Day 6 - July 4 - Lizard Creek (Teton) to Lewis Lake (Yellowstone)
With a short ride day into Yellowstone National Park, the plan was to score a camping spot early and with a quick camp set up, enjoy a leisurely ride of the south loop of the park. Sunny skies and warm temps may have lead to some brevity in camp preparations which combined with weather had us quickly switching to a Plan B later in the day.
But first things first, a visit to Ol Faithful and the historic Ol Faithful Inn which was built in the 30's and has some beautifully romantic tales to tell.
On the third floor of Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn, there's a snaking stairway leading 76 feet up to what seems to be an indoor treehouse. From the treehouse, a series of catwalks lead outside onto the steep roof of the inn, and stairs go up to a deck on the very top of the roof.
This jumble of stairs and catwalks is collectively called the Crow's Nest, designed by the then 29-year-old architect Robert Reamer. Popular belief is that he took special care to design the Crow's Nest according to a childhood fantasy of his.
In the early days of the inn, an orchestra was hired to play from the treehouse of the Crow's Nest, entertaining guests on the ground floor below.
Unfortunately, a 1959 earthquake that shook the park damaged the structural integrity of the inn, and the Crow's Nest had to be closed to the public. Repairs are being made, and the park hopes to reopen the section to the public sometime in the next few years. However, the inn's bell staff still travels to the top twice every day to raise and lower the park's flags, and will take a few tourists with them if you make reservations in advance (starting in May).
(we didn't know the last part about reservations to go up at the time!)
The gear tarp the next morning with evidence of the amount of rain overnight... thankfully my wee 'bear burrito' tent is holding up well in the rain and for sunny mornings to dry out all the gear before packing!
Day 7 - July 5 - Lewis Lake to Madison
So much to see in Yellowstone! The day's route takes us up the east side of the park around the north loop to ideally find one more nights camping the park.
My first buffalo close encounter!! I parked on the other side of the road to get some pics (wasn't trusting my ability to keep the bike upright and operate the camera .. I do get a little excited!) The novelty of them doesn't really wear off, but there are 100s (1000s?) in the park so I did get used to riding by them.
more buffalo and a tourist not heeding the info in the next pic..
Lower Falls (308 ft) from Artists Point... (Craig's pics)
Another impressive (and close) encounter...
At this point, motorcycle gear or not, I started imaging the 'gorings' and made noises about giving this big boy (and his buddy who was joining him from the trees) more space!
The day was getting later and we started to encounter rain and cooler temps so started the search for a campground. We passed full campground after full campground and then had a ~45 minute 'traffic delay' Yellowstone style...
The last campground in the park, Madison, said FULL, but I had a feeling (or maybe was just tired and cold...) so asked at the gate anyway. YAY! Mere moments before someone had cancelled and we snapped the spot up knowing it wouldn't be available long. Setup in pouring rain isn't my favourite but I was thankful for my guide tarp to cook and hangout under. Yes, thats a big smile!
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