7/27/05 to 7/30/05
So, Wednesday we pulled into Jackson, WY and I called Yellowstone to get
campground reservations for that night.  (No, I’m not a slacker, this was the first time
since I got their number that I had a signal to call them.)  Of course, the people who
run reservations at Yellowstone are neither smart nor friendly, and kept telling me all
the campsites that would accommodate us were full.  They were adding our truck
length to our RV length and thinking we needed a huge site.  I kept trying to explain
that our truck fits partially under the 5th wheel, and we can park next to or sideways
in front of our rig, that it unhooks and is very easy to fit in a small space.  Anyway,
they wouldn’t let us in, but we proceeded on, driving through the gorgeous Grand
Teton National Forest.  
Since Yellowstone wasn’t going to let us in, we stopped at Colter Bay in the
shadows of the Grand Tetons, and their FRIENDLY staff was happy to give us a
spot to camp.  (With no hook-ups of course.  Is anyone keeping track of how many
days it’s been so far without electricity??)  We got the bike down, and drove into
Yellowstone to the closest campground, which was definitely NOT full, and went to
the reservation desk.  I was hoping that the people at the actual park would be
easier to deal with than the people on the phone, but they had the same rules.  I
explained to the woman that we could fit in more than half the sites back there, so
she gave me a few to go look at that she was not supposed to let us into because
of our size.  We came back, assured her we could fit, and she made us
reservations for Friday.  We went back to Colter Bay to enjoy the Grand Tetons for
a couple nights.        

Thursday, 7-28, we got up and rode the comfy motorcycle up to the top of Signal
Mountain.  
Then we drove to Jenny Lake and hiked their trail.  Richard had to break all the rules
and climb out onto a log over the river.  What you don’t see is that in order to take
his picture, I also had to climb out onto a log over the river.  The things I do for him…
On our way back to the parking lot, we saw a moose by Moose Lake.  I took pictures,
but since Moose Lake was 1/4 mile away, the moose didn’t show up well enough to
bother putting him on line.    

Friday, 7-29, we packed up and drove into Yellowstone National Park.  After easily
getting set up in our spot that supposedly was too small, we headed out on the
motorcycle to see Old Faithful.  (Did I mention that the Yellowstone campground also
was a no hook-up campground?)  There had been some rain that morning, and the
sky didn’t look good, but we have a new motorcycle, so there was no way we were
going to go in the truck.  Sure enough, as soon as we headed out there was a
downpour, so now we know that the Goldwing runs just fine in the rain.  We arrived at
Old Faithful just as the crowd was dispersing, so with 94 minutes to kill before the
next show, we headed around the geyser path seeing bubbling holes and other
impressive geysers.  
CASTLE
GEYSER
OLD
FAITHFUL
On Saturday, 7-30, we got up late and hopped on the motorcycle just as the rain
started falling.  We went to West Thumb Geyser Basin and walked the short trail
there, in the rain.  As we arrived, we saw a buffalo just sitting by one of the thermal
features, minding his own business.  No fence or anything, I could have walked up and
touched him, if I had been crazy enough.  
We were so wet and cold, these small boiling pools kept making me wish we had a
hot tub!