This one just about bumped us.
Nice, serene setting. I needed this after the buffalo scare!
Can you tell how close to me this guy was??? The small herd was running down the road in our lane toward us.
This was the amorous couple. Male behind the flirting female.
Aug. 21. - Billings to Madison Campground, Yellowstone National Park (nearest to the West Yellowstone entrance) We had quite an eventful trip. About ten to fifteen miles out of Billings on I-90, there was a huge Class A motorhome with a tow vehicle. The tow vehicle was on fire. We pulled over, and the fire got worse. We heard three tires pop. Some firemen appears in their own vehicles and pulled out fire exterminator tanks from their trucks. They went up to the car and then there was a huge explosion and ball of fire. For seconds we could not see the firemen at all and then it looked like they were either blown or they leaped and rolled down an embankment. Phil and I both thought they had to be dead. But they got up. Soon fire trucks started arriving. One of the three firemen asked if we could move further off the shoulder to allow an ambulance through. I asked if any of them had been hurt. He said one had burns on the neck and arm. He said his hooded sweatshirt saved him. Then he looked down and pulled a piece of something off his sweatshirt and said it was part of the gas tank that had melted onto his sweatshirt. It was quite scary. Before the fire trucks arrived, the back of the motorhome had also caught fire. We heard several tires pop from that, and I was afraid the propane and gas tank would explode on that. I could not imagine what kind of explosion that would be, but God was merciful and the fire was put out before that happened. I think the emergency brake might have been left on, and that started the fire in the towed vehicle.
Then we got back on track and had a peaceful, uneventful ride to Madison Campground. We did see quite a few female elk in the park on the way to the campground.
Aug. 22 - We decided to ride over the West Yellowstone and go to the Historic Yellowstone Museum. The best thing about it was the ranger talk. We just happened to get there ten minutes before he spoke. We learned some interesting things about the history of Yellowstone. He also asked us what wild animal inflicted the most injuries. I guessed buffalo, but it was the ground squirrels! They bite a lot of hands/fingers because they expect to be fed by humans.
Aug. 23 - We walked down to the Jr. Ranger Station and bookstore. The ranger at yesterday’s talk told us there was a historic plaque there. After lunch, we took our chairs and went and read a little while. We would have stayed longer, but we were cold. It was 40 degrees when I got up to use the bathroom this morning, and 47 in the camper. The high today is supposed to be 57 and the low tonight 37. Then it warms up some. It was 84 when we got here Saturday. There are no buffalo and elk around the campground and rivers like there were in June. It is surprising how much changes in two months. Madison is an interesting place with the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers coming together to form the Madison River right here at the campground. There were about 20 Canadian geese in the Gibbon when we were sitting there. I had on jeans, fleece jacket, , socks and shoes, ear warmers, and a hat. After a while the wind was going through it all. I said to Phil while a good gust was blowing that I was cold to the bone, and he popped up like toast to go back to the camper. LOL! We always have fun listening to people walking by our camper commenting about it. This morning when I went out, there was a man and his son just standing there talking about it. He said hello and said he had been trying to catch us to ask us about our camper. I let him inside, and he just loved it. They are in a popup now. He is from Wisconsin. Tomorrow we hit the road again and head to Grant Village. I am hoping to be able to post these blogs there with a few photos.
Aug. 24 - We moved to Grant Village Campground where we have many good memories of camping 26 years ago with the children. We have a lovely campsite, but we do not get more than a few hours a day on our solar panel. We get great Verizon service, though. There is nowhere that has wifi (according to the guy who checked us in). At the end of the day, Brice called and told us he had broken two fingers on his right hand. He was going to an orthopedic doctor who is now sending him to an orthopedic surgeon. I was ready to hit the road, but he insisted that the doctor told him putting a pin in his finger would not be a big deal. I still tossed and turned all night and prayed about it.
Aug. 25 - I called Brice this morning to tell him it would not be a big deal for us at all to head home. He meets with the surgeon tomorrow and will find out for sure if he needs the surgery and how big a deal it will be and when it will be. We are praying it will not be bad and that he will not have to miss a lot of work. I know that is his main concern. I told him we have been to Yellowstone and Tetons, so if we need to come home, it will be fine. He still insists we not come home. We are holding off until we hear what the surgeon says.
We went up to the Fishing Bridge area and toward the east entrance to Yellowstone and packed a picnic lunch. The shoreline of Yellowstone Lake and the view reminds us so much of the San Juan Islands off Washington. Finally we saw some buffalo! We wondered where in the world they had gone because we had not seen any. Well, we sure saw them today and had some close, close encounters! I took some photos and hope to post them as soon as I can. You could smell them (awful) and almost feel them because they were so close to the truck. Twice bunches of them ran down the road toward us. At one buffalo jam, we could hear a male growling and huffing at a female. He was prodding her with his head and twice tried to mount her. We thought we were in trouble because he seemed rather frustrated. I got a shot of the female’s behind and his head as they passed my window. I wondered if anyone had ever been gored inside his or her car. A little bit too close for me!
Aug. 26 - We went to the Old Faithful area and toured the brand, spankin’ new Old Faithful Visitors’ Education Center (opened Aug. 25). That is an awesome place. It is mostly interactive and does a great job explaining and illustrating the geothermal features of the park. The building is beautiful with a huge window looking out at Old Faithful. After that, we went to the Old Faithful Inn and ate the buffet, like we did in June. I really like their pecan-crusted, pan-fried trout. They also have a nice salad bar on the buffet. After we got back, we got the solar panel down and put it in the sun and moved it a couple of times. It was a perfect day to sit outside and enjoy the afternoon. We had fun watching the few puffs of clouds evaporate in the dry air.
Aug. 27 - We are on the way to Cody for the day. Phil will go to the Sierra Traders, and we will try to find a place with wifi to download some photos and this blog. I am sitting in the Buffalo Bill Cody Historical Museum (or something like that) while Phil tours and play on the computer. They were nice enough to let me in and plug in. I tried to do this while he was in Sierra Traders, but with 378 downloads of e-mail, it wore my battery down. If you are reading this, please do not forward me anything!!!! I took some really cool photos on the way to Cody today, but the camera is in the car. I do not want to push my luck since they let me in here without paying. I'll have to publish them later on FB.
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