Yellowstone Park again, Day 2

 Sometimes, when you take a trip with lots of driving, when you get home you are tired. But there is much to do to unpack, clean up, do laundry, buy groceries. About the second or third day home you collapse in exhaustion. That was yesterday. I could not even write a blog. All my effort just to make dinner. Eduard slept in a long time. He was feeling it, too.

So now I will proceed with my Yellowstone Park review of Accessibility- Day 2. Pictures will be included as they get edited.

We entered the park a little later in the morning. Almost 9 am. No line. Fast entry with passes. All the lanes are open to passes, but the far right lane is only for passes and pre-paid tickets. It moves a little bit faster than the other lanes, but on this day, there was little traffic. We entered and drove the 14 miles to the intersection. We had planned to head north this time. The north side takes you to the turn for the Canyon, Norris geyser basin, and the Grand Staircase- Mammoth hot springs. There are a couple of other things along the way.

Our first stop was Gibbon Falls. This is a lovely overlook of the river and falls. The base of the river is hard black stone. It contrasts well with the foaming white water. A beautiful river and the falls have several levels. The upper viewing area is great for accessibility. Railings, smooth walkways, gentle slopes, good parking. If you walk down a bit you get to a viewing platform for a better look at both the first and second falls steps. I stayed on top and enjoyed the sound and view of the river and first step of the falls.

 

We drove on north to the intersection of-  West to Norris Geyser, North to Mammoth Hot Springs, East to the Almost Grand Canyon. This time we went north. We were planning on going North again on the last day so we skipped Norris Geyser Basin. this is where we started to notice the smell of sulfur. It starts out smelling of gun powder or fire crackers. Then the smell gets stronger as you head north.

We did not see much wildlife or birds. The weather was cool and clear, the roads were nice. Not much traffic. We stopped at Artist Paint Pots. This area is pretty flat. Good parking. Out house style toilets. There is a 1/2 mile walk to the viewing areas. The right side takes you to some low level mud pots and a nice walk way for viewing them. The left side takes you to the not too accessible mud pots and geysers. I went left. I could do this with a walker. There were no benches or seating areas. There was one area of the walk that was messy, and there was a nice platform before the stairway. I stayed on the platform. I could see the continuous geyser and some other bubbling pools. The water in the stream was somewhat like the prismatic springs. Colorful but not large. Eduard climbed the stairs to the top and took lots of pictures. There is another geyser up there and some colorful pools. After he was done with the stairs, we walked over to the other viewing area. Flat with bubbling mud pots. Nice wooden walkway, but not very interesting.

 

Norris Geyser overlook- This is a nice parking lot. Not much else. You can look out over the geyser field hidden by trees and see a couple of frequently shooting geysers. Far away. You can skip this. We didn't even get out of the car.

Mammoth Hot Springs- This feature has an upper and lower level. We went to the upper level. The first parking lot has an accessible walk way for going out on the springs for a close up view. The next up parking lot is bigger and has lots of stairs going down. This is where we parked. I got out and walked around the upper flat area but did not attempt the stairs. Eduard took pictures for about a hour and we had lunch in the car. There were no picnic tables or other facilities, but the views were great. Like surround sound only visual. 360 degree features. The sulfur smell is strong but not unbearably. When we left we found even more lovely features. We stopped three times before we exited this area. I was able to walk with my cane to these sites. Close to the road and some you can see from the car. There were no toilets up here so we continued north to the lower level.

Traffic jam. Road work. Long wait. We made a U-turn at a pull out and headed south. It was a long day already and we were going to head home through this area, so we skipped the lower level for today. It took over an hour and a half to drive back but this was actually a shorter day than the first day. We stopped at an outhouse style toilet part way down to Norris Geyser Basin. 

This area has some mobility issues and some sulfur issues. If you have sensitive breathing issues you may actually need to skip this part. After we got back to the hotel, we noticed that we smelled of sulfur. Our urine smelled of sulfur for two days. You are breathing it in and ingesting it. 

Here I want to remind you that this is the inside of a volcano. It is a risky place all the time. The features change over the years. The trees die or fall, the ground moves, the ground has thin spots, the streams change paths, the air is less than good quality, but it is beautiful and exciting. Don't push yourself too hard.

