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Old 05-19-2008, 04:37 AM   #21
exav8tr
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Thanks to everyone for your input. I think I will keep Island Park as my base, only there for a week. Then will make the drive through the park to Cody. Thanks again......
 
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Old 05-26-2008, 11:35 AM   #22
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
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exav8tr, you may already be through Yellowstone by this time. Wish I'd seen your post earlier.

Yellowstone is a second home to me. My first trip there was in a bassinet when I was 6 weeks old. Since then, I think I've been there 40 times or more, and it's still one of my favorite places to go. I was staying in the Old Faithful Lodge Cabins during the 1959 earthquake (a story for another day, involving a bad wreck in Childress, Texas, on our way to Yellowstone, a wreck that may have saved our lives a few days later when the quake hit). Anyway, we now live about 2.5 hours west of the park, pure heaven for Yellowstone lovers like us!

If you've already been through the park, you know what I'm about to say. For MOCers who haven't but are thinking about driving through it, maybe my words will prepare them.

The good news is that you can still drive through the park. Without a doubt, some day you'll have to park and go in via a park coach or tour vehicle because the traffic increases so much every year, and there is some concern over the effect of all that traffic on the wildlife. I'd hate to see private vehicles banned, because no matter how good a coach tour is, you still have little or no control over stopping to see something that catches your eye--a flower, wildlife, a beautiful view, etc. We did have an excellent snowcoach tour in Yellowstone in January, with a guide who told us to yell STOP if we saw something we wanted to investigate or photograph, but still--I would have been hollering STOP every 5 minutes, so I kept quiet.

The bad news is that traffic is slow, much slower than the posted speeds, in fact. Roads through the park are single-lane, and although there are many, many places to pull off, you will invariably get behind someone who comes to a full stop to look at something. (I've been guilty of that myself, but I generally try to pull off the road as far as possible so I don't impede traffic.) Still, when one car stops, EVERYONE stops because surely there's a bear or moose or something else to see, right?

You'll also be tempted to gently (or not) shove some of those 15 mph drivers over into the pullouts when those drivers continue to plod along without pulling over to allow others to pass. I guess a lot of people never look in their rear view mirrors to see if they're holding up traffic, so they drive on and on with 20 or more cars stacked up behind them. Don't get me wrong--you need to drive slowly--at posted speeds or a bit below, so you don't miss things, but 15 - 20 mph from the entrance gate to a destination in the park probably isn't necessary.

The worse news, although certainly not bad enough to ever stop anyone from visiting Yellowstone, is the small number of terrified RV drivers who are obviously not comfortable driving their big rigs on those narrow, congested roads. Frost heaves and sharp curves necessitate turtle speeds at times for everyone, but gee . . . On one of our last trips, a fellow in a 40' motor home, driving the nice, flat stretch out of the park and through the east entrance heading to Cody, had traffic stacked up as far as the eye could see while he drove no faster than 15 mph on the entire stretch. After nearly an hour of following him, when we finally reached a place out of the park where we could have passed him, we pulled off instead to take a break and let the crowd behind him spread out on the road. While in the pullout, we witnessed some of the worst road rage we've ever seen as car after car passed that rig and honked, gave hand signals, and vented their frustrations in other ways!

But hey, it's Yellowstone--one of the most interesting and beautiful places in the world. Being held up by a driver who appeared to be barely tall enough to see over the wheel and had his speed set to "Slow Poke" is not the worst think that's ever happened to us.

Footnote: Late that afternoon in Cody, we spotted that same rig parked at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.. It wasn't parked in the designated RV area. It was parked in the area for single vehicles, and it was parked with the right rear wheels up on a curb and partially in a planted area, angled across 10 or so double parking spots, and the front of the rig was totally blocking one of a couple of cars in another parking row. I'm sure someone inside was hearing a "Would the person who owns a . . . " announcement!

Carolyn
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Old 05-26-2008, 12:17 PM   #23
exav8tr
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Carolyn, We have not made the trip yet. Our schedule says one week in Island Park (Valley View RV Park) beginning 11 Jun and moving to Cody (Absaroka Bay RV Park), on 18 jun for another week, then to Buffalo for overnight at KOA, then Sundance for 3 days at Mountain View RV Park, then on to Rapid City and parts East to the Fall Rally in Goshen. Any suggestions on the parks we have selected? How about the eastern departure from Yellowstone, I have heard it is a long downhill steep grade (12 miles?). Care to elaborate on these? You cam pm me if you care to or send e-mail. How long should I plan from Island Park to Cody? This will be a straight thru run, without stops, I hope!!!!
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Old 05-26-2008, 01:02 PM   #24
rogue
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Phil & Cathy, Yellowstone is a great place to visit. Tetons is also a great place. Don't have a spot at Yellowstone for you, but if you wanted to stay in the Tetons, Colter bay campground is a great place to stay.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/grte/pphtml/camping.html

The first time we went, we did Yellowstone first and the Tetons second, mistake. After Yellowstone everything/anything else just doesn't compare and is OOOH Huuum. If you can plan it, go to the Tetons first then to Yellowstone. By the way, the lodges at both parks have good meals. The lodge restaurant and bar at the Tetons have great views of the mountains.

Have a great trip.
Bob
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Old 05-26-2008, 03:28 PM   #25
Wayne and Carolyn Mathews
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Phil and Cathy, I'm probably not going to be much help for that road report you wanted. While we've driven it many times, we never pulled a trailer on it. Wayne says he doesn't remember the grade being a problem, but then again, we were either in our truck or my Explorer and weren't dragging an RV behind us. I do remember how "on the edge" some of the road was on the way out--no room for drifting off to the right or left in spots! I can tell you that the RV's are bumper to bumper along it, everything from pop-ups to monster Class A's, so if the grade is a problem, we've never seen evidence of it. We don't remember seeing anyone pulled off with brake or overheating problems, ever. However, you might call the National Park Service for an accurate assessment: 307-344-2117 (for Yellowstone road info). That road is busy--along with normal tourist traffic, all the huge delivery trucks, etc., travel it regularly bringing in supplies.

If you haven't visited that site Bob gave you for Yellowstone information, you should do so. It's a great place to check current road conditions among a multitude of other things: http://www.nps.gov/yell/. I noticed there's a link on the site that takes you to an updated road map, and there's also a link for current road conditions (which was pretty interesting because of some road work and/or other conditions that are affecting some of the park roads temporarily).

We've never stayed in Valley View RV Park, but we have friends who have, and they said it is a great place in a great location. Because most of our RV traveling up to now has been to the west of Yellowstone, I know nothing about the other parks you mentioned. (Boy, we wish we were headed to Goshen for the fall rally--lucky people!)

Oh--the advice some other MOCers gave you is spot on--visit the Teton National Park first. It has gorgeous vistas. But when you see Yellowstone, you'll be blown away. I'd hate to see Yellowstone first and then be expected to be that excited over the Tetons, too! Teton National Park pales in comparison.

Carolyn

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