Daily Didactic
Our day started in the really exceptional little Elk Mountain Campground. We got on the road early for what should be our last long day of driving for a while, a little over 500 miles to Yellowstone National Park. We were on the move by 8:00 and headed first to a VW mechanic in Sturgis to look at the bus' increasingly squeaky front end. We are used to a certain amount of "squeaky" with the bus, but this noise has been leaking out into parking lots and campgrounds over the last two days and was getting a little embarrassing. Our new mechanic was incredibly helpful and shot every zirk fitting and boot in the front full of grease. The culprit was a ball joint. A half hour and 20 dollars later we were on the road again.

We drove the interstate to Sheridan before cutting west on Highway 14 toward Yellowstone's east entrance. The drive up and over the 8,950 foot Granite Pass (through Big Horn National Forest) was as good as a windy mountain pass road gets. The views were spectacular and it was great to be back in the hills. We dropped back down through Shell Canyon, the town of Greybull, and then Cody before starting the climb up into Yellowstone. We passed through the eastern park entrance about 8:30 and were parked in the bustling Bridge Bay Campground by 9:00. Bridge Bay is one of three in the park that take reservations and we have finally figured out that late Friday night arrivals require reservations. Tomorrow we will move to the quieter Norris campground, but for now Bridge Bay is a great landing spot in Yellowstone.

Morning in the peaceful Elk Mountain campground		Site 22 on the prairie
A bison herd, posing on our way out		Using the tools at his disposal
Downtown Custer		Wyoming welcomes us, we like it's style
Green Trees might be a selling point, but we'd rethink the second half		This could be tough country in the winter
Mountains, we haven't seen any tall enough to hold snow for a few weeks		Beginning the climb through Big Horn National Forest
Steep and indirect		She's not bouncing, she's stuck in a tilt
Road construction and mountain meadows near the top		Our captain, focusing
Rocks at the top of the first pass		The sign amused us
And then we were surrounded by a mob of sheep		Shell Falls
Dropping back down through Shell Canyon		Lines and plateaus
High desert in the evening		Looking east
A tunnel on the climb after Cody		Grazing land just outside the park
About thirteen hours from Wind Cave		Smells like sulphur...
Yellowstone Lake at sunset		Yellowstone Lake at dusk

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