Journey to Yellowstone
The first two days on the road from Oregon to Yellowstone were a breeze. Well, other than not having a clue where I was going in Yellowstone, what the road conditions and weather would be like. The planner and organizer in me was stressing about those issues.
Terrain on the eastern side or Oregon was so much prettier in the spring than it was in the fall. Everything in late September was burnt brown by the long hot summer and no rain. Now the melting snow has everything green. I drove through light rain with a view of the mountains up ahead.
When I crossed into Idaho from Oregon I wondered what smelled to good until I drove past the Ore-Ida plant in Ontario, ID. Of course — in the middle of potato country. Then I realized Ore-Ida is a combination of the names Oregon and Idaho. It made me hungry for Tater Tots.
I arrived at Crossing Winery campground in Glenns Ferry, ID with still no word on where I was going in Yellowstone. The campground a nice quiet place to stay except for the trains. A couple sounded like they were coming through the trailer.
I continued the next day to Rexburg, ID and immediately checked email. The email told me I was assigned to West Yellowstone (I was hired for Fishing Bridge) and that I might be dry camping in their warehouse parking lot. No generator, temperatures going down into the teens — that would last a day… No mention had been made in interview or contract of staying for a few days in West Yellowstone or dry camping. Apoplexy.
Next email said I was starting in Fishing Bridge on 4/11. My start date on my contract is 4/5.
The housing manager finally contacted me and told me where I needed to go. Now all I had left to stress over were road and weather conditions.
The drive from Rexburg to West Yellowstone was unexpectedly great. No traffic behind me so no one getting impatient if I was going below the speed limit. Roads were damp to dry and they had done a great job of plowing. The snow cover on the landscape got heavier and heavier as I rode up the elevation. Even Targhee pass was no big deal. It was dry and I had already come up so much higher topping the pass and then coming down didn’t have serious grades.
The campground options in West Yellowstone weren’t great. One had pull throughs that I had to back all the way out of when I leave, the other was very tight and muddy. And I mean muddy. I opted for tight and muddy and the guys who met me backed the trailer in for me nailing it on the first try.
I got to hook at water, sewer and electric in sunshine. It took me a while to insulate the water hoses for the temperature in the teens and low 20’s. But I was done and in the trailer by 1:30. Not bad.
Update 4/6: With more rain, snow and melting it has now become a muddy lake. Wish I had rubber boots.
