Category: *Ride~About–Beautiful Road Trips

Ride~About: The Journey is the Adventure

Posted on by Joy

It seemed like a pleasant, simple task. Drive through Yellowstone, spend some time enjoying the thermal features and great views on the road from Madison to West Thumb, then head to Jackson, Wyoming, to spend a few days in the autumn splendor of Grand Teton National Park. Its about a four-hour trip, but with stops it will be a bit longer. The weather is a bit iffy today. We have some snow falling, rain, even sleet, but the roads are clear. We’ll hope for the best as we begin our journey driving through the Gallatin River Canyon then along the Gallatin River to the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Besides, you never know, so many times the journey is the adventure!

Along 191 Gallatin River

Come on along . . .

Going-to-the-Sun Road–Western Travelogue

Posted on by Joy

After our beautiful drive up the eastern side of Going-to-the-Sun Road, it is time to travel down the western side to Lake McDonald and West Glacier. We begin our journey at Logan Pass, mile 18.1 west of the East Entrance.

Mile 18.4–Oberlin Bend is a sharp turn that will begin our decent almost 3,500 feet to Lake McDonald near the West Entrance of Glacier National Park. Let’s park and walk up to the falls on Oberlin Creek. Well, the falls are just on the other side of the road, but as the clouds drop we can’t even see the falls. Everyone is leaving so let’s head to the car and wait to see if the clouds clear. Great! Five minutes and the clouds disappear. We now have the place to ourselves so let’s walk up and try for this picture again.

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As we turn around . . . (click here)

Going-to-the-Sun Road–Eastern Travelogue

Posted on by Joy

After breakfast, with a great mountain view at St. Mary Lodge, it is time to head to Logan Pass for a short hike to Hidden Lake. It is 8am and looks a bit cloudy, but we’ll hope for the best as we drive just over 18 miles up Going-to-the-Sun Road from the eastern side of Glacier National Park. We’ll be climbing over 2,100 feet and the views will be gorgeous!

Mile 2.2–Singleshot Mountain rises above Two Dog Flats, where the prairie meets the mountains offering a rich and diverse ecosystem.

Two Dog Flats

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Ride~About: August in Wonderland Dodging Fires and Smoke

Posted on by Joy

Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872, became famous for its supernatural landscapes of geysers, boiling mud, brilliant-colored hot springs, and amazing geological formations. Journalists as far away as New York talked of America’s Wonderland and every sort of person, rich or those of modest means, from America to Europe, became interested in one of America’s most spectacular places.

The Northern Pacific Railroad, looking to expand their tourism trade, began service to Yellowstone in 1883. In their effort to entice people to the park, they produced two brochures called Alice’s Adventures in the New Wonderland. Written as if by a grown-up Alice to her friend, Edith, she explains the marvelous sights, a bit of history, and beautiful scenery as she travels by railroad from Chicago to Yellowstone.

Today we are still awed by the beauty of this wild Wonderland, but in August we have a different kind of wild experience: Fires and Smoke.

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