Yellowstone trip

[Beerd]

plan to spend a long day at the Buffalo Bill Museum. Head north out of Cody about 40 miles and turn left on the Chief Joseph Highway. Enter the Park via Cooke City.
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[onceabull]

Those wanting to escape the crowd in Y'Stone could consider taking the road west from Flagg Ranch,Wy.toward Idaho,then accessing the park on the Bechler River..Follow the River upstream as long as your nerve holds out--(assuming you are unarmed,as "required"...) Onceabull

[alamogunr]

Been there, done that, glad I did. Won't be going back. Would like to go to Glacier though.

[pmer]

Mrs. pmer caught wind of the impending volcanic activity and said "we should settle our affairs"

This video isn't too bad, it covers some history about other volcanos and goes into some prehistoric information about the Yellowstone caldera. There are old calderas going west and south from there going back 16 million years. It's the most studied volcanic area in the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsbQ4dJ9R9s

[OS OK]

There are other sites claiming that the ground is physically rising and measurably so, asphalt roads getting mushy, that herds are moving out of the area and so on...thats why I thought that the locals would have a better idea...so far they seem disinterested. Some cornball started in about a tin-foil hat...just can't get a serious answer.

[waksupi]

There are other sites claiming that the ground is physically rising and measurably so, asphalt roads getting mushy, that herds are moving out of the area and so on...thats why I thought that the locals would have a better idea...so far they seem disinterested. Some cornball started in about a tin-foil hat...just can't get a serious answer.

It is definitely past time for it to blow, but it could be another couple hundred years, or it could be tomorrow. The bottom of Yellowstone Lake has raised up, and I think it has affected some of the fish. Other areas, the ground temperature is raising, and has changed the patterns of some animals.
Considering the projected blast area and ash fall out, it doesn't matter where you are. I figure I would have to get at least as far north as Edmonton, Alberta to be completely out of the projected blast. I can't work up a real good worry about it.

[OS OK]

That's the reply I was looking for...what's going on from ground zero so to speak and your resolve regarding that information.
Sorta like the wife and I feel about nuclear war...if it happens we hope the first missile hits us square on the head...life afterwards, ain't life anymore.

[TXGunNut]

I'll be spending a few days in Cody next month, at least one day in the museum. If you only plan one day you'll be planning a return trip before you get home. I was there last fall, first trip about eight years ago. Little Big Horn Battlefield is just across the Bighorn Basin but I can't recommend climbing out of that basin with an RV. View is awesome from a car. Read up about the battle before you go. Don't be surprised if you feel the presence of long-dead warriors. The Crows in the area are tolerant but not very friendly.
I went to Yellowstone as a kid, can't recall leaving anything there. The geysers are indeed awesome but I don't need to go back.

[deep creek]

just go ,have fun don't pet the animals.expect looonng lines and stupid people.had a japanese family try to pet a bull elk in rut with cows and two lesser bulls trying to breed the cows it was tense! have fun have common sense and don't worry about anything blowing up.you gotta see the museum in cody!!!!

[Hickory]

Everyone should visit Yellowstone while its still in Wyoming, from all accounts it's setting on a monster volcano, and if the fear mongers are correct, most of Yellowstone may end up in Kansas if it blows.

[winelover]

Want to beat the crowds? Plan your arrival the day after Labor Day. You'll have the park, pretty much to yourself. Beautiful scenery and weather, too. Done it twice, with wifey. Plan on doing a lot of driving.......the "Loop" inside the park is a 280 mile, figure eight, to cover all the attractions in four distinct areas. Enjoy, it's an adult Disneyland. First time we went, we spent a full week, there.

Winelover

[Hawks Feather]

I have visited Yellowstone multiple times and enjoy it. Good advice has been given: don’t get too close to the animals and they will leave you alone, there are many miles of roads but you can get caught behind some people who want to drive 5 miles per hour in open stretches, if possible take along picnic or sack lunches since food prices inside the park are not inexpensive, expect to see way more people than you would like, and stick to the paths. The buffalo do roam and you will see them most of the summer while the elk will come down (in higher numbers) later in the fall. Here is a link to some images that I took at Yellowstone in September 2014 http://www.jerrylatta.biz/Yellowston...National-Park/ telephoto lens will be your friend there and keep you a safe distance from the wildlife.

Jerry

[pmer]

Thank you for the link to those wonderful pictures! About half way through there is a little building. Is that a shed or a frontier home?

[Wayne Smith]

As to the risk - there is a real difference between geologic time and human time! Eruptions and earthquakes and such function on geologic time - which is measured in tens of thousands and millions of years. My favorite bumper sticker when we were in Southern California 30+ years ago "Remember, the Palmdale Budge is not all San Anderea's Fault". The great earthquake hasn't happened yet.

Enjoy your week or two in the park and don't worry about the eruption - there will be plenty of warning for you to get well away - it won't happen overnight. Yes, it will likely erupt within the next million years - your one or two weeks are not a large percentage of that.

[Plate plinker]

Everyone should visit Yellowstone while its still in Wyoming, from all accounts it's setting on a monster volcano, and if the fear mongers are correct, most of Yellowstone may end up in Kansas if it blows.

Kansas is too flat the way it is. This might improve the scenery.

[Hickory]

Hawks Feather is a professional photographer and I have seen some of his work.
Those are good pictures Jerry.

[higgins]

I'm a lot closer to the New Madrid fault than to the Yellowstone caldera, but I'm a lot more concerned about the idiot drivers on the road in front of my house than either of them.

[MtGun44]

Been there nearly every year for the last 35 or so. It is an amazing and wonderful place,
for certain.

If you don't already have reservations for camping, good luck if you plan on going before
Labor Day. Slim chance to stay in the park and it is HUGE, takes hours to drive across IF
THERE ARE NO ANIMAL DELAYS, so staying outside is pretty impractical.

Either plan to go next year and make reservations for camping (forget any chance of a cabin at this
late date) or cabin in Jan or Feb, or even this year (not sure if they still take them more than a year
in advance) or see if you can luck into something in some of the campgrounds. Been there, done that,
and sometimes we won (got a campsite) other times, driving for 2.5 hours to get outside of the park
to find an expensive motel, IF you luck out there, too. Or go after Labor Day.

Been getting worse and worse every year for the last 10-15. Old Faithful Inn is nearly impossible to
get into now, used to be you could get a reservation in the newer part, not so "cool" as the old
part, a month in advance. Not likely now unless you go 6-8 months or more in advance.

Good luck, it is a wonderful place, but finding a place to stay is a trial.

If you go after Labor Day, which most folks can't swing because of kids in school, things drop
off a LOT. But in about 3 more weeks they close the park, so it is a narrow window, and you
may get snowed on. Also, they are closing down campgrounds, so less people, good chance
at finding a camping spot without reservation, but then they start closing and fewer are
available....

Takes minimum 3 days to have a chance to get to all the "good stuff", partly due to huge size
and slow driving. You WILL go NUTS with the fools stopping IN THE ROAD and holding up
traffic to watch a buffalo, or deer. Rangers try to get people to pull over, but some are just
pure out stupid and care not one whit that they are blocking 60 cars who may need to get
somewhere, like a campground before dark.

If you want to go in July or Aug, good luck, I wouldn't even consider trying that period without
reservations. Go online and see, MIGHT find one night in one campground and the next at another
campground (PITA to move each night! and sometimes an hour and a half away) still, but
going to be difficult. IME, no chance at cabins at all this late, for July-Aug.

PM me if you want more details.

Bill

[MT Gianni]

My son works in West and we are 2 hours north. I like to visit in mid May and September, even them it can get crowded. I would spend a day on a loop from West to Old Faithful. If you have time fish the Firehole river. Next loop is over to Canyon, both falls and up the Lamar valley. N of Mammoth is a hot spring in the river that can get crowded but is relaxing. Plan to leave and enter the park at first light and return after dark if you want to see wildlife. Most of it is gone by 8:00 AM and only going out of cover after 1 hour before sunset. Pack or buy lunches to go with the exception of Old Faithful Lodge which is a nice break. Drive the Yellowstone around Hayden Valley just before dark. Stop another night and look or listen for Elk going from Mammoth to Norris before you crest the mountain. Get quiet with the engine off, no radios, good binos and no lights. Stay from 1 hour before sunset to near dusk. The Park service map will show a bunch of smaller drives. Take most of them as they are less crowded and scenic. Best places for town elk and Bison are the Town of Mammoth and the Madison river between West and Madison junction.
Last Oct we saw Elk, Mule Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Bison, Grizzly and Black Bears, Fox, Coyotes and heard wolves but did not see them. Bee content to see small wildlife and birds by the score. Research Water Ouzels and look for them. Funnest bird out there.
July and August are a different story. I believe you could sell a book solely on the pictures of footwear seen in the park. Look at what the Oriental tourists wear and the Californians. This is on most peoples bucket list so fools abound. The easiest way to miss them is avoid mid-day sites whenever possible.

[onceabull]

Despite the negatives,there is still a lot to recommend about spending a week or more in/around Y'Stone...about the most memorable event in my case in the turista sections of the park itself was watching a griz.stalk and kill a newbie Elk calf early one June..Beaucoup car jam watching this,of course,as it was not far above Gibbon Falls on the Way to Norris..6+park ranger types on hand,as expected, given that sans them some handwringer would have done their dumbo best to foil the Griz.efforts.. Pnceabull