The weather here has been much warmer the last couple of weeks, and is uncomfortable in the afternoons on several days. It’s not the overall temperature so much that direct sun is really hot so there were several days we really didn’t want to go out into the park. We certainly didn’t want to do the geologic features, because for me walking around in full sun looking at boiling water not so appealing 🙂
Thankfully there were still several things in and near West Yellowstone we hadn’t seen yet, so here are a few of the things we did..in no particular order. First was the West Yellowstone Museum which is located in the beautiful old train station here in town. Although I thought the $10 entrance fee was a bit steep for what the museum had I looked at it as a donation to preserve the gorgeous buildings. Original windows and floors in many places and because it is closed in the winter (too expensive to heat) it is in remarkably good condition for its age. Plus if you are into fly fishing they have a small fly fishing museum inside which was pretty interesting.
Love this statue. Probably my favorite in townthese windows were beautifulOld Fly collectionThere used to be a successful business in the area that made flies. Crazy snowThere were two “theaters” that showed movies which were outdated and on a super small screen but we stayed for a little while.
The absolute best part of the museum though was the stuffed bear Old Snaggletooth. He was a renowned Grizzly who ruled the local dump in the 1960’s until he was unfortunately killed by poachers. Some bears here gain iconic status and Old Snaggletooth was one of them.
Like I said the Museum was ok, but we learned about another historic site not that far from town where we might see some moose! So one morning we went to Big Springs an Historic Natural Landmark. The springs are really beautiful and the spot was so majestic that Johnny Sack built a cabin here in the 1930’s with his own waterwheel. He leased this gorgeous spot (seriously my pictures don’t come close to doing it justice) from the Forest Service and built everything from scratch. Again this building is in remarkable shape and although we weren’t able to go inside the pictures I have seen are beautiful as well.
WaterwheelJohnny Sack’s CabinJack didn’t want to stay on the path 🙂Hard to see but the water runs under a huge slab of rockSee how clear the water is …you can see our shadowCute duck diving for bugs
Unfortunately we didn’t see any moose but we are definitely going back when the crowds die down a little. This is prime ATV country and since we went on a weekend it was pretty crowded for such a remote spot. So no moose but I did learn about an Osprey nest a couple of miles outside of town and another day Lee and I stopped and I got some great pictures. There is so much to see and do here I don’t even think one summer is enough to do it all and I am officially claiming this as my favorite National Park we have seen so far.
Cracks us up that the osprey was standing on the fake owl statueIt flew to the nestAnd two babies popped up
Oh and one last thing.. Lee really enjoys returning to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center and one day got some awesome video of two bear sisters arguing over a big bone. Enjoy!
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
Yellowstone National Park is not very bike friendly, but there are a few trails to try so Lee and I took the bikes one morning to try a couple of the paths. Based on some information I got from a ranger, we decided to head out towards Lake Village. This was an area we had driven by several times, but it either wasn’t open or the timing wasn’t right. This day was bright and sunny though and the breeze coming off the lake was awesome.
Despite the directions I had we still couldn’t find the path, and ultimately stopped in the gift store to ask for directions. I think this is the last of the gift stores we hadn’t seen in the park and I really loved the old building with the nautical theme.
Loved this chair!!
The people at the gift store were very nice but even they weren’t sure exactly where the bike path was so we took the bikes out and went on a search. Finally Lee found the trail which was a mile long and pretty overgrown. It was pretty though, with great views of the lake, but to be honest it was quite a bit of fuss for a small payout. We did stop on our way back though and went into the Lake Village hotel which is really beautiful. One of the newer hotels in the park it had nice views and I really liked its layout and proximity to the lake.
Signage no so great and only on one end of the trailLake Village HotelFantastic Gift Shop
Our second bike ride wasn’t that far away and we were headed to the Natural Bridge. Again this was roughly a mile, but in this case I am glad we had our bikes. It was a beautiful ride through the forest ending in a nice view of the Natural bridge. We had just missed some marmots in the area, but we saw lots of ground squirrels and there were berry bushes galore.
