Road Trippin

[MannyIsGod]

Since Tuesday we've been driving from SA to Yellowstone. I thought I'd share some pictures on some of the things we've seen. Its been a pretty neat trip so far.

Giant roadrunner in Fort Stockton. I've driven through this place before and never noticed this.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/giantrr.jpg

Drove up into NM and stayed in Albuquerque that night. Next day got up and went to Santa Fe and Taos before driving to Colorado Springs. Saw the Rio Grande and the gorge it cuts out into the land there. Also saw some big horn sheep of which there are only like 300 in NM.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/gorge.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/riograndenm-1.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bighorn.jpg

Next day got up and tried to do Rocky Mountains National Park but the weather was just crap. We were going to take the road that goes up along a ridge in the park but the visibility at 12,000 feet just became non existent. We couldn't see more than 10 yards in front of the car so we turned around and went back down. Pretty much all the overlooks were pretty meh because of the clouds. We saw some elk here too. Ended up just going to Fort Collins early and checking in and resting for the evening.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/elk.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/elk.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/rmnp.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/clouds.jpg

[MannyIsGod]

Next day drove from Fort Collins to Rapid City, SD. We went through Wyoming (was pretty but didn't stop) and then into South Dakota. Drove through Wind Cave NP, Custer state park, and out to the Badlands National Park. We saw a ton of animals in the first 2 and the entrance to the fourth longest cave in the world. Its not much bigger than a basketball but the reason its named Wind Cave is because depending on the air pressure outside and inside the wind will either be blowing out or in. It felt like an AC vent blowing pretty hard when we saw it.

The Badlands are desolate as hell. We were there around dusk and it was eerie as hell. Also, they sneak up on you. I literally didn't see them until we pulled up to the first ridge.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bl.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bl2.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bl4.jpg

Saw a ton of bison in Wind Cave and Custer

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/buf1.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/buf2.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/buf3.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bufherd.jpg

Saw a shit ton of prairie dogs too. The giant one was outside Badlands at some touristy store. Oh and a couple of random wild turkeys.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/giantpd.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/PD.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/wildturk.jpg

Here's the cave opening. Hundreds of miles of cave after that small hole.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/windcavewtf.jpg

[MannyIsGod]

Yesterday we left Rapid City and drove to Bozeman, MT. Stopped to see Rushmore and Devils Tower. Tried to stop at Little Big Horn but got there about 20 minutes after closing. Also stopped in Deadwood, SD to get some stuff for a friend who loves the canceled show.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mtrush.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/DT4.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/DT2.jpg



I'll be in Yellowstone for the next week. I fly back on Saturday, but Jess will be here the entire summer working at the research library. I hope to have more pictures to post but I don't expect to have internet access after tomorrow.

[duncan228]

What a great road trip. Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

[leemajors]

nice pics!

[Bender]

great pics...!

I wonder if there are plans to put Obama on Mt. Rushmore, either next to Washington, or Lincoln...

[Summers]

How fun! Thanks for sharing your pics. My family camped in Yellowstone when I was 12 and it was an amazing and beautiful place. I remember the mineral pools the colors of gem stones, animals I'd never seen before (had no idea ravens were 2 feet tall!), and breath-taking scenery. Would love to see your pics from there if you have a chance to share them. :) We also stopped at the Badlands adn I remember really being intrigued as to how the earth got carved up like that. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

[CuckingFunt]

Badlands are pretty awesome. As is the area around Mt. Rushmore. When I did a road trip through there in, I think, 2001, I was particularly taken with a little town in the Black Hills called Hot Springs, SD. The rest of the state deserves its boring reputation, but that area is insanely beautiful.

[Kori Ellis]

Wow, what an awesome trip. I'm glad you got the opportunity to do it.

[PixelPusher]

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/DT2.jpg


I suddenly have the urge to whip up some mashed potatoes...

[FaithInOne]

seriously, wtf did they cancel Deadwood :depressed

Mormons and Queen Kwanzaa get more action? Oh cruel world.

[Summers]

I suddenly have the urge to whip up some mashed potatoes...

Doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooooooooo.

[PakiDan]

Wow that's great that you got to do this... My brother and I toured the country by truck a few years back. Hit 46 states, the only thing we missed that I truly regret is Yosemite. If you get a chance, hit HWY 70 through Utah and see the arches. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. Have fun and be safe!

[Bukefal]

Cool!! That looks amazing

[Bukefal]

My brother and I toured the country by truck a few years back. Hit 46 states.

That is something which i have high placed on my 'to-do-list'. I would love to do that sometime. I will!!

[blizz]

awesome

[MannyIsGod]

How fun! Thanks for sharing your pics. My family camped in Yellowstone when I was 12 and it was an amazing and beautiful place. I remember the mineral pools the colors of gem stones, animals I'd never seen before (had no idea ravens were 2 feet tall!), and breath-taking scenery. Would love to see your pics from there if you have a chance to share them. :) We also stopped at the Badlands adn I remember really being intrigued as to how the earth got carved up like that. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

DUDE WTF WITH THE RAVENS. THey look like they could carry off a small child. I had no idea they were that fucking big. We saw one in NM and we've seen several since getting here. Seriously creepy birds. I got to the hotel and googled everything I could about the badlands when we finished there. It was pretty nuts.

I'll post the pictures from Yellowstone when I can. I hope to take a ton. I took some yesterday but we didn't get to see all that much although we did see some waterfalls and a blue hot spring.


Badlands are pretty awesome. As is the area around Mt. Rushmore. When I did a road trip through there in, I think, 2001, I was particularly taken with a little town in the Black Hills called Hot Springs, SD. The rest of the state deserves its boring reputation, but that area is insanely beautiful.


We spent quite a bit of time driving through there and we actually ate lunch in Hot Springs our first day there.


Wow that's great that you got to do this... My brother and I toured the country by truck a few years back. Hit 46 states, the only thing we missed that I truly regret is Yosemite. If you get a chance, hit HWY 70 through Utah and see the arches. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. Have fun and be safe!

When the summer comes to a close the plan is to drive back through Utah, Nevada and Arizona to see the National Parks in those areas.

[angel_luv]

I'm glad you are having such a nice time. :)

[LnGrrrR]

Thanks for the cool pics! I was going to put up my Disney ones... but I don't think seeing my wife and I palling around with Donald Duck would be as interesting. :D

[BacktoBasics]

Nice trip richer.

[JoeChalupa]

Great pics. That is a trip I hope to make one day with the family. :tu

Congrats Jekka to working there all summer. :tu

[MannyIsGod]

Here are a few of the good ones from yesterday.

