The Great West Trip Part 3

Decision time: Do we go north to Banff, northwest to Glacier, or south to Yellowstone? When I looked at how many miles it was to Banff, it looked like we would spend 6 days just getting there and back to Billings. So, we decided against it. We also decided against Glacier. Cody was of some interest to us, so we made the choice to drive there. The views were well worth it:

This house on top of the butte interested me. It seemed like it was the only house around for miles.

The different colors of the mountains/hills were beautiful.

Again, this sight struck me as interesting!

2 tunnels on the road: it kind of reminded me of Ireland.

After we arrived in Cody, we went by the visitor's center to get information on the town, as well as a recommendation on where to eat lunch. The young lady was most helpful and suggested Irma's. The official name is Buffalo Bill's Irma Hotel. Buffalo Bill Cody built the hotel in 1902 and named it after his daughter. The building is a working hotel; the rates are actually quite reasonable. Some of the rooms are historical while some were added on as late as the 1970's. 

The grill was recommended to us for lunch. We split a sandwich and had potato salad for a side. I'm super picky about my potato salad so I try to steer clear of ordering it at a restaurant, but theirs was just like my mom's! Quite a pleasant surprise!

This cherrywood bar was presented to Buffalo Bill by Queen Victoria. She shipped it to the hotel after his performance for her in London.

The fireplace is in the hotel section of the building. It is made from rocks, fossils, ores, and minerals from the Big Horn Basin.

After we ate we visited the Cody Historical Society and learned more about the town. I asked the ladies who were working if any of Buffalo Bill's family still lived in the area. He had 2 descendants (from Irma) who were in the area. One of them steers clear of the Cody name; the other one used it to make his fortune. Sadly, he was killed in an airplane crash. I wasn't able to confirm this by researching on the internet; there isn't much published about the family.

From Cody we headed to Yellowstone. There are several campgrounds along the way. We chose Rex Hale because it is the closest to the park gate that has a bathroom. Although we have a bathroom in the van, it's nice to have one close by so we can empty the cassette toilet before leaving. 

We almost turned around and went back to the Wapiti Campground since it looked like it was better shaded but there was a spot here. The camp host was extremely nice. He is a retired archeologist and was very interesting to talk with. Plus, the vault toilet was the best-smelling vault toilet I've ever been in! He kept it immaculate!

There are no showers, electricity, or other amenities here. But the views are worth it! Maeve looked great in that setting:

It was very quiet and peaceful; exactly what we wanted and needed. The host said there were little to no worries about bears. The North Fork Shoshone River runs behind the campground and if there are any bears to be seen, they would be fishing in the river. We chose not to chance it and stayed away.

That was our big day in Cody. We discussed going back into town before we headed to Yellowstone but then chose to keep going. Yellowstone has to have a post all on its own!

The Great West Trip Part 2

After we left the Badlands, Devils Tower was next on the list. We just passed through and honestly, I would have been happy with seeing it in the distance and not actually driving into the park. It was rather crowded and, since we weren't hiking, the views weren't worth it to wait in line to get to the parking area. 

It was hot, but it was July, and crowded. I am surprised that climbing is allowed, for a fee, of course. We ran into a Polish couple in Yellowstone who climbed it. It must be done in the back of the tower; I didn't see anyone climbing but we saw the information for it.

We thought about camping in the area but with the temperatures predicted to be fairly warm overnight, we opted to stay in a hotel in Gillette. At some point in your life, comfort outweighs adventure.

From there we headed to Billings, Montana. We needed a "rest day" and it was a good time to do laundry and replenish groceries. We were able to secure a somewhat shaded spot at the KOA. This just happened to be KOA #1 so we felt like we found gold!

It was your typical KOA: Kind of tight spaces but the amenities were nice. We thought the location was a little odd: It was behind a residential area. We decided that the campground was probably there first and the houses were built later. Robert soaked in the pool and I sat with my feet in it for a while. We finished our laundry and relaxed. The Yellowstone River runs behind the campground.

While driving into town to go to the grocery store, I was pleased to see that the underpasses had been spruced up:

While at the campground, we discovered we had some interesting neighbors:

Robert looked it up because the employees had some question as to when to attempt to remove the nest with the least amount of bother to the campers. It's a "bald-faced hornet" and is very aggressive.  According to some sites I looked at, they sting repeatedly and can spray a "venom" in the eyes of an attacker causing watering of the eyes and temporary blindness. The nest was across the path from our site but thankfully they waited until after we left to take care of it.

We had a big decision to make. After seeing Robert's pictures when he rode his motorcycle to the Arctic Circle, I've wanted to see Lake Louise. We made sure we brought our passports just in case we went over the border but we had some considerations that we had to take into account. Do we go north into Canada, west to Glacier National Park, or south to Yellowstone? Or do we decide to go another route and do something different? Find out in Part 3!

The Great West Trip Part 1

For our big trip, we talked about either going north or west. It just happened that the northern US was being pounded by a lot of rain, so we decided to go west. One of the reasons for that decