talented.

Scrapped the top corner       

This is the first time we tried golfing here at Caliente. There's a nine hole, par three golf course on property. Cost is $16 but we bought a ten round punch card for $130. 

We have a set of irons that we brought up with us but we needed putters. We ended up buying 2 putters at the Club House, $7 each. Perfect! Lots of fun golfing, I hit a house only 1 time...hahaha!

We love the hot tubs and pools

Phil & Shelly    

We were so busy playing at Caliente this month, we didn't go out and do any hikes. Very unusual for us. We met up with some friends from last year. Shelly and Phil is from Concord, CA. She's originally from Hawaii so we connected right away. 

Pickleball with a view    

We played pickleball 4-5 times a week. The gang out here is fun to play with. Lots of year round residents, lots of Canadians that come yearly, and a lot of snowbirds that travel from Northern states all come here for the winter. We've made some good friends over the years.

28 Feb  Extending Our Stay

We enjoyed our month here at Caliente so much, we extended for another 8 days. By the way, our electric for the first month came out to $119. I heard that's about average, especially with the cold weather. We moved to another site on property. Site #240 was a pretty good site in the standard area. Price was about $30 per night. 

Beautiful sunset from our site    

After 5 weeks at Caliente Springs Resort we had to say goodbye to our friends Shelly and Phil. We hope to see them next spring. 

08 Mar   Desert Hot Springs, CA - Las Vegas, NV       295 miles     7 hours

On our way back to Las Vegas we made a stop in Searchlight to fill up. This was the cheapest place for diesel $5.15 per gallon. We put in about 75 gallons and paid $389!!! That's the most we've paid for diesel and it looks like the price will keep climbing. Still better than filling up in California, the price was about $6 per gallon. 

We ended up having lunch at the restaurant there. 

We ended our vacation with 3 nights at Las Vegas RV Resort. Took this time to do some cleaning and prepare our RV and truck for storage. 

We flew back to Hawaii on March 11th. Our flight was at 5pm so we went from the storage facility straight to the airport with Lyft. That's the way to go, from Henderson to the airport cost us $24. Way cheaper than taking a cab. 

We had a very nice, relaxing vacation. This one was a little over 7 weeks. We traveled 1151 miles in our RV and about 740 miles in the truck. 

Our daughter Miki is almost ready to give birth. This is her first baby and she has about a month to go. So exciting for our family. Life is good!

Disneyland & Universal

 26 Jan      Indio, CA - Anaheim, CA       117 miles     2 hours 30 mins

Only 2 1/2 hours driving today but very stressful at times. Lots of road work so the lanes were very narrow in certain places. A Fedex truck nipped our mirror as he passed us. Joe was so mad!

We're staying at Anaheim Harbor RV Park for 4 nights. Kind of expensive $300 for the 4 nights but very convenient to Disneyland, we can actually walk. Small park and very tight to maneuver. Towards the back of the park they have a lot of permanent residents and it looks like crap. 

27 Jan   Disneyland

We met Josh, Casey, JJ, and Jade and spent the whole day at Disneyland. We got there around 9am and left after 7pm. That's very unusual for us....we're old, we don't normally last that long. We had so much fun! We went on a lot of rides. Seeing our grandbabies so happy was so worth it.

28 Jan  Universal Studios

Spent the day at Universal Studios. It's been over 20 years since our last visit and there's so many changes. Most of the rides are 3D simulation rides. Joe and I are not fans of that, we got motion sickness on some of them. 

We enjoyed Jurassic World - The Ride and the Studio Tour was fun. 

Joe and the kids

The Wizarding World of  Harry Potter was super fun. Of course, we had to try the Butterbeer. The kids had an interactive wand. They used these special wands all around Hogsmeade to activate different effects in windows and other features. Saying a spell and a flick of their wrist and woosh....magical things happen. So cool. 

magical wand

playing with the 

Butterbeer for Josh

On the ride to Universal in the morning, we took about 45 minutes. Not too bad because its located about 35 miles away. On the way back we left about 530pm and got back to Anaheim at 730pm. 2 fricken hours!!! 

We should've had dinner before hitting the road. 

29 Jan  Disneyland California Adventure

JJ & Grandpa Joe

This is our last day for Joe and I. We met the kids in the morning and went all over the park. My favorite was the Toy Story Midway Mania. This is the third full day of walking and eating and we were running out of gas....old futs!

We said our goodbyes to the kids and walked back to the RV park. Not too bad, a little over 1/2 mile to walk and pretty safe, even at night. 

Our last night in Anaheim and we watched the Disneyland fireworks right from our RV park. We had a very good view. It look liked it was going off right above our RV.

Spring 2022

 Our spring trip is starting a little early this year. The main reason is we're meeting our son Josh and his family in Anaheim for a few days. But first we're headed to Mesa, Arizona to get our tow package installed for the truck we bought in October. We'll end up at Caliente Springs Resort in Desert Hot Springs for a few weeks. Not traveling too far....looks like gas prices will keep increasing...ughh!!

We flew from Honolulu to Las Vegas on January 19th and stayed at Sam's Town for a couple of nights. Comp rooms at Sam's so just taking advantage of that. Then we're at Las Vegas RV Resort to get the RV ready for travel. 

23 Jan     Las Vegas RV Resort - Mesa, Arizona     313 miles     7 hours 30 mins

Boondocking in the parking lot

We have an appointment at Cliff's Welding in Mesa, Arizona early tomorrow morning and we're able to camp overnight in their parking lot. The drive was nice with hardly any wind and bright sunny skies. Pretty decent camping in the parking lot.

It took most of the day but we got the total tow package installed. This includes the Air Force One brake system for the truck. Cost $3056, that's what we expected. We stayed an extra night in the parking lot. 

25 Jan     Mesa, Arizona - Indio, California     272 miles     5 hours 30 mins

We're on our way to Anaheim, California to meet Josh and his family. On the way we stopped to boondock at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. We stayed here before. Nothing special just a dirt parking lot. Very convenient stop off I-10.

Another awesome boondocking site