This is Lower Falls - biggest waterfall in the park.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/LF1.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/LF2.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/LF3.jpg

Beryl Springs - the steam was nice and warm but god damn it stunk.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/beryl2.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/beyrl.jpg

Tower Falls and part of the Yellowstone River Canyon.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/tf1.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/yrcan.jpg

One of the peaks - I can't remember which.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/ymt.jpg

We've been rained on almost every day of this trip but I think today might be better - Internet access will probably be nonexistent after today so see you guys in a week.

[JudynTX]

:tu Beautiful pics, thanks for sharing.

[Jekka]

Nice trip richer.

Dude, we've spent less than $400 on this whole trip including gas and lodging - if there's anything we know how to do, it's travel on the cheap. Manny is the best Priceline Negotiator ever :lol

[baseline bum]

Dude, we've spent less than $400 on this whole trip including gas and lodging - if there's anything we know how to do, it's travel on the cheap. Manny is the best Priceline Negotiator ever :lol

Nice. My motto with hotels is they all look the same in bed when you have your eyes closed. Still, you gotta get at least a couple of days camping in being in such an amazing place. Nothing beats it for just getting the hell out of the city and that mentality it brings.

[Jekka]

Dinner tonight: buffalo burgers and fresh blueberry pie - Montana ftw!

[EricB]

awesome pictures.

I unfortunately will be driving through Ft Stockton wednesday (shudders)

[Shelly]

Great pictures!

I loved Santa Fe/Taos.

[Fat Bones]

What a great road trip. Nice pics, thanks for sharing.
32nded.

Completely awesome, have fun.

[Soul_Patch]

My wife and i, with our son, are considering a road trip to Yellowstone later this year, or maybe early next year.

How long would you suggest to plan for? could you do it in a week? 2?

Awesome pics so far, im jealous.

[Jekka]

My wife and i, with our son, are considering a road trip to Yellowstone later this year, or maybe early next year.

How long would you suggest to plan for? could you do it in a week? 2?

Awesome pics so far, im jealous.

Depends on how much you want to do on the way up. I'd give yourself 2 weeks if you're driving - Manny and I could have spent even longer on the drive if we'd had time, and that was without factoring in a return trip. And the park is ginormous, so you need several days just to do that. The pass you buy to get into Yellowstone also works for the Tetons, btw.

Also, if you or anyone else is interested in going to Mt Rushmore before the new year, we have a parking pass that's good until then if someone will use it. Save $10 - you know you want to.

[sonic21]

great pics, thanks for sharing

[Slydragon]

sweet

[TDMVPDPOY]

not one fkn site of hot chicks?

[MannyIsGod]

I'll be back in SA tomorrow so I'll probably post more pictures.. Yellowstone is pretty much the coolest place I've ever been to in my life. If any of you plan a trip there do it for more than a day or 2, try to stay up to a week. There is an insane amount of places to see and experience. We drove the park 2 days and I spent another 3 hiking and I still didn't see but a fraction of the stuff I wanted to see. Even if you're just going to do the stuff right on the roads its going to take you more than a day. We tried to cram a bunch of stuff in today before I left and while we saw a good chunk of the park today we didn't even do half of the things on the main loop.

[baseline bum]

I'll be back in SA tomorrow so I'll probably post more pictures.. Yellowstone is pretty much the coolest place I've ever been to in my life. If any of you plan a trip there do it for more than a day or 2, try to stay up to a week. There is an insane amount of places to see and experience. We drove the park 2 days and I spent another 3 hiking and I still didn't see but a fraction of the stuff I wanted to see. Even if you're just going to do the stuff right on the roads its going to take you more than a day. We tried to cram a bunch of stuff in today before I left and while we saw a good chunk of the park today we didn't even do half of the things on the main loop.

Can't wait to see the pics; especially the stuff you took hiking.

[MannyIsGod]

Monday we moved Jess into her room, then we checked out Mammoth Hot Springs which is literally about 200 yards from her building.

These are pictures of the main terrace and pool.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/deadtreemam.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mamhs.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mammothpool.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mamsteps.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/momhsside.jpg

[MannyIsGod]

Above the main terrace there are some additional features. The coolest was Orange Spring Mound which was just a big ass block of calcite and bacteria. Bacteria are what give these formations their color and the color depends on the water temp and mineral composition.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/osmside.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/osm.jpg

Up close look at the water "erupting" out of the side mound vent.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/OSMspout.jpg

Also, saw a random chipmunk there. You tend to see a ton of these.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/osmchipmunk.jpg

[MannyIsGod]

Next day Jess started work so I spent the day hiking one of the trails. 5 mile loop up a gulch and over some meadows and past some beaver ponds. Pretty easy hike and just wanted to become acclimated to the altitude (+/- 7000 feet at the housing). For some reason most of my pictures this day came out crappy so I don't have too many. I saw a lot of wildlife this day including dusky grouse, elk, deer, etc etc.

View back from the start with a small melt water steam flowing out.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/trailcreek.jpg

Almost stepped on this dusky grouse. They didn't seem too afraid of me at all. Wonder how they taste. :hungry:

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/femaledg.jpg

Not even 300 yards down the trail I ran into this dude struttin his stuff. He was also doing what I guess is a mating call and blowing up his air sacs. It was really deep (Barry White of Woodland Chickens I guess) and I got some of it on video so I'll post a youtube of it eventually.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/maledg.jpg

View from one of the beaver ponds. I saw dams but no beavers.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bevpondview.jpg

And because I forgot to include it above, this is a mat of bacteria at Mammoth Hot Springs.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mammothbact.jpg

[MannyIsGod]

Duplicate - kinda.

[Summers]

I love your pics! Thanks for posting them. I can't wait to take a vacation there when our boys are old enough.

[MannyIsGod]

Next day went on a hike that was 6 miles and had much stronger elevation gain and loss throughout. Saw a decent amount of wildlife, rock formations and views.

