JULY 13, 2019 – to the Grand Teton National Park
Today we leave Portland OR!!! After a lot of waiting on the truck only a few things got accomplished. We think perhaps Camping World made several mistakes and didn’t want to admit them. The first was the wrong parts for the leveling system were sent after waiting 8 weeks and to reorder would take another 6-8 weeks. We spoke with the HWH plant in Ohio and they would have ordered whatever part number CW requested. Obviously CW requested the wrong system, having picked the unit for a Ford chassis and not a Mercedes chassis. An easy yet not expected mistake.
Secondly CW ordered a new motor for a portion of the patio awning assembly. They even told us they had installed the one they had to reorder given the first one sent didn’t work. Well when we used the awning on our first night on the road, we learned the repair had not been made. I started looking at Solera awning parts. The motor isn’t delivered with the spindle that holds the roller. Only the entire head assembly comes with the spindle and that’s what we need, as the one we have is slightly bent from a mishap with a sidewalk street sign. Once again CW ordered the wrong part.
You might guess our frustration but at least we got some terrific travels while in Portland: Alaska, Vancouver, Montanan/Banff/Jasper Canada, and Oregon/Crater Lake.
We are now headed east on a slow trek to get to Moscow OH on August 19 for the leveling system. Should work out better if we are at the plant!! And it’s a bit cheaper there as well. Our first stop is, after several nights to get to Wyoming, is to the Grand Teton NP and then onto Yellowstone. Been looking forward to this for a long time.
JULY 15, 2019 – Craters of the Moon National Monument
We had 1 night layovers as we travelled east which were decent, clean and not terribly memorable RV sites. On the way to a 2 night stay in Arco ID, we went by the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. This is worth the stop if you are in the vicinity of SW ID. It’s an enormous field of several old and older lava flows, including cinder cones and splatter cones that you can get right on top of. It isn’t a large place for visiting – the visitor center is modest though the videos shown are worth watching. And the loop drive is about 7 miles so a 1-2 hr visit will easily get in all the sights. We did not go to the lava tube caves but they may be worthwhile as they are good sized. Check in for the permit needed
The area is 750,000 square miles in size and encompasses a number of lava flows from a series of deep fissures, known collectively as the Great Rift that cross the Snake River Plain and started forming approximately 15,000 year ago. It’s easy to spot the lava types – the smooth, rope-like pahoehoe lava, and the crusty rubble like “aa” lava. Both are Hawaiian words.
We walked to the top of the Inferno Cone where there were vast views of the cinder cones along the Great Rift. In the distance is Big Cinder Butte which we saw throughout our visit to Arco. It’s enormous and is one of the world’s largest basaltic cinder cones. Also in the view were the nearby spatter cones which were the next stop on our tour.
The spatter cones represent fissures and small eruptions that create a miniature volcano. The ejected globs of sticky lava don’t travel far so they create a small cone of basaltic lava.
It was a short drive to the RV site and store for a quick provisioning. We stayed 2 nights at a clean and quiet spot. The restaurant onsite is very good though we forgot to put in an order for the famous ribs and by the time we showed up they had been sold out. The alternatives we picked were really good, especially the “smoked” baked potato. Wish we could find these again…. Incredibly good!
JULY 17, 2019 – Idaho Falls, ID
We met a couple at the RV Park in Arco that also had the Mercedes chassis. They spoke of an issue relating to the front wheel covers and the tire stems. Seems they aren’t overly compatible and the wheel covers are sawing through the rubber wheel stems!!!
We stopped in Idaho Falls to have a tire shop look at the problem. We learned we should rotate the tires every 5000 miles or so and that we should have an alignment every 10000 miles. So we ordered up the tire rotation and the alignment and requested that the shop make the wheel cover hole where the stem protrudes through a bit larger to remove the contact that is damaging the stems. He reported the stems were still quite serviceable so that was comforting.
While the work was being done we found a place for lunch at a terrific bakery around the corner. We were given a free slice of pumpkin chocolate chip bread which was beautiful, moist, and tasty!!!
We then walked to the river and the falls where the city has created a Riverwalk and a Japanese garden area next to the falls with some of the water trickling though the garden making beautiful water sounds. A beautiful and serene spot and then as we walked farther upstream to head back to the tire shop we saw the long weir of the falls. Impressive though the drop wasn’t great, the weir was long and oblique to the flow with vegetation and lots of logs caught up here and there. The banks were lined with lovely summery trees. Perfect scene!!
JULY 18, 2019 – Grand Teton NP
It was about a 2.5 hour drive up and over an 8,200’+pass to reach Jackson WY. What a view of the valley from the pull over. We dropped down, 20mph on a 12% grade, and drove into Jackson. We stopped for fuel and were glad to drive through. It’s a bustling touristy town with lots of shops and pedestrians wandering every which way.
As we drove out and headed to Grand Teton National Park we drove along a lengthy area signed with National Elk Reserve. Since establishing the reserve and occasionally providing supplemental winter food rations, the herd has made a comeback. Elk shed their antlers every spring which is why the town square in Jackson has arches at the corners that are stacks of antlers picked up by the Boy Scouts in the spring.
Our first night in this amazing park of mountains of exquisite beauty was at the Jackson Lake Lodge. It gave us the chance to get the lay of the land and the intel necessary to score a campsite at Coulter Bay. We wandered to the pool and walked one of the short trails near the lodge. We also enjoyed a delicious though expensive dinner in the Mural room overlooking the meadow and mountains beyond. It’s fun talking to the staff. They are all seasonal and have alternate lives in the winter. We learned that all of the Grand Teton National Park management/concession of lodges, campgrounds, tours, etc. is run by the Vail Corporation. After dinner we sat and watched the sun setting behind the mountains.
Where the campsites at Yellowstone are based on a first come-first served basis that fill by 7am this time of year, with some that are reservable, all of the Colter Bay Campground is first come first served. There is a Coulter Bay RV Campground but is only reservable and likely filled up 6 months ago. Fortunately the campground here usually fills by early afternoon.
JULY 19, 2019 – Coulter Bay Campground (GTNP)
We got up at 6:30 and arrived at the campground entrance at about 7:15. There were a few vehicles in front of us and after waiting about 20 minutes we got a site and we could have it for as long as 14 days. We booked for 3 nights. Nice.
Before mooring at the site we drove to the Village and found a well-stocked store and gift shop and a laundromat with wifi. We stopped for a while before going farther on to the Coulter Bay Visitor Center. There are programs here that look well thought out – star gazing, bears, etc.
We walked to the Marina where kayaks and canoes are on offer. It is a bustling place and a very pretty lake.
We drove back to the campsite and settled in. It’s been a while since we had 3 nights in one place. We took a walk in the mid afternoon and found the trail off our campsite loop that went to the lake. I could see where the beach area was located a bit south of where we were. Pretty overlook with some people fishing and some people enjoying the sun. Two young women on towels were sunning and I asked if the water was cold. They said yes unless the sun was out and it was a bit hotter. I think it’s quite too cold for me!!!
