The northeast part of the park has few of the thermal features so prevalent in the rest of the park. This section is more mountainous than some of the other parts of the brush, with striking vistas of a wilderness of high peaks and deep valleys. Vegetation ranges from grasses and sagebrush to aspens and pines. All of the wildlife found in other parts of the park may also be seen here.
Our route for this video is shown in darker red on the map. The dotted line represents a one-way dirt road – well maintained, and a favorite of ours – that crosses the Blacktail Deer Plateau.
With each visit we generally make the whole Grand Loop Road. Doing the whole loop all at once makes for a long day – and it truly is impossible to see everything in a single day.
If you’re a camper, my recommendation would be to stay at either Madison Campground or Canyon Village Campground. These are in the middle part of the long sides of the Grand Loop Road. This will eliminate a lot of repetitive travel over the same areas. In 2011, we stayed at Fishing Bridge for a week. It was plenty of time to see everything. However, we spent a lot of time just in transit, much of it in the Hayden Valley or nearby, caught up in excruciatingly slow traffic, generally caused by buffalo – or people slowing down or stopping to see the buffalo.
If you want to stay in the park, whether you are camping or staying a lodge, make reservations very early. The reason we ended up at Fishing Bridge instead of one of our preferred campgrounds was that we didn’t plan far enough in advance. Six months in advance may not bee soon enough.
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Yellowstone References and Resources:
Yellowstone is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. and there are a lot of available resources, including books and DVDs
as well as internet resources. I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my Yellowstone page at Haw Creek.
We probably visited the Old Faithful part of the park more often this trip than any place else. We saw Old Faithful erupt at least four times that I can think of. We also made dinner reservations for one evening. Another day we hiked up to an overlook where you can view the eruption. Unfortunately the eruption occurred before we got all the way to the overlook, but we were able to get a good view of it.
Old Faithful is, without a doubt, the most popular location in the park.
The Old Faithful Inn is a fascinating hotel over a hundred years old. We stayed there one time back in the late 70s in the fall.
Reservations for lodging and camping – for those campgrounds where reservations can be made – should be made as far as possible in advance. In 2011, we waited too long to decide on our travel plans and campsites were not available in the campgrounds we preferred. We had to settle for something else.
Yellowstone References and Resources:
Yellowstone is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. and there are a lot of available resources, including books and DVDs as well as internet resources. I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my Yellowstone page at Haw Creek.
Since we were camped near West Yellowstone, we traversed this part of the park several times. There are a lot of thermal features here, but we didn’t make it to all of them.
Some of the more popular destinations in the park get very crowded as the day goes by, even in September when the season is starting to wind down. One secret to getting in at those places without having to fight traffic and/or search for a parking spot is to get there early. It seems as though a lot a folks are late risers when on vacation – or they are just taking their time.
In Yellowstone, like many other places, early morning is a good time for photos, especially on chilly mornings in areas that abound in thermal features.
Yellowstone References and Resources:
Yellowstone is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. and there are a lot of available resources, including books and DVDs as well as internet resources. I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my Yellowstone page at Haw Creek.
September 2007
Music: “When it Rains” by Anna Coogan and North19
track added using YouTube AudioSwap
While in Montana in September 2007, we had plans to stop in Lewistown to get set up with a satellite internet system. The installer, Ron, had an extra RV spot at his home for friends, complete with hookups and invited us to stay there for a few days. The satellite system was a new model and there were a few wrinkles in getting it set up right.
Ron was a member of an on-line RV forum I participated in. Retired, Ron did satellite system installs for other forum members at one price no matter how long it took.
While there, we shared supper with Ron and his wife several times in their house and once at the Black Bull Saloon and Steakhouse in Hobson. We also took in the 2007 Lewistown Chokecherry Festival and the What the Hay “hay art” contest that stretched over 21 miles in Judith Basin County between the towns of Hobson and Windham. As, well they took us on a couple of other drives out into the Montana countryside.
“What the Hay” is now also called the “Montana Bale Trail.”
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Lewistown, Chokecherry Festival, and Montana Bale Trail information:
September 1st and 2nd, 2007
The music is “Back to Back” by Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, YouTube audioswap.
While we had been here before, in 2001, we had just been passing through on our way to Glacier National Park and had made reservations at a hotel in Great Falls for one night.
In 2007, though, Great Falls was a destination for a family visit. A brother, his wife and two sons were living there.
While visiting with family, we also saw some of what is left of the falls, went to a farmers’ market, saw an autocross competition, visited Giant Spring State Park, spent a little time at a horse auction and stopped at the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center.
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References for Great Falls:
The northeast part of the park has few of the thermal features so prevalent in the rest of the park. This section is more mountainous than some of the other parts of the brush, with striking vistas of a wilderness of high peaks and deep valleys. Vegetation ranges from grasses and sagebrush to aspens and pines. All of the wildlife found in other parts of the park may also be seen here.
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