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Old 04-17-2012, 02:30 PM   #1
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Yellowstone? Anybody here, ever?

It looks like an awesome place to visit. has anybody trekked it, had an extended stay? Would like to as I would? There look to be some fierce critters in that thar park!?
Is it dangerous, more so than normal. CG, full hook up in the park.Sandy of SandynJohn
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Old 04-17-2012, 02:37 PM   #2
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You are correct in saying it's an awesome place. Plenty to take in. We've been ther 5 times. There are campgrounds in the park but first come first serve. Get's pretty hectic. We stay at the Grizzly RV Park just outside the West gate. Counldn't be more convenient and the town there is great to walk with some nice shops and stuff. Animals?? Sure plenty. Dangerous? For the most part no but if you're not careful I suppose anything can happen and has. I'm sure you'll get plenty of input on the topic. If you decide to go have a great time, I can't see how you couldn't. Make sure to take your camera.
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Old 04-17-2012, 03:09 PM   #3
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You can reserve full hookup sites inside the park at a few vender operated camping area - some are no better than a Walmart parking lot with hookups, the best sites are throughout the park and actually run by the park service, they are pay at the self serve station types with no hookups, first come, but cheap and beautiful.

Warning - if the camping area or road says max length 35 or 38 feet, don't try it if you are over. You can ignore these warnings at many national parks, but not Yellowstone!

Don't underestimate the size of this park, and the traffic during peak season... It can be an hour drive in August from your campsite to Old Faithful.

Safety - most people hurt in Yellowstone are victims of their own stupidity. For example, if you see a bull moose just off the road and you park on the shoulder and run out to see how close you can get to it for that perfect photo - yea, you might get hurt.
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Old 04-17-2012, 03:22 PM   #4
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We stay in Emigrant, MO outside the North entrance. beautiful park with all the amenities, easy drive to the park. Enjoy, i's worth it

Jim
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Old 04-17-2012, 04:48 PM   #5
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Have been there many times. Its my favorite National Park. We try to stay at Fishing Bridge campgrounds. Full hook up and you almost must make reservations. Have stayed in Cody waiting for my check in date and that is a good bet also. Love Cody. You will enjoy the whole expierence. I almost guarantee it...lol Don
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Old 04-17-2012, 05:24 PM   #6
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We spent almost 2 weeks in the area. At the time(2 years ago) we couldn't get into a park of the West side, so we stayed in Wapiti in the Yellowstone Valley(Yellowstone Valley RV, actually). Not what we wanted, but after a while we were glad it happen that way...the drive into the park is beautiful and Cody was close enough to spend some time there as well. Also, you can't visit Yellowstone without driving(in your toad)the Beartooth(Pass, 10,947ft.) Hwy. and Chief Joseph Scenic Hwy...spectacular drives. A visit to the town of Red Lodge(NE of the park) is interesting. They have a lot of old car shows going on in the summer and there's great home made ice cream everywhere.

We did not do much hiking...the Red Rock Trail almost did us in. We past much younger people on their way back up that were huff'n and puff'n...that should have been a clue, but the view of the falls were worth the pain.

One thing I've never heard about in any discussions about Yellowstone and wish someone had prepared us prior to our visit. The East side of the park is devastated by pine beetles...I mean for miles. So much so, we almost turned around. After the shock and disbelief, the shear size of the area and the number of still standing dead trees(not one left living), became a natural wonder in of itself. It's a must see, but a little warning would have been nice.

We saw loads of animals and the trick to staying safe is, to not get too close. We saw several acts of stupity...we pulled into a pull off to watch some buffalo grazing nearby. They worked their way very close to the Jeep and one decided we were in his way...Actually I backed out before he got too close...his turf. As we were leaving, a guy pulled up not 10 ft. from the buffalo and got out of his car with his camera...we were OUT of there. It wasn't five minutes down the road that four Park Ranger trucks went flying by us in the direction we had come from. Not sure if the behemoth got to him but something serious happened.