Yellowstone Park again- Day One

 It took us about 15 minutes to enter the park from the Hotel. There was a line of cars, but it moved well. All 4 lanes were open. It was freezing cold out and there was some ice around, but the roads were safe. After we entered the park, we drove for 14 miles to an intersection. Where do you want to go? Plan this in advance. We headed to the Prismatic springs and Old Faithful. Then we would go on to Yellowstone Lake and have lunch. We packed a picnic and snacks for an all day outing. This picture is of Pronghorn outside the park on the drive into West Yellowstone.

 

Prismatic Springs- I needed my walker. A powered chair would have been nice, but too wide for the boardwalk. You can only have 1/2 of the width you know so that people can get by. There is a boardwalk that climbs the hillside. I stopped at the first platform. It was totally fogged in from the hot water hitting the cold air. And the boardwalk was frozen over. Very Dangerous conditions for the mobility challenged. But I could see enough color and experience the pools. We decided to return later in the afternoon.

 

There were about 4 handicapped designated parking spaces. The doors on the outhouse toilets were wide enough for a wheel chair or walker, but not a power chair. Would not be able to turn around your vehicle. Sidewalks and ramps were OK. I am glad I brought my own chair. There was one small, wet bench that could seat 2 on the walk and a couple of places at the bottom where you could sit and rest.

Old Faithful- great access. Lots of benches. Good walkways. Get there a bit early for a front row seat. Lots of disability parking. Need to stroll or walk a good distance but not a long way. There is a nice walkway around the viewing area. Suitable for motorized wheel chairs or walkers. A lovely area. Toilet facilities had ramps and flush toilets. We were there about an hour and had a great time. Eduard ran around taking pictures and I sat and took pictures. 

 

The south part of the park, Prismatic Springs and Old Faithful did not have a lot of sulfur smell. Lots of animals on the side of the road to watch. Seemed to have a traffic jam for every Bison. A pretty drive.

Around the Bend- at the junction in the south end you can head down out of the park or continue east to the Yellowstone Lake west Thumb area. We found a nice place to have a picnic on that side. We are now about 60 miles into the park and the lake is lovely. The road climbs up and over the divide a couple of times. If you have altitude issues it is good to be warned that Yellowstone, or most of it is above 6000 feet. My limit is now about 6500 ft and I had to struggle sometimes with breathing. Half way around the lake we headed back to the Prismatic springs for a warmer, clearer view. We found wild animals and some pretty little springs. The parking situation at the Prismatic Springs was awful. Long wait to get in but there was a parking spot. Hubby took photos for an hour and I sat in my chair and enjoyed the springs again.

 

Time to return to the hotel. We spent 7 hours driving around and looking at stuff. Most of the toilets were out house style. No water or concessions. Be prepared to pack most of what you need. There was toilet paper and sometimes hand sanitizer. 

This ends day one and I have not got the pictures in yet. I will write more tomorrow and add the pictures into this post.

Yellowstone National Park, accesibility

I grew old before I could get there. And with age there are sometimes disabilities or lower energy. So what was it like with a walker, walking sticks, or a wheel chair? Fabulous!!! Three exclamation points. Five Stars!

We had planned to visit the National Parks right after we moved to northern Washington State. We would be retired and have lots of time on a budget of course. I prefer hotels to camping or motor homes. I used to camp a lot but now I am having a hard time with it. So hotels are the choice. Soon after getting into our new house in Bellingham, my mom needed to come stay with us. 8 months of work and she passed surrounded with love and care and all her stuff. Another 2 months to clean out her stuff and have a memorial with the rest of the family in San Diego. Whew! That was a lot of work and driving and it was February 2020. On the way home from San Diego the world shut down behind us. Covid-19 was now in charge of our lives.

We had made reservations for the spring  2020 in Yellowstone, but everything shut down. Hotels. Federal parks. Restaurants. Rest stop toilets. The message was "stay home and stay safe", which we did. 2020 was happening in our house and on short road trips to the mountains to take pictures.

