Yellowstone Trip 2008
In our big trip of 2005 we stopped in Yellowstone for a very short trip of 2 days. This time three years later we headed out from Parker, CO to spend a week in this interesting piece of America, and the first national park ever created.
Day 1 – Monday June 23
We had managed to load up the bus on Sunday, but didn’t get finished till very late, so I didn’t have much sleep before heading out. A bit of coffee (OK, a lot of coffe) later and we were on the road heading north. The trip was pretty uneventful so that was nice. Because we didn’t have to be there at any time and had a campsite reserved we headed up the scenic way over Cameron Pass. This route took us through some beautiful canyons following highway 14. At the pass (which is over 10k feet) we saw one solitary moose enjoying some good grass in the pasture to the side of the road. I stopped and got a few photos of the bus at the pass and a few of the Moose. Had I known we would not have seen another moose I would have taken a few more photos with a longer lens, but oh well. The trip northwards in Wyoming was pretty but very open. You really get a feel for how large that area of the county is when driving through it. The landscape slowly started to transition to larger hills and eventually mountains. Heading up the pass the bus did well, but every once in a while I pulled over to just let the engine take a breather.
During one of the stops I found that the rear tire was completely flat. This particular tire has always been a problem, and sometimes it gets low. I pulled out the small compressor I carry and proceeded to pump it up. I keep my tires at about 42psi so it took quite a while to get it pumped up. I pulled the compressor off and thought I could here some air. Looking closer there was a nail head in the tire, I then put my hand around the side and realized that the steel belting was actually poking through. Looks like this tire gave up the ghost and needed to be replaced. My plan before the trip was to get new tires, but I ran out of time. I spent a few minutes here on the side of the road wishing I had, but in the end it didn’t change itself and I swapped it out for the spare tire. This event put is a bit behind schedule and we realized that there was no way we could make it to Yellowstone in time to fix dinner, but we sure were going to make it. We finally arrived in Yellowstone well after dinner time so a quick stop at one of the counter service stops for some burgers. Soon we were back on the road heading for the Canyon campground. We made it after dark and a bit after the office was open so I had to do a late arrival check-in. The spot we had was small but nice, and we set up the tent as quickly and quietly as possible. Everyone was ready for some sleep and quickly went to sleep.
Day 2 – Tuesday June 24
