RV Help Desk

RV Vacations & Camping Ideas

Yellowstone National Park by Linda Kunkel

A real vacation means the chance to explore a different location away from your everyday routines. If you are waiting for such a place then the big skies of Montana await you. The sky is so blue and seems to go beyond the horizon. The land is wide open and beautiful.

Yellowstone is a beautiful place full of wildlife, geysers, waterfalls with lots of trails to explore. The mud pots are a favorite of mine. Hot mud burst out of the ground into the air making a rhythmic sound and then falls to the ground making a pile of earth that forms mounds of terrain. The thermal basins spurt hot water into the air and the pools of water make a beautiful aqua marine color. The different pools of hot water are different colors. It goes from beautiful blues to deep green. There are steam vents that make sounds with only a little steam coming from the ground.

There are buffalo everywhere you go. They take over the road and cause traffic jams. You need to be patient until they decide to clear the road so that you may proceed. The sounds reminds me of a hog grunting as they meander down the main roads.

Along the streams and meadows you will see oodles of elk. If you go in September you will be treated to their mating calls. It’s a high pitch sound that you can hear for what seems to be miles. At times the males fight to get all the females for their harem. This display of aggression is fun to watch. It could go on for a few minutes to an hour depending on how much the younger one wants to take on the older wiser male. The loser heads off to try another day while the winner lets out a good bugle and begins to claim his entire harem into one area of the meadow.

Old Faithful the only geyser that works like a clock goes off regularly and the other ones are sporadic. There is a boardwalk that takes you in between the geysers and it’s truly an experience to be walking along and all of a sudden a huge spurt of hot water goes raging into the air and then backs down into the ground until another time of day.

There are lots of places to fish. Around lake Yellowstone you will often see eagles andosprey in the tops of the pine trees.

A must see for this area is the scenic drive called the Beartooth highway. It runs between Cooke city and Red Lodge. This place has been called the most beautiful drive in America by Charles Kuralt. In my opinion he was correct. It is truly breath taking.

There is a grizzly and wolf discovery center in West Yellowstone where you can see an educational program about the preservation of the grizzly bear and wolf, a currently threatened species.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is vast and stunning. The gorge is deep and colorful with waterfalls at one end and the river flows through the other end. There is a trail that you can take to the bottom of the gorge. This is a strenuous trail. If you are up for it, it's worth the trip down all the steps and the worn out feeling that you will have. Seeing the Canyon from the bottom to the top is an incredible view and indescribable.

RV HELP DESK Material may not be reproduced or copied.

Yellowstone National Park has 12 campgrounds. Reservations can be made by calling 307-344-7311 or by writing Yellowstone National Park Lodges P.O. Box 165, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190. Only Fishing Bridge RV Parks offering water, sewer, and electrical hookups and it is for hard-sided vehicles on. Not tents or tent trailers are allowed.

Other campsites out side of the park are as follows.

Rustic Wagon RV Campground

P. O. Box 608

West Yellowstone 59758

406-646-7387

www.rusticwagon.com

Yellowstone Holiday RV Campground

16990 Hebgen Lake Road

West Yellowstone, MT. 59758

877-646-4242

www.yellowstoneholiday.com

Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park