We could have left our bikes at the base of the bridge and walked up a rocky path to the top, but neither of us was really feeling it. It was getting pretty hot and the terrain was pretty rough so instead we headed back out after taking our pics. We were both glad we gave the bikes a try but I have to say in general bike riding in the park itself was just ok. I will talk more about why we cant just throw the bikes in the back of the truck in my upcoming Lectric Bike review, but suffice it to say they require both of us to get them in and out of the truck, which is a bit of a hassle for a short ride.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
After visiting Moose Falls we headed for our actual destination that day. Flagg Ranch or Grass Loop Road (I have seen the names used interchangeably on maps) is in the John D. Rockefeller Memorial parkway between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. This 47 mile gravel road is closed in the winter and seems to be maintained by the BLM or National Forest Service in different sections. So be warned the road is in variable condition as you travel it, but if you are looking for a place off the beaten track this is definitely it.
The initial stretch of the road actually had several BLM and NFS rustic campsites and we did see many families camping there. The road was also grassland, then a burned out section from a forest fire, and ultimately dense forest. Grass Lake is also a popular spot and we saw several people fishing there. You sort of get a feel for what is a local hangout versus tourists and this was definitely locals.
Natural spillway for Lake
One of my favorite parts of the day (and the reason we spent so much time on the road) was it was berry palooza. I have been looking for berries for awhile now and there were TONS along the road. I kept stopping and tasting…probably not the best idea…and many of them were so-so and others were bitter. Keeping in mind I have no idea what was toxic I took a tiny taste of most. I soon realized that I really needed a guidebook (I had no idea there would be so many varieties) and when I got home I ordered the Rocky Mountain State Wild Berries & Fruits field guide from Amazon.
I have to say I am a huge fan of this book. It is thick but carry sized and the berries are grouped by color for easier identification. Turns out LOTS of berries look the same and its really the leaves that helped me identify. As a disclaimer many of these berries look really similar (hence my issue trying to do this with the internet), but here are some of my identifications after the fact. Thankfully I only ate one that was mildly toxic and believe me it tasted like it. Here are a few of the MANY varieties I saw.
Saw lots of these Bush Honeysuckles which the book says are inedible but not super toxicNever seen anything like these twinberry honeysuckles. VERY bitter on the tongue.Mountain Ash edible but astringent. I didn’t try theseRose hips, edible but bitter seedsThese bilberry’s were DELICIOUS!!! Ate lots of these.
Overall I am really excited I found a good berry in the wild and with my new field guide I will be ready next time! As great as that was though it wasn’t the best part of the drive. On a whim Lee stopped at the Cascade Creek sign (not far from the dam heading west) and we walked over to the edge and saw a really cool canyon with cascades. We took an old path along the water (not the trail itself) and went right down to the edge. It was absolutely gorgeous and what an unexpected surprise.
You can always tell how cool a place is by the smile on Jack’s face
There were tons of berry bushes along the creek and best of all you could walk right out into the water and the stones were not super slippery. I was really surprised when Lee took his shoes off (a rarity) and went into the water. I joined as well and we had a great time walking around. It was a wonderful moment. If you know Lee you understand how unusual this was for Lee so enjoy the moment as I captured it.
Taking off the shoesGetting into the water barefoot. This was the hardest partThe water wasn’t that cold just strong current. LOVE the look on Lee’s faceIt was great that the stones weren’t very slipperyTada!!!I loved it!
After the cascades the road went through more mountains with tons more berries. I was getting hungry though so I was glad when we saw the farmland up ahead that meant we were getting close to Ashton, ID. It was crazy how it went from dense forest to farmland, but it did and we stopped in the small rural town at an old fashioned drive through for a sandwich and some excellent ice cream! Overall really nice day just us and the dog and I thoroughly recommend it if you are in the area for awhile.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
My last post was about a well talked about area that was a bit of a disappointment but this one is all about a hidden gem. Moose Falls is the first thing you enter when coming into Yellowstone from the south entrance but it was only on our fourth trip past the area I even noticed the relatively small sign. Since we were headed in that direction I said I definitely wanted to stop and even knowing roughly where it was we almost passed it again.
There was a relatively small parking lot (with only one car in it) and the path was not immediately obvious. Since Jack needed a potty break anyway we decide to walk down it and came out at the top of a waterfall. From the top the view was pretty nice (including an old stone bridge) but it wasn’t until we walked down a very old stone carved path that the real magic happened.
View from the topView downstream from the fallsCool old stairs …I was glad I had my hiking boots onAnd then voila
It was totally amazing and really like being in a fairy glade. We were the only ones there and there were no signs against anything. We could get into the water, we let the dog off leash, and the roar of the waterfall blocked out any road noises. I LOVED it!! So much that I am giving it its own blog post which I rarely do. Here’s the best of the many pictures.