Oh yeah, and Jess has what basically amounts to a pet bison. Depending on who you talk to his name is Daniel or Mr. Moose ( don't ask - I don't know) and he likes to hang out right outside the building. He's freaking HUGE and since you're not supposed to get within 25 yards of any Bison (they're fucking mean man - you really don't want to) it can make for some interesting entrances and exits from the building.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/danbuf.jpg

Random ground squirrel from the hike

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/gs.jpg

And a cotton tail

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/brushrabbit.jpg

Found this elk skeleton and figure it died in the winter and was frozen there. When things started to thaw, Mr. Bear probably came and tore that shit up. Bones where all over the place but the fur on the top of the skull made it look pretty fresh still.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/skelketon2.jpg

Nice toupe

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/skelketon.jpg

[MannyIsGod]

Saw some marmots on the ledge. These fuckers chased each other like crazy and were pretty loud and entertaining. I took video of them as well so I'll upload that to youtube at some point.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/marm.jpg

Hike was pretty rocky and went up and down a lot, but ended up with a killer view of a waterfall, mountains, and an alpine valley. The pictures really do it no justice.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/hike.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/rockytrail.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/meltwf.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/ledgeview.jpg

Best part of the day was that evening after the hike when Jess got off work. We drove to the waterfall so she could check it out, and as we were going we had a mother black bear and 3 cubs cross the road not 10 yards in front of us. But like a fool I left my camera back in the room so I didn't get pictures. It was amazing though.

[MannyIsGod]

I love your pics! Thanks for posting them. I can't wait to take a vacation there when our boys are old enough.

I'm pretty sure you and RG tip the nerdy scales in the same way Jess and I do. If I'm right about that, you guys would love this place. Its phenomenal and awesome in the true sense of the word.

[ORION]

Man, I am very jealous ! I want to take the family to all these places and even Alaska. Enjoy it and take as many pictures as possible.

[duncan228]

Wow. Just wow. Thanks so much for the tour. If the pics are this good it must have been incredible to be there. Great stuff.

[Jekka]

Man, I am very jealous ! I want to take the family to all these places and even Alaska. Enjoy it and take as many pictures as possible.

Manny and I want to go to all of the national parks, so I'm going to have to drag his tropical self up to Alaska eventually :lol

I'll try to update here when I get really cool pictures. I don't plan on going anywhere without my camera.

Here's a couple to add to Manny's:

This was taken right by the Rio Grande gorge by Taos. I <3 New Mexico.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/weezywantscoffee/DSC01598.jpg?t=1243737329

A prairie dog out in Wyoming.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/weezywantscoffee/DSC01803.jpg?t=1243737837

Antelope out at Wind Cave National Park - dude was posing quite nicely for us.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/weezywantscoffee/DSC01702.jpg?t=1243737949

A giant concrete prairie dog out by the Badlands.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/weezywantscoffee/DSC01709.jpg?t=1243737945

We were in the Badlands around dusk, so this picture is dark, but the colors in this part of the park really were this rich.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/weezywantscoffee/DSC01771.jpg?t=1243737955

This is why we turned around at 11,000 feet and drove back to the lower part of Rocky Mountain National Park - I don't drive in the Rockies with 0 visibility.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/weezywantscoffee/DSC01634.jpg?t=1243737954

[Summers]

I'm pretty sure you and RG tip the nerdy scales in the same way Jess and I do. If I'm right about that, you guys would love this place. Its phenomenal and awesome in the true sense of the word.

We do indeed. :lol

RG and I have both been there as kids with our families. I loved it. Our boys are too little to appreciate it now, so it'll have to wait.

[johnsmith]

Good pics Manny, I have had the opportunity to live in both Idaho and Colorado and have been to Yellowstone many times. I agreee, everyone should go, especially you Texans that don't recognize all those smaller, wussier states.


However, I can't believe you were in Ft. Collins and didn't go out to old town. You missed perhaps one of the best times in Colorado.

[baseline bum]

Badlands looks incredible. You're right Manny; pictures never do justice to amazing places like that.

[MannyIsGod]

I have pics from the last 2 days in the park but I just need to actualy size them and all that shit too - I'll post those later.

[MannyIsGod]

Thursday hiked up to Bunsen Peak. Like most of the mountains in the area, it had a lot of snow cover. Made for an interesting hike. I didn't take pictures until I got to the top because my batteries were near dead.

That ridge in the distance was our previous days hike. That landslide/rock formation is called the Hoodoos.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bunsenhoodoo.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bunsenview1.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bunsenview2.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bunsenview3.jpg

This shows Sheepeater Canyon, which we drove through the next day.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bunsenview4.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bunsenview5.jpg

This is the view of where Jess is staying, the town of Mammoth, WY, and the town right outside the park of Gardnier, MT. The Mammoth Hot Springs are the white stuff in the middle.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/townsbunsen.jpg

Me at the top of Bunsen Peak.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mebunsen.jpg

[johnsmith]

Why are you wearing such a tiny hat?

[MannyIsGod]

I just have a big head

[MannyIsGod]

I have a ton of pictures from the next day since we did a huge loop through the park stopping at a bunch of things.

This is at the Artist's Paint Pots.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/aapwide.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/app.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/apppool.jpg

We stopped at Beryl again since it wasn't cold and rainy.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/beyrlnice.jpg

Sign telling people the obvious: Stay away from the big fucking things with horns. (People are stupid and don't listen)

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bisonlol.jpg

[MannyIsGod]

I think this was Silex Spring at the Fountain Paint Pots area but I'm not totally sure.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/deepblue.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bluesteam.jpg

We crossed the Continental Divide twice on this day.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/cd.jpg

Congress Pool at the Norris Basin.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/congresspool.jpg

Interesting bacteria mats at the Norris Basin.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/coolbac.jpg

[MannyIsGod]

Apparently they had just reopened the area near the Fountain Paint Pots because they close it every spring due to the abundance of Grizzlies. The Park Geologist wasn't able to check his equipment collecting data in the area that entire time so this is him doing just that.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/crazyparkgeo.jpg

Firehole Falls in Firehole Canyon

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/fireholefalls.jpg

The tall geyser here is Clepsydra Geyser which hasn't stopped erupting in quite some time. The smaller one is Spasm Geyser and its named pretty well. It just erupts in irregular spasms.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/geyser.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/spazzfriend.jpg

Daniel the Bison had a party that day in front of Jess' room and invited his whole herd.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/danfriends.jpg

[Mugshot]

Awesome pics!!!

[MannyIsGod]

Great Fountain Geyser - next eruption wasn't till 10:30pm so we coudln't wait.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/greatfountain.jpg

Hurricane Pool - pretty shitty name for this imo. It was meh.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/hurricanepool.jpg

First Geyser I saw that day at Norris. Pretty small but pretty cool.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/minigey.jpg

Buffalo hanging out near the Mud Volcano area. This is where we saw the sign above, yet I saw people walking within about 5 feet of male bison. Darwin is that you?