We spotted four grizzlies down by a river about 300 yards away. While watching them with binoculars, a man got out of his car at the bottom of the hill and walked around a stand of trees down by the river to get pictures. One of the bears(the BIG one) stood up(geez he was HUGE!), looked in the moron's direction and started running in his direction. The man came running out from around the trees and fell three times trying to get away...camera-less. The bear stopped his pursuit after about fifty yards and stood up again, looked around for a couple seconds and went back to the group of bears. I would have rooted for the bear, but had he caught the moron, it would have cost the bear his life...people need to understand that when they get stupid, the wildlife usually pay the price. Then there's the speeders inside the park...

We also saw an Elk lying in the grass that I could have strung a hammock in his rack! He was a show stopper! We hung out for two hours waiting for this monster to get up...never did see how big he was. Just talking about YS makes me want to go back and spend a month. What a place. Bob
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Old 04-17-2012, 06:21 PM   #7
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I've worked, camped, and taught science classes in the Yellowstone Ecosystem for the past 21 years. I love the place. Fishing Bridge is the only full hookup hardside campsite in the park, it is often booked. The other campgrounds are beautiful, but it is first come, first served. To get in one of them, you should be at the campground gate at 7-8 am and take a site as it is vacated. Grand Teton has nice campgrounds too, Gros Ventre CG is never full.

The most dangerous animal in the park are two legged bad drivers. Horses cause the most injuries, followed by bison and elk. Just stay clear, make noise as you hike. black bears and grizzly bears are in the park, few people have any problem. (Last year was an exception)

DO hike and get away from parking areas. 90%+ of visitors never get out of sight of their vehicles, so just a few minutes walk on a trail can give a wilderness-like experience.

While there has been pine bark beetle damage, I believe the observations by SCENIC ROUTE are more likely the results of the 1988 fires. I was there last September and saw fewer brown trees from beetles than down in Colorado. In my years of touring the park, the fire damage has evolved and has been very interesting to study. Check out the various visitor centers for educational displays on fires, the volcano (All of Yellowstone IS a volcano!) geysers, park history, etc.
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Old 04-17-2012, 07:30 PM   #8
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We don't have a tow vehicle and might have the chance to be near Yellowstone in a few weeks. I'm fairly confident in managing our 40' DP (within the physical realities that, well, it's 40 feet long) -- can you drive into the park and actually park in places and see things?

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Old 04-17-2012, 07:39 PM   #9
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Yes, parking at Visitor Centers, main attractions, will be no problem. At other pull outs, use your own judgement. Many are big enough, some are limited. Enjoy!
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Old 04-17-2012, 08:42 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jlfbatonrg View Post
We stay in Emigrant, MO outside the North entrance. beautiful park with all the amenities, easy drive to the park. Enjoy, i's worth it

Jim
Somewhat confusing Jim, "MO"=Missouri, MT=Montana.

Sorry to me picky.

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Old 04-17-2012, 09:26 PM   #11
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Ah! Yellowstone! Last spring it took us over two hours to go about a mile and a half because we were in a "Buffalo Jam." Yep! it was beautiful watching them just walking down the middle of the road, some side by side, doing their thing.
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Old 04-18-2012, 08:46 AM   #12
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I AM STOKED. I love campers that share their experiences, and make visuals. Awesome! Cant wait to see with mine own eyes. I can see me huggin a bull moose now,HAhahahah!
People are CRAZEEEE! I can see the bear dude runnin now Hugs, Sandy
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Old 04-18-2012, 08:59 AM   #13
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Fred,

No apologies necessary. At best I am a 2 finger typist. Since I broke my right thumb last week, I'm down to one finger. You are absolutely correct about the confusion. Montana is where we stay. My apologies to all.

jim
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Old 04-18-2012, 09:04 AM   #14
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My recollection is we didn't see any 40' RVs in Yellowstone. a couple of smaller class Cs is all we saw. You may want to considerm renting a car to tour the park. Some of the best sites, in our opinion, were sites we could walk to from the small parking lots, and as I recall some of the roads were pretty narrow especially when vehilces pulled over along the road to view animals. Just a thought.

Jim
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