Jack loved itI loved itAnd Lee loved itJack is Lee’s new favorite subject
It did start to get a little crowded at some point so we took off but I will definitely come back. I just kept saying how have we never heard of this place and Lee just shrugged as if to say who knows. I think my point is for every place that doesn’t live up to its press that are 2-3 that completely exceed them (if you can find them) which is what makes our National Parks such magical places.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
There are some pictures that are quintessential and the shot of the Grand Prismatic is definitely that. I can vividly remember seeing this picture on various blogs and thinking I want to go THERE! But like many things in this lifestyle the story behind the shot is way more interesting than the picture and in this case unfortunately the experience did not live up to the beauty of the shot.
So how did we get this picture?? Well first of all you need to get to higher ground because if you look at the grand prismatic from its boardwalk you can’t see much. There are two entrances to a path that goes behind the Grand Prismatic. Neither of the path entrances have signs for Grand Prismatic though so look for signs that say Fairy Falls. You can use a bike on these paths or walk like we did and since we picked the closer of the two entrances our walk ended up being 1.8 miles round trip.
That’s not terribly long for a hike but unfortunately to get the views above you need to wait until late July or early August because that’s when the algae forms and the bright colors appear. You also need to wait until the hottest part of the day. Why? Well the steam obscures the view if you go early in the morning but when we went around 3pm it was 81 degrees and the steam was minimal.
The path itself is OK, but when you get to the side path to go to the overlook that was pretty steep. It’s also extremely crowded most of the time and there were lots of families and small kids on the path. Definitely not a quiet nature hike. Grand Prismatic is actually the second most visited site in Yellowstone and the crowds definitely show it.
Parking is always overflowed during peak timesThankfully the path was somewhat shaded but it was still warmThe sign to the overlook is NOT greatAnd the side path is pretty steep . I had to stop a couple of times
As you start to wind through the path you could see the Prismatic through the trees a little. There were no clear shots so we continued to the platform at the top. We heard that the forest service was going to improve on this platform this year, but unfortunately the money was diverted to pay for the road damage done by the floods. It is a shame because the platform is relatively small and the trees obscure a LOT of the view.
There was actually only one small section that was completely tree free and if you are short like I am even that had trees in it. Here’s what the raw pictures looked like.
Don’t get me wrong these aren’t terrible pictures but definitely not on par with the images I have seen. So how did I get those? Well I used Photoshop to erase the trees from the shot and then punched up the colors. Here’s the revised version of the pictures above.
So better but still not the best and unfortunately when we reached the top of the platform Lee was only able to take one picture before the battery on his camera died. Basically it was a long, hot crowded walk to squeeze into a small space and take a mediocre picture. I know that sounds harsh but it was not fun for us and I wanted to share that before you decide to go. By all means take the hike and get your picture, just know what you are getting into.
One last thing I wanted to mention. Lee is working for a professional photographer this summer and he of course has an outstanding shot of the prismatic. In order to get that shot though he made several flights in a powered parachute, and flew directly over it. Before we went he was really honest with us about not the difficulty in getting the shot we wanted and I appreciated his sharing that with us so I was at least somewhat prepared.
All that being said I am glad I got the first picture I showed you. But as is often the case some things do not live up to their press.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
The weather has been a little interesting in early August, with some days in the 90s and others in the 70s. That difference matters to me as 90s is a little hot for me to be seeing the geological sites (that hot steam can really add to the heat) but the 70s are just perfect. One cooler evening we decided to go into the park and check out the Mud Volcano which looked pretty interesting. Basically it is a small hill full of geologic and thermal formations but this one has some unique features.
The hill was covered in boardwalks Dragon’s Mouth Spring was really cool because you could hear the water crashing on the rocks which sounds like the ocean, or a dragon, roaring. VERY neat
Right after that we saw another pool with a buffalo laying right next to it. We have seen this several times but never so close up and watching him take a nap. Honestly for me this might be the quintessential Yellowstone picture and we stayed for a long time taking pictures until the rangers shooed us off since we were so close. They made it pretty clear that the wooden railing on the boardwalk would provide no protection if the bison got annoyed but he honestly didn’t seem to care. He was sleeping 🙂
After the first couple of sites we had to walk up a pretty steep hill but it was worth it. Beautiful views from the top and more neat things to see. I will say the boardwalk was pretty torn up though and we guessed that bison were walking on it.
Another really cool feature was called Black Dragon Cauldron. This was very active and the water was churning so much it actually made waves. We learned the water wasn’t boiling but was was caused by gasses rising.