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mudbison.jpg

Mud Cauldron/Volcano area. Some of these pools were going really really harshly.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mudcal.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mudvolcanoarea.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mudvolcanoarea2.jpg

[MannyIsGod]

Some mud pots - I think this was at the Artist Paint Pots area. These may have been the ones that erupted on Jess's foot. hhahahahahaha

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mudpot.jpg

Obsidian Cliff. We drove past this early in the day then again late in the day when the sun was on it. It was ok the first time, but with the sun on it the volcanic class is pretty damn amazing. Sadly people keep stealing the glass from the rocks there so its looking less and less brilliant as time goes on.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/obsidiancliff.jpg

I spent nearly a week and Yellowstone and visited old faithful for maybe 5 minutes. We had just missed the eruption when we arrived on Friday (I saw the top from the car) so we just moved on since there was a ton we wanted to see still and I'll be back at least once this summer.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/oldfaith.jpg

Pink Cone Geyser

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/pinkdomegey.jpg

Porcelin Basin in the Norris Area

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/porcbasin.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/porcbasin2.jpg

[Summers]

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/bisonlol.jpg

I swear I think that's the same sign they had up when I was there more than 20 years ago! And, yeah, people still walk right up to them.

[MannyIsGod]

Sheepeater Canyon. Named for the indians who lived there (I guess they ate sheep). The collums are old lava formations that you see a lot in the park.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/porcbasin2.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/secan2.jpg

Suprise Pool

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/suprisepool.jpg

White Dome Geyser

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/whitedomegey.jpg

White Tailed Jack Rabbit who apparently lives near Jess' building since we saw him almost everyday. Its funny cause someone wrote a paper about these being extinct in Yellowstone a few years back. Uh what?

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/wtjr.jpg

And finally, a view across Yellowstone Lake.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/yslakeview.jpg

[Fernando TD21]

Awesome places and pictures.

[MannyIsGod]

So the idea on the way back from Yellowstone was to swing down across Utah and Arizona to get the national parks we missed. We weren't able to do it due to time and money constraints but this weekend we're going to see Adele in SLC so we figured we could use the drive from Santa Fe to SLC to check out some things.

So far we're planing to hit up Four Corners, Mesa Verde NP, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP and Dead Horse SP in Utah. Any suggestions for things to see on the route?

[baseline bum]

Balcony House in Mesa Verde is incredible. Just don't look down on the 30 foot ladder. :lol

[baseline bum]

Four Corners sucks BTW. It's basically a bunch of lame shops on one side and a bunch of super filthy toilets on the other. It's a complete waste of time, and you'd be way better off spending an extra day in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Arches, playing XBox, trolling the political forum, etc. Arches has some really awesome petroglyphs on the short hike up to Delicate Arch. The hike out to Landscape Arch (and some others I forget on that trail) is really cool too.

[baseline bum]

Also, have you driven the Beartooth Highway between Cooke City and Red Lodge (just outside the NE entrance of the park)? They usually get Beartooth Pass open for Memorial Day. Here's a pic taken there a little more than a month ago, lol.

http://i928.photobucket.com/albums/ad123/Deb1741/Random%20Yellowstone%20Park%20Pictures/04-22-c_lg.jpg

EDIT: Looks like it opens on June 3rd
http://www.beartoothhighway.com/

[baseline bum]

Since you like biking, you might want to consider this too...

__aFLCOhdNs

[MannyIsGod]

Four Corners sucks BTW. It's basically a bunch of lame shops on one side and a bunch of super filthy toilets on the other. It's a complete waste of time, and you'd be way better off spending an extra day in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Arches, playing XBox, trolling the political forum, etc. Arches has some really awesome petroglyphs on the short hike up to Delicate Arch. The hike out to Landscape Arch (and some others I forget on that trail) is really cool too.

Yeah four corners was pretty lame but it was on the way and we just stopped to do the pictures. We did Mesa Verde yesterday and it was awesome. Doing a hike in Arches today and going to do some driving through the Island in the Sky portion of Canyonlands.

[silverblk mystix]

Cool trip and pics...

Lake Tahoe is gorgeous too if anyone gets the chance...

and...

Big Sur is just like a slice of heaven...unspeakably gorgeous if you are into nature, beauty, majestic views, great hiking,etc...

[lil'mo]

how can anyone visit yellowstone and not see that that whole place is fixing to explode. mega volcano people.

[baseline bum]

So when do we get a trip report of your time in Yellowstone?

[koriwhat]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y33/weezywantscoffee/DSC01803.jpg?t=1243737837
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/RT/mebunsen.jpg

i can see the resemblance, except for the smug look(maybe) and the big ol' head.

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

Four Corners sucks BTW. It's basically a bunch of lame shops on one side and a bunch of super filthy toilets on the other.

I agree with this, Four Corners sucked

[MannyIsGod]

Took off Friday morning, drove out NW through NM but south of most of the mountains. Came to a sign that pointed to an overlook a bit off the road and since we like to stop at a lot of places when we take roadtrips we decided to pull over and check it out.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/RockiesOverlook.jpg

This was the view at the overlook toward Colorado. The mountains in the distance are the San Juans in CO.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/overlook3.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/overlook2.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/Overlook1.jpg

Just some more of the views from there. It looked a lot like the Bandlands in SD.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/shiprock.jpg

Kept going and eventually came to Shiprock on the Navajo rez in NW NM. Its huge and the pictures don't do it justice. The rock "wall" moving off to the right is one of 3 volcanic dikes moving out from the center formation.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/fourcorners2.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/fourcorners1.jpg

You're right about Four Corners being fairly boring but we had never been and you at least have to go. Got some fry bread, bought some stuff and took pictures then moved on.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/randombutte.jpg

Thats just a random butte we saw and I thought was cool after Four Corners.

[MannyIsGod]

So we moved on and checked into our hotel then left to check out Mesa Verde NP. At this park we really just checked out the views and didn't go check out the preserved dwellings. We live close to a lot of old native ruins/dwellings and its really stuff that we've seen plenty of times and its usually not too different so we stuck to the views and natural points of interest as opposed to the archeological areas.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/MVOVL1.jpg

Thats from the first overlook we came to.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/KnifesEdge.jpg

This was an old road that was known as the Knife's Edge.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/KEburnttree.jpg

Burnt tree at the same spot. There was a lot of evidence of fire not too old in the park.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/MVdeadtree.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/MVOVL2.jpg

Couple of more views

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/MVtoNM.jpg

This view was from the highest place in the park known as Park Point. It is back to the south and you can see Shiprock on the right side as well as another large rock formation in NM known as the Hogsback. Visibility was pretty good that day. I don't remember how far these 2 formations were but we could see mountain ranges in different directions that were over 100 miles away.