In August, we decided to go to Crater Lake. We could drive down and hotel camp one night, visit the park and hotel camp another night. Things were looking better and hotels were open so we booked one near the crater. Oh no! not going to happen. Fires were everywhere and the park was shut down. The hotel shut down. And Covid decided to spike again. We were just going to wait to get vaccinated before we traveled again. More home projects and local day trips. Outside of course. 6 ft separated. With masks.

This will eventually be about Yellowstone Park but the lead up is necessary. Near the end of 2020 I developed Knee problems and started using a walker or cane to get around. Slow, but functional. I can walk short distances with the cane but cannot stand in one place for any period of time. The walker is also a chair. I can use the cane at the grocery store or around the house, but for times when there is distance or standing, I use the walker. Getting up at night, I use the walker also. I started physical therapy. The Doctor said full knee replacement. One to two years of recovery time, if it doesn't reject or need a second surgery. I decided not to have surgery. 

2021-Time passes. We drove to San Diego to see my son's new house. It was Mother's Day 2021 and we had furnished their guest room. I was able to function and stay in hotels with accessibility rooms. I was still able to drive. On the way home we stopped at Crater Lake and a bunch of Bird preserves. We were vaccinated now, but still cautious. We ate every meal in the car or hotel room. It was a good trip and I enjoyed seeing my son and his wife again. When we got home we worked on the house for things we knew were coming. New roof. New paint. New deck. The summer passed and I was able to walk a bit more and sleep without pain. Still using cane and walker but more mobile.

Sometime during the summer of working on the house, the covid thing started to ease and we made reservations again for Yellowstone Park. Late September when the park is cooler and most of the crowds are gone, we would be able to drive there and see stuff. I could still drive and get around with the walker or cane, so I thought it would be good to go. We could camp in the room if necessary. Hotels were open. Parks were open. Gas stations were open. We packed the cooler and walker and clothing bags and hit the road in September. At the Autumnal Equinox. In the rain.

We had booked a hotel at the half way point of the long drive. And we shared driving one hour each time until we got there. We ate lunch at the rest stop and dinner in our room. So far so good. Day 2 was like Day 1, but ended at the West Yellowstone Best Western Hotel. Lunches on the road, dinner in the room. But the breakfast area would be open at the hotel so I could supplement our food box. 

Now we were there and tired and ready and excited. It was snowing and freezing cold.

This blog continues in a new page. With pictures. Read on.

Our Bird Feeder Experiment

 About a couple of months ago, Eduard and I decided to try to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders. We have been feeding birds for many years at every home we have had. Also in other places where birds find us. But mostly at home. We have tried several different ways to keep the squirrels out of the feeders. In Southern California, the ground squirrels would climb the poles but we had a large bowl anchored upside down in the center of the pole. It kept the squirrels out of the feeders. 

After we moved to Washington state, we now have tree squirrels. Three different kinds. They are very acrobatic and can climb up the pole, swing over to the feeder, hand upside down, twist themselves up and get into the trays and bowls. Ingenious little buggers. And great entertainment. But they really eat a lot of the bird seed.

We were reading an article about how squirrels don't like hot spices like jalapeno peppers or cayenne, but birds don't feel it. So we decided to try an experiment to see if this would deter the squirrels. First I used some of my homemade Chinese style hot pepper oil. This seemed to work on some of the squirrels. But there was one who didn't seem phased by the heat. We called him Mikey, like from an old cereal commercial. Let Mikey try it. He will eat anything. It was a Life Cereal commercial. Mikey tried it and liked it.

The birds didn't care and ate just the same. One squirrel out of our group seemed undeterred by the hot spice. I added Cayenne to bump up the heat. Mikey ate even more. Next thing we knew, Mikey had convinced his other squirrel friends that burning lips were ok. Now we had three squirrels eating the hot oil, cayenne covered seed.

All in all this was a failure as a squirrel deterrent. We had a lot of fun playing with it though. Mikey is like a vacuum cleaner around the seeds. The others still can tolerate just a bit at a time. They dig holes and try to bury their noses in the cold soil. It gets on their paws and fur. 

I have now concluded this experiment. Hot pepper oil, cayenne pepper, jalapeno seeds and all such stuff do not deter a determined squirrel. And I will likely not make up more for them. But as we search for fun ways to entertain the  squirrels, and still feed the birds, I will keep you posted.