Finally we saw an area where there used to be a huge mud geyser. It’s dormant now but still lots of steam. The everchanging nature of these features fascinates me and I told Lee I would love to have a time machine just to go backwards and forwards to see how it would all change. You have to remember this whole area was a volcano and these spots are what are left after it exploded.
As we headed back home we got caught in a buffalo jam and watched a young man get waaaay to close to the buffalo that ultimately walked right in front of our truck. These bison are getting close to rut season and are particularly aggressive right now so we stayed safely in our truck. Here is how it played out. 1500 pounds and those horns are no joke.
Then there’s this guy who just wanted to scratch an itch, much to the sadness of this poor tree….
And as we were driving home we saw that side road to Virginia Cascades was open. They open and close side roads frequently here and this one has been closed for awhile. Once again the side road led to something really cool and I loved the hoodoo like rock formations.
Super cool rock formations
What amazes me as always is the variety of landscapes Yellowstone provides. It really makes for great experiences.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
A couple of times a year as we travel Lee gets an opportunity to work a side gig and this time it was down in San Antonio. Sometimes it can be difficult to arrange it with existing employers, but in this case the owners of the Camera store were very understanding and worked out a schedule where his shifts were covered. It’s nice for both of us to get this kind of break, although usually we are someplace where I have family or friends around. This time it would be just Jack and I and I wasn’t quite sure what I would do with the time. I’m jumping ahead though, because right before Lee Left we took a drive out to Rainbow Point to see if we could see some moose.
There is a tendency for people to focus on Yellowstone itself, but the surrounding areas do provide opportunities for animal sightings. We even have a map which shows what kind of animals have been seen where and since a moose with antlers is at the top of my list we took a drive one evening.
Here’s the map I was working from wasn’t great but got us to the general area
Turns out there were tons of forest roads in this area and some beautiful views. We didn’t see any moose unfortunately but we did see a beautiful eagle.
Cool tower but unfortunately we couldn’t climb upBest picture of the eagle I could get before we spooked it The road was pretty bumpy but we followed it to the end
There is also a pretty nice National Forest campground out on the point and at $28 for an electric site is a steal in this area. They are pretty wooded and remote but less than 10 minutes or so from the Yellowstone entrance. If you are ever looking for a cheap alternative for this area I would recommend it. Beautiful dock Day Use area.
The next day I took Lee to the Yellowstone Airport which is the smallest I personally have ever seen. So small that they actually drive peoples luggage out in a cart which again was a first for me. It was great for us though because it was a quick 10 minutes to drop Lee off and then Jack and I were on our own.
I spent a lot of time thinking about what I would do with the 10 days and I had a short list of activities and since I was already up I decided to check out the farmers market at Ennis. This is the best one I have been to in the area and I wanted to go back. Turns out this was a great choice because not only was the farmers market happening but also an arts and crafts festival and my absolute favorite a library book sale. It was a great start to the week and I cleaned up on books, some shorts from a wonderful local thrift store.
While I was out and about I learned that huckleberries were starting to come in and since I am a huge fan I decided to go look for some. I have to say this is not as easy as it sounds. First of all, huckleberry patches are closely guarded secrets and the general descriptions of where they might be were conflicting. Some websites said on southern facing slopes, others said in shade under trees, and others said in wide open sunny places. Even the pictures of the plants were different as the different varieties are different heights. The best piece of advice I saw was to drive down rarely traveled country roads and look so that’s what Jack and I did. We didn’t actually see any huckleberries but we did stumble across this really cool dam and waterfall.
My original plan was to go out a few more times and look for huckleberries but to be honest being on this remote roads with just me and Jack didn’t feel super safe. Cell coverage in the area can be iffy and ultimately I decided it just wasn’t worth the risk. Plus my work week was crazy intense and we got some bizarre rain/hail weather that didn’t encourage outside exploring. Mainly Jack and I just hunkered down for the week and I just relaxed. Its nice having the RV all to yourself sometimes and I watched lots of TV that Lee’s not that interested in. Lee was thinking of me though and I was shocked when on Friday a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived. Lee doesn’t send flowers very often and this was a gorgeous bouquet. So very sweet.
After a week of slacking I did want to get out on Sunday when the weather finally turned nice again. There was a Mountain Man festival here in town (think renaissance festival but with mountain men) and I drove over to take a look. There were lots of characters at this small festival and more fur than I think I have ever seen in my life. I wandered around a bit and saw everything but ultimately didn’t buy anything but a bottle of water.