[MannyIsGod]

Drove into Utah the next day. As we crossed into the state we came to a roadside arch that was pretty damn big.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/wilsonsarch.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/Wilsonarchscale.jpg
Thats me after I climbed up into the arch. As you can see, its fucking huge. The climb was fun, too.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/bhclose-1.jpg

This was a rock formation we saw further down the road before getting to Moab. The Utah symbol is a beehive so I wonder if they carved out the hole in the bottom to make it look like the symbol. There was nothing on the side of the road to say if that was the case or not.

Blew threw Moab and went to Canyonlands NP first. I wasn't prepared for how amazing this place was.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/CL2.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/CL3.jpg

Pretty impossible to get the scale in these pictures to show you how amazing it is up there.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/jump.jpg

Here I am wondering if I should just jump and never have to read another Fabbs post in my life. One of the cool things about the park is the lack of railing/fences. You can pretty much walk up to the very edge of every cliff there.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/CY5-1.jpg

Another view. These are from the Island in the Sky portion of the park. There are more areas where you are actually in the canyons or lower below the plateau but we didn't visit those areas.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/lizard-1.jpg

Saw a bunch of these critters running around the park too.

[MannyIsGod]

We didn't get much time to spend in Canyonlands. There is definitely a ton of stuff I want to go back and go see. One of the things about the trip to Yellowstone a couple of years ago was the sheer amount of time we got there and how it allowed us to basically see everything and go on a ton of hikes. That wasn't the case on this trip as we didn't get to hike in Canyonlands and spent a bit over 3 hours within the park. Definitely a place I want to go back to and actually spend a much longer amount of time in and see parts of the park far away from the roads.

The coolest shit in national parks is almost always away from the roads.

So anyway, next was Arches

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/arches1-1.jpg

I don't remember what this formation was, to be honest.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/archesOL-1.jpg

Distant view of balanced rock and balanced rock on the left and The Window (an arch) on the right.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/archesOL2-1.jpg

Courthouse Towers (I believe) and the 3 gossips. The scale on these formations is hard to get from pics but they are HUGE.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/BR1-1.jpg

Balanced rock from much closer.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/Strong.jpg

I might as well be Japanese tourist because I love taking pictures like this. Yes, I'm a douche.

[MannyIsGod]

We did a pretty cook hike through the fiery furnace after this with a ranger. The Fiery Furnace is an area you can't go in without a permit because there are no marked trails. Its basically a very tight maze through these rock formations. Was pretty amazing in there. The hike involved a lot of scrambling over obstacles and was a lot of fun.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/ff4-1.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/FFgnarlytree-1.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/ff2-1.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/ff3-1.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/FF1-1.jpg

These are all just pictures I snapped along the way.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/FFarch-1.jpg

First arch we came to on the hike. It was small enough that you had to duck under it as you walked.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/ffpothole-1.jpg

Small pothole that wasn't quite large enough to be considered an arch yet.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/ffsneakyarch-1.jpg

There is an arch in the wall here.

[Kori Ellis]

Wow, lots of awesome pictures. I'm sure you two are having a lot of fun.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Great pics Manny. I've always wanted to see the Badlands/Mt. Rushmore.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Arches is great. If you get a chance, check out Bryce Canyon too

[MannyIsGod]

More pics from the hike:

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/burton.jpg

This shit reminded me of something Tim Burton would come up with

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/FFafterarch.jpg

I honestly had no idea this arch was there when I took the picture. I just found it when going through pics.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/FFdouble.jpg

A set of arches. No idea the names.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/FFrav.jpg

Ranger giving us advice on how to get across this mini ravine. This type of thing was the best part of the hike for me. Plus, no risk of having to saw off an arm.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/FFscale.jpg

This will give you an idea of the scale of the areas we were in.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/Utah/surprise.jpg

So this arch is really well named as Surprise arch because it really sneaks up on you. We didn't notice it until we were literally underneath it.

That was pretty much it for that day. Just like Canyonlands, a ton more I want to see at Arches but you just need more time to do hikes and get away from the main areas. The Fiery Furnance was some of that but we were in a group. Having the ranger there to explain things about the features and guide us through this area was pretty awesome though.

[MannyIsGod]

Arches is great. If you get a chance, check out Bryce Canyon too

We really gotta make a long trip to South Utah because I want to visit these two parks again as well as Capitol Reef and Bryce. So much to see!

[DeadlyDynasty]

We really gotta make a long trip to South Utah because I want to visit these two parks again as well as Capitol Reef and Bryce. So much to see!

Went horseback riding in Bryce when I was a youngin back in 95. We also visited a lot of the parks you're posting pics of, so it brings back good memories :tu

One of my favs was tubing in Lake Powell/Glen Canyon. Fun times.

[CuckingFunt]

I'm jealous of all your hikes in Arches. When I went a few years ago, it was a last minute decision on a road trip (after a night spent getting turned away from several full hotels in numerous towns in the vicinity of Moab and eventually sleeping at a rest area crammed in a Chevy HHR with my mom and her dog), so between a tight schedule, general crankiness, and the presence of a 4-legged passenger, we were limited to areas easily accessible by car. Just an amazingly beautiful part of the country, though, and one to which I hope to return for proper exploration.

[MannyIsGod]

Went horseback riding in Bryce when I was a youngin back in 95. We also visited a lot of the parks you're posting pics of, so it brings back good memories :tu

One of my favs was tubing in Lake Powell/Glen Canyon. Fun times.

Been to 11 national parks. 47 to go!

[MannyIsGod]

I'm jealous of all your hikes in Arches. When I went a few years ago, it was a last minute decision on a road trip (after a night spent getting turned away from several full hotels in numerous towns in the vicinity of Moab and eventually sleeping at a rest area crammed in a Chevy HHR with my mom and her dog), so between a tight schedule, general crankiness, and the presence of a 4-legged passenger, we were limited to areas easily accessible by car. Just an amazingly beautiful part of the country, though, and one to which I hope to return for proper exploration.

The whole purpose of this trip was because we got tickets to see Adele in SLC and we thought of going to the parks last minute (few weeks prior). Adele ended up cancelling but we at least go to go to the parks.

Moab was crowded as hell. We were planning on camping there but were unable to reserve a site a few weeks in advance so we got rooms a few hours away in each direction since were just passing through. Definitely need more time for each of those parks.

[CuckingFunt]

Great pics Manny. I've always wanted to see the Badlands/Mt. Rushmore.