Lots of fur coats. You wouldn’t see this back east
Overall it was a decent week but it was nice to see Lee and get things back to normal. The main thing I learned was I’m not so great about getting out and doing things by myself despite being in a gorgeous area. I like sharing the experiences with someone and I am glad I have Lee to share them with.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
After exploring East Yellowstone we continued into the Shoshone National Forest and all I can say about this area is WOW. This might be the most beautiful National Forest I have ever been in and it reminded me of Utah with big trees. The rock formations were absolutely stunning. Let me just show you.
There was even a cool gift shop (Buffalo Bills historic hunting lodge) and I snagged a couple of cool magnets.
The absolute best section is at the easternmost part of the National Forest where the rock formations are said to look like Old Jerusalem. Look for a nice parking area and a beautiful concrete path which you can walk right down to the water. Definitely worth a stop.
Jack loved it This reminded me of the Harry Potter Sorting Hat
After leaving the Shoshone Forest we drove through Buffalo Bill State Park which has a huge lake and a dam you can tour. Since we had Jack we didn’t do the tour but it looked interesting. They also had some cool old tunnels that we went though. Jack wasn’t so sure what to think about that.
Next was a place called Hellfire Canyon. This is a small geothermic area along a river and I can see why folks were kind of freaked out by it back in the day.
Finally we hit Cody, which is a farther drive than I thought it would be. There is some cool stuff there but because we had Jack we couldn’t do any of it and we took a quick drive around and then headed back. We would like to go back sometime without Jack but doggy daycare has been a challenge in this area. Since Cody has not one but two Chinese buffets (the only ones we have seen in the entire western Montana/Wyoming area we will definitely make an effort though. Plus there is a really nice Wild West museum.
Huge nightly rodeoThese buffalo sculptures were everywhereSuper cool building on a hill. No clue what it wasThis big boy statue in the middle of a huge field was so unusual we stopped and took some pics. Would love to know the story behind it.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
Despite the weather challenges and the flooding we have been lucky enough to explore all of the roads in Yellowstone National Park except for the stretch between Fishing Village and the east gate. This gate has been closed due to snow and flood several times during the season but the stars finally aligned and we were able to go explore it on one of my days off. It takes a long time to get over to that section of the park from West Yellowstone, but it was totally worth it.
Lee and I are constantly amazed by the variation in landscape different sections of this park offer. The east section was unlike anything we have seen so far and the views were spectacular. Le me show you a few.
Beautiful Yellowstone lake views with some geysers
We drove up to Lake Butte Overlook and this little road was fantastic. We let Jack run around and got some great pictures of the lake. There was a fire in this area at some point but the stark trees actually added to the beauty and the blue of the lake was amazing.
Next we started to climb up over Sylvan Pass (7% grade for 5 miles) and saw some gorgeous views. We also stopped and got some cool shots of a mountain goat or sheep?? I can never tell the difference when they don’t have the curly horns. It posed for me 🙂
We also found a great mountainside waterfall we could walk right up to. I love interactive waterfalls and this one was really nice.
Absolutely gorgeous and we drove all the way to the East gate which then goes into the Shoshone National Forest. That forest was so special I am saving that for another post but we did keep going all the way until Cody.
Beautiful small lake up on the passthe East Gate
One other thing I wanted to mention though was I have been really disappointed with our eagle sightings but we saw three in one day!! One of them I managed to get a few shots off and although they were a bit blurry it was thrilling.
On the way back home we also took a different route and saw one black bear and a huge herd of elk (with babies) up near Canyon Village. The herd animals migrate to higher ground as it gets hotter and this Elk group was by far the largest we have seen.
Baby nursing. I didn’t know the little ones have spots like deerMy shot of bear digging into a stumpLee’s shot…the bear stuck his tongue out at him
It was another really nice day and I will cover the rest of it in my next post. Just super happy we were able to see every major road accessible area of the park.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
No that is not a typo. Lectric is the brand name of a company that makes ebikes that seem designed for people like us. We first used an electric bike at Timothy Lake that was purchased by our employers, but since it was a standard 10 speed I never felt steady on it. Even Lee wiped out a couple of times riding it because when you engaged the electric the bike would jump. Since that experience we have talked several times about getting electric bikes but they are pretty pricey and I wasn’t sold on the fact I would like them enough to use them.
Fast forward to Yellowstone and my reading a post by some fellow RV Dreamers Les and Sue. I have followed their blog and taken their advice from the very beginning of our RV journey so when they raved about the Lectric bike I took that seriously. I also know they are all about getting value for their dollar and since these bikes are over $1K that mattered to me. Last thing I wanted was an expensive toy we would never use.
I reached out to them personally and asked for their opinion and based on that we decided to rent a couple and try them out. Bikes are a pretty personal thing and I was particularly nervous because for the last several months I have been having balance issues. Whether that is caused by high elevation or the extra 15 pounds I put on after quitting smoking I don’t know, but I haven’t been surefooted for awhile. The last thing I wanted to do was take those balance issues on a bike. Lee kept gently pushing me to try it though and after sharing my concerns we set out on a Saturday on one of the few bike trails in Yellowstone to give it a go.
I’ll be honest it took a little while to setup bikes because we wanted to take our cameras and needed to be sure they were safe. The bikes we rented were the standard models (without baskets) so we bungeed our camera bags and water to the back rack which worked ok. The good news was the wide tires and lower to the ground design made for a very stable ride and although I kept ride assist lowest level I did enjoy the sensation. It was also really easy to stop at some sites along the way, including this thermal pool.
The gravel road was in pretty good shape, but I was pleased to see the bike handle the rougher spots pretty well. Initially we discovered the shocks were turned off and it got even better once we turned that feature on. My major complaint was the seat wasn’t that comfortable, but we were lucky enough to see two Lectric bikes with all the bells and whistles on the trail and those larger seats would definitely do the trick.
Loved this bigger basketAnd side mirrors
Initially my plan was to ride the bikes to Fairy Falls but unfortunately that trailhead was no bikes allowed. We didn’t have chains or locks so decided to leave that for another day and continued on the bike path. The path was on the backside of the the Prismatic basin, which is probably the most iconic in Yellowstone. There is an overlook where you can supposedly get great shots but again the path was no bikes so we just finished out the trail to the other end. I should probably mention that Yellowstone is really not bike friendly and they actively discourage bikers on the main roads, but the trail served its purpose and was a great place to try out the bikes. Plus it was pretty.
As you can see when we were heading back the crowds were definitely getting larger. There were many envious glances as we breezed by folks going uphill using the pedal assist and since it was getting really hot I was super glad for the breeze. Another unexpected benefit was the area was pretty buggy, but on the bikes the bugs mainly left us alone. All in all I was pretty happy with the experience but Lee had one more area he wanted to explore.
After stopping at home and taking the dog for a walk, we headed out on the Frontier Trail. This national forest service trail is opened year round for snow shoers and cross country skiers and was in pretty rough shape. The bikes did surprisingly well on this rougher road with the exception of one steep hill. We both decided to get off and push the bikes up and even using pedal assist it was pretty tough. Honestly this trail was more suited for mountain bikes and my butt is still sore from that section a few days later. I would recommend a smoother path personally for future trips but we did make it there and back.
The trail markers are really high because of deep snowThis trail goes to the river that is the boundary between National Forest and YellowsonteGetting up this hill was harder than it looked
One last thing I should probably mention is another major concern of mine was bears. To be honest I have been somewhat hesitant to hike much because of bear and cub activities and I wasn’t sure I felt much better on a bike. I finally talked to Lee about it and asked what happened if we turned a corner and one of us was attacked and his answer (without pause) was the other person should haul ass. That oddly made me feel a little better, but I was still somewhat nervous when we were in the heavily treed areas with less visibility. Later I saw that I wasn’t being paranoid in my concerns because the forest service had special signs for what bikers should do if they saw a bear. They recommended standing your ground and never running, which I get for the average biker, but since these bikes can go 30mph the advice might be a little different. Not sure what I would do in that situation to be honest. Thankfully there isn’t bear activity in most areas so that problem is pretty Yellowstone specific.
Oh and another thing. Despite not riding a bike in a couple of years, I did pedal almost the entire way and my battery was still close to full when we were done. I’ll be honest after pushing the bike up the hill c I did use more power to get home, but overall I thought it was a good workout. We liked the experience so much that we decided to buy a couple of bikes ourselves and Lee ordered them along with front and back baskets, cup holders, and mirrors on Monday. All in it was around $3K which is not cheap but thankfully Lee has picked up a side gig that should cover the cost. I’ll do a more thorough review when they arrive in a couple of weeks, but wanted to share our experience while it was fresh in my mind.
We very much appreciate your support of our blog
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperbackversion on Amazonor buy the Apple version on Itunes
Camper Chronicles 