The Badlands are beautiful, and their location in the middle of so much nothing lends a particularly haunting quality. The drive to get there, however, is every bit as boring as one would assume from South Dakota.

As for Rushmore, my advice would be to go to the area but skip the park. The monument itself is relatively unimpressive -- the viewpoint is considerably farther away than one would assume from pictures, leading to the general experience of looking at a tourist postcard in real life -- and the only thing I really took away from it was the hilariously revisionist presentation honoring the noble savage while completely sidestepping the fact all those viewing film are doing so on sacred land taken from Native Americans. Overall, it was pretty much opposite the Badlands experience. Rushmore was blah, but the drive was absolutely breathtaking. The road winds through gorgeous granite mountains and an adorable town called Hot Springs (which would probably have been a more pleasant place to stay than the bustling metropolis that is Rapid City).

[baseline bum]

Fiery Furnace looks awesome. The tickets sell out early in August though, so I wasn't able to get them when I went last year. I did the hikes to Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch which were really cool though. I'll definitely have to return for Fiery Furnace at least, and for Bryce Canyon too. Your pic of Four Corners looks a hell of a lot nicer than it was last year.

[baseline bum]

Been to 11 national parks. 47 to go!

I have been to exactly 11 also. :lol

Here is how I rank the ones I have gone to:

1. Yosemite
2. Grand Teton
3. Sequoia
4. Kings Canyon
5. Yellowstone
6. Big Bend
7. Arches
8. Mesa Verde
9. Grand Canyon
10. Joshua Tree
11. Petrified Forest

[MannyIsGod]

So far I rank them as follows:

Yellowstone
Big Bend
Arches
Canyonlands
Bad Lands
Grand Tetons
Wind Cave
Guadalupe Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Carlsbad Caverns
Mesa Verde

Rocky Mountains was a really bad visit. We'll probably go back later this summer and it'll go way up. Later this summer we also plan on visiting Black Canyon of the Gunison and Sand Dunes. They are both super close. This fall will probably be a trip to the Grand Canyon.

[baseline bum]

So far I rank them as follows:

Yellowstone
Big Bend
Arches
Canyonlands
Bad Lands
Grand Tetons
Wind Cave
Guadalupe Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Carlsbad Caverns
Mesa Verde

Rocky Mountains was a really bad visit. We'll probably go back later this summer and it'll go way up. Later this summer we also plan on visiting Black Canyon of the Gunison and Sand Dunes. They are both super close. This fall will probably be a trip to the Grand Canyon.

I see your metric is heavily dominated by bear-sighting. :lol

[MannyIsGod]

:lol

Those were just the places I enjoyed the most. I do enjoy seeing all wildlife though. Yellowstone is ahead by a mile, and Big Bend has a pretty good lock on second but after that its relaly close until Rocky Mountains. I thought Carlsbad was cool and all but not that great and Mesa Verde was fairly underwhelming for a National Park for me but that mainly has to do with the fact that several national monuments near me have the exact same thing.

[MannyIsGod]

Since you like biking, you might want to consider this too...

__aFLCOhdNs

LOL BTW this shit is cheating like a mofo. Where's the satisfaction in just coasting down?

This, looks bad ass though.


http://www.rimtours.com/tours/white-rim-trail.html

[baseline bum]

:lol

Those were just the places I enjoyed the most. I do enjoy seeing all wildlife though. Yellowstone is ahead by a mile, and Big Bend has a pretty good lock on second but after that its relaly close until Rocky Mountains. I thought Carlsbad was cool and all but not that great and Mesa Verde was fairly underwhelming for a National Park for me but that mainly has to do with the fact that several national monuments near me have the exact same thing.

Yeah, you don't really go to Mesa Verde for the views, though there are a couple of nice places for them. I forgot about Carlsbad; make that 12 parks I have been to. I went there as a kid and wasn't all that impressed. I expected a huge version of Natural Bridge Caverns, but I didn't see anything as remotely interesting as all the stuff you see in that short tour of Natural Bridge.

There's still hope for you for Grand Teton though. That trail that I showed you pics of that I said was ok for solo hiking since I saw no sign of bears... according to someone who does that hike twice a year, he has never not seen bears on it. :lol

One of the ones I didn't get to (Paintbrush Divide) is also supposed to have almost guaranteed moose sightings if you do it early in the morning. That one's a 20-miler though with lots of elevation gain, and it needs crampons and an axe if done before late July.

[baseline bum]

LOL BTW this shit is cheating like a mofo. Where's the satisfaction in just coasting down?

This, looks bad ass though.


http://www.rimtours.com/tours/white-rim-trail.html

Probably just from looking at the 3 giant plateaus (Hellroaring, Beartooth, and Froze to Death) at a really slow speed.

And as long as we're talking guided trips, this one looks incredible:

http://www.jhmg.com/climbs/highpoints/gannett.php

[Jekka]

I drove both the Beartooth highway and the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway when I was living in Yellowstone - they were both awesome. I had crazy fog on the first part of the Chief Joseph SB (below), though, and missed a lot of the views near Cody. Still really fun to drive.

http://photos.jessicaljones.com/DSC02464a.jpg

The road leaving the Tetons on the way to Dubois, Wyoming - I think it's US Hwy 26/287 - is beautiful, too, as is the Wind River reservation. That takes you through the Wyoming badlands, which aren't as impressive as Badlands National Park, but it's still gorgeous.

Going-to-the-Sun Road (Glacier National Park, below) is still probably the best scenic drive I've done solely on the basis of aesthetics - the only wildlife I saw was mountain goats, although that was pretty cool in itself.

http://photos.jessicaljones.com/DSC02348a.jpg

[baseline bum]

Going-to-the-Sun Road (Glacier National Park, below) is still probably the best scenic drive I've done solely on the basis of aesthetics - the only wildlife I saw was mountain goats, although that was pretty cool in itself.

http://photos.jessicaljones.com/DSC02348a.jpg

I really gotta visit Glaicer sometime. Tioga Pass Road through Yosemite is still my favorite (so far):

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/tioga5.jpg
^^^ Too big to post inline

[Jekka]

I really gotta visit Glaicer sometime. Tioga Pass Road through Yosemite is still my favorite (so far):

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/tioga5.jpg
^^^ Too big to post inline

I drove Going-to-the-Sun the first weekend it was open that year - in 2009 that wasn't until July 4th, so if you want to drive the whole thing it may be a little later in summer, which means that the crowds are worse, but ah well. I don't think the number of people there really detracted from my experience, but I had also just come from the hoards of people in Yellowstone and Glacier seemed practically vacant by comparison. Like at Yellowstone, seeing a mountain goat and her kid would have resulted in a way bigger traffic jam than this one.

http://photos.jessicaljones.com/DSC02371a.jpg

Yosemite is really high on my bucket list - I still haven't been and the pictures are amazing. Just need to have vacation days and money at the same time!

[baseline bum]

I drove Going-to-the-Sun the first weekend it was open that year - in 2009 that wasn't until July 4th, so if you want to drive the whole thing it may be a little later in summer, which means that the crowds are worse, but ah well. I don't think the number of people there really detracted from my experience, but I had also just come from the hoards of people in Yellowstone and Glacier seemed practically vacant by comparison. Like at Yellowstone, seeing a mountain goat and her kid would have resulted in a way bigger traffic jam than this one.

http://photos.jessicaljones.com/DSC02371a.jpg

Yosemite is really high on my bucket list - I still haven't been and the pictures are amazing. Just need to have vacation days and money at the same time!

Isn't there pretty significant snow at Glacier until the end of July? A few tips on Yosemite:

* It's very expensive if you want to stay in a hotel... a couple hundred a night to stay at the so-so hotel by Yosemite Falls, or a ridiculous $500 a night at the Ahwahnee Hotel. Even the hotels outside of the park and 45 minutes outside the valley push on a couple hundred a night. Camping or backcountry trips are the way to go. They also have Mash-style tents in the middle of the valley for about $50 a night, but book them way in advance.

* IF you want waterfalls, May (before Memorial Day) and June are best. There's a hike called the Mist Trail where you hike up a 300 foot waterfall and a 600 foot one, and the 300 foot fall is ridiculous that time of year. Don't wear white though, lol. You'll come out looking like you just jumped out the shower. One of the downsides is Tioga Pass Road will likely be closed, and Glacier Point Road possibly. They do try to get them open for Memorial Day though. You would need snowshoes for the hikes on one side of the ridge Glacier Point is on. The other side will be clear.

* If you want hiking or to see the high country, late July to September are best. Tioga Pass Road has the best dayhikes in the park, but the meadows will either be covered in 5-10 feet of snow or be a giant lake as late as early July. The downside is the waterfalls lose a lot of steam by then. Yosemite Falls (tallest in N America) can often be dry by late August, and same with Bridalveil Falls. Lots of the alpine hikes can be snow free by August though.

* The Yosemite Valley is significantly busier than any part of Yellowstone; I much prefer the high country. The Valley will still require at least a day for seeing the waterfalls and El Capitan, or for the Half Dome hike if you're feeling REALLY energetic.

[Jekka]

Yeah, it took that long for Going-to-the-Sun to open because that's how long it takes to finish plowing everything for the season. When I got to Yellowstone in mid-May they had just opened the roads all the way through the park there, and there were giant piles of snow on the Continental Divide through July (which was the only month that something frozen didn't fall on us - we had a snowstorm in late June).

Thanks for the tips on Yosemite! Those will definitely come in handy.

[to21]

Awesome pics!

You guys pretty much did the same trip we did in 2007. We where there for the 4th of July celebration above Mt. Rushmore...great experience. Also did the Deadwood and Sturgis trip.

Got lucky cause my Wife is from Taos and Sister-in-law was living in Denver at the time so we got to stay there with free lodge.

[baseline bum]

So we moved on and checked into our hotel then left to check out Mesa Verde NP. At this park we really just checked out the views and didn't go check out the preserved dwellings. We live close to a lot of old native ruins/dwellings and its really stuff that we've seen plenty of times and its usually not too different so we stuck to the views and natural points of interest as opposed to the archeological areas.


What are the dwellings you're talking about in the Santa Fe area?

[Slomo]

Wow Manny I'm jealous.

It's funny since very few tourists like myself ever get to the National Parks, and yet there are probably the most unique feature of the US. I mean we always go to the big cities first and they're cool - don't get me wrong - but they are pretty much how CF described it real life versions of the postcards/TV shows.

My favourite US cities are the ones where I've spent some time there and where I know somebody. That sort of experience gives you an impression of how the city really is and it's the one that stays with you.

But when I went - almost by accident - to Death Valley, I wanted to see more. Yosemite was fantastic and I need to go back, because I barely scratch the surface on that trip. I was afraid of the "postcard effect" of Grand Canyon, but was pleasantly surprised that it's much more.

The way National Parks are organized in the US - you've stroke a good balance between protection and accessability - is simply great and I hope you won't change that. We tend to overdo it in one direction or the other.

My question to all of you: I've been getting into mountain biking a lot lately and I was wondering if there were any Parks that are friendly/suitable to exploration by mountain bikes?

The video of Beartooth looks fun, but I'm thinking more about riding up as well as down.

[MannyIsGod]

Wow Manny I'm jealous.

It's funny since very few tourists like myself ever get to the National Parks, and yet there are probably the most unique feature of the US. I mean we always go to the big cities first and they're cool - don't get me wrong - but they are pretty much how CF described it real life versions of the postcards/TV shows.

My favourite US cities are the ones where I've spent some time there and where I know somebody. That sort of experience gives you an impression of how the city really is and it's the one that stays with you.

But when I went - almost by accident - to Death Valley, I wanted to see more. Yosemite was fantastic and I need to go back, because I barely scratch the surface on that trip. I was afraid of the "postcard effect" of Grand Canyon, but was pleasantly surprised that it's much more.

The way National Parks are organized in the US - you've stroke a good balance between protection and accessability - is simply great and I hope you won't change that. We tend to overdo it in one direction or the other.

My question to all of you: I've been getting into mountain biking a lot lately and I was wondering if there were any Parks that are friendly/suitable to exploration by mountain bikes?

The video of Beartooth looks fun, but I'm thinking more about riding up as well as down.

Arches and Canyonlands both seemed VERY geared to mountain biking. I don't have room for a mountain bike so I only have a road bike and I stick to pavement but we saw a TON of people on bikes between these two parks. I think using a mountain bike would be amazing to get to parts of the park far away from the road.

YVjvnEAJ8IM

Just make sure you tell someone where you're going. :lol

[MannyIsGod]

What are the dwellings you're talking about in the Santa Fe area?

Mainly Bandelier National Monument, Petroglyphs National Monument, and Chaco Culture National Monument.

[baseline bum]

Mainly Bandelier National Monument, Petroglyphs National Monument, and Chaco Culture National Monument.

Those look pretty cool. I wish I would have gone to them instead of Taos last time I was in NM.

[Slomo]

Arches and Canyonlands both seemed VERY geared to mountain biking. I don't have room for a mountain bike so I only have a road bike and I stick to pavement but we saw a TON of people on bikes between these two parks. I think using a mountain bike would be amazing to get to parts of the park far away from the road.

YVjvnEAJ8IM

Just make sure you tell someone where you're going. :lol

:lol @ the 127 clip.I'm not at his level yet (or will I ever be).

I looked those two up and it looks really nice. I've done a couple of difficult trails (short ones - half day) this year and found out that the scenery helps a lot with the motivation.

I'll keep those two destinations on my short list (if I ever find the time to go on a holiday again :( )

[baseline bum]

A lot of parks don't let you bike off road. I know Big Bend doesn't allow it, at least in the higher parts of the park. Yosemite doesn't. I'm pretty sure Yellowstone doesn't either. I could see where it would work in the Utah parks though, since they're not covered in big trees and thus you wouldn't need to run people off the hiking trails.

[Fabbs]

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

I'm astounded you can operate a camera.
And have a drivers license.

[Axe Murderer]

NfZDM4jYVt8

[Slomo]

A lot of parks don't let you bike off road. I know Big Bend doesn't allow it, at least in the higher parts of the park. Yosemite doesn't. I'm pretty sure Yellowstone doesn't either. I could see where it would work in the Utah parks though, since they're not covered in big trees and thus you wouldn't need to run people off the hiking trails.


While I'm not interested strictly in off roading, I would also like to ride some of the trails and yes I can imagine many situation where that wouldn't be allowed nor safe. Sharing hiking trails with mountain bikes require trails adapted to this. On the other hand sharing paved roads with weekend winnebago drivers also doesn't sound like fun to me.

Following Manny's advice I did find info on a ton of really exciting looking trails for MTB in the MOAB region.

[DeadlyDynasty]

The one park I've ALWAYS wanted to go to is Crater Lake in Oregon. The pics I've seen of it are breathtaking and I'm dying to go there. Has anybody here been to it (assuming pics weren't already posted of it here)?

[baseline bum]

The one park I've ALWAYS wanted to go to is Crater Lake in Oregon. The pics I've seen of it are breathtaking and I'm dying to go there. Has anybody here been to it (assuming pics weren't already posted of it here)?

tlong posted some pics he took there
http://spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3660813&postcount=114

I have a billion Yosemite pics earlier in that thread, though the mountain I kept calling Mount Lyell is really Mount Clark (I didn't know Clark had a glacier on it so I thought it was Lyell). I also kept confusing Mount Hoffman and Tuolumne Peak too. :lol

[baseline bum]

The way National Parks are organized in the US - you've stroke a good balance between protection and accessability - is simply great and I hope you won't change that.

I disagree a bit with that. The Yosemite Valley is extremely overdeveloped with the hotels and restaurants, and has very nasty traffic jams on the weekends. The air quality around the valley is horrendous not only due to the traffic, but also all the campfires concentrated into a small section of the park (the valley).

http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu138/rgfhgdghhfd/100_0890.jpg

[DeadlyDynasty]

tlong posted some pics he took there
http://spurstalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3660813&postcount=114

I have a billion Yosemite pics earlier in that thread, though the mountain I kept calling Mount Lyell is really Mount Clark (I didn't know Clark had a glacier on it so I thought it was Lyell). I also kept confusing Mount Hoffman and Tuolumne Peak too. :lol

Nice pics...too bad tlong was in most of them, although the asian chick was nice. Didn't realize tlong liked a little rice krispies.

Nice Yosemite pics too, BB. I've only flown over that park (on several occasions), but would love to tour it one day.

[MannyIsGod]

So far I rank them as follows:

Yellowstone
Big Bend
Arches
Canyonlands
Bad Lands
Grand Tetons
Wind Cave
Guadalupe Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Carlsbad Caverns
Mesa Verde

Rocky Mountains was a really bad visit. We'll probably go back later this summer and it'll go way up. Later this summer we also plan on visiting Black Canyon of the Gunison and Sand Dunes. They are both super close. This fall will probably be a trip to the Grand Canyon.

So in the past year we've made another trip to Rocky Mountain NP. I enjoyed it quite a bit and got to see some cool wildlife: Biggest buck I've ever seen, a male Elk with his harem (and heard his bugle call), and a group of male Bighorn Sheep. Also saw the fattest Marmot I've ever seen. I really feel that RMNP is one you gotta get away from the road in order to see the really cool stuff but we didn't get a chance to do that.

On the way back home from that trip we stopped at Great Sand Dunes NP. Dunes there are as high as the Tower of Americas. Yeah, 800 foot tall dunes. WTF. Its pretty crazy. Didn't spend much time here but the spectacle of dunes that big is pretty amazing.

We also revisited Guadalupe Mountains NP and this time we had time to do the hike to the highest point in Texas. That hike was fun, but coming back down at dusk was a sort of "adventure". The views are magnificent. I really recommend everyone in Texas make it out there. It really is a very different part of the state.

Early this year during Spring Break I got to take my mother to her first national parks. We drove to California to visit family, so we stopped at Petrified Forest, The Grand Canyon, and drove through Death Valley.

Petrified Forest was way cooler than I expected. Just a beautiful place. The Grand Canyon was spectacular. Death Valley was somewhat boring and had some of the worst park staff I've ever encountered which also took away from the experience (complete opposite at Petrified Forest - great staff were helpful and made the park more enjoyable).

I really want to go back to the Grand Canyon and I want to explore the interior of the canyon itself. Its really as spectacular as everyone says though. It lives up the hype easily.

Earlier this summer we visited the Black Canyon of the Gunison NP. You don't hear much about this place but it was really awe inspiring. A really cool park. We also stopped at Great Sand Dunes again on the way back from this trip in order to be there when the creek was flowing.

Some pics:

The Grand Canyon
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/GrandCanyon_11.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/GrandCanyon_12.jpg

Petrified Forest NP
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/PetrifiedForest_2.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/PetrifiedForest_8.jpg

Death Valley NP

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/DeathValley_6.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/DeathValley_7.jpg

Black Canyon

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/BC5.jpg
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/bighorn1.jpg

Great Sand Dunes NP

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa136/Msalgado80/medano1.jpg



So now up to 16 parks! We're planning on revisiting Canyonlands and Arches over Labor Day since they were so awesome but hopefully we can hit some more new parks over the next year.

[DMC]

Did you happen to run upon Curiosity while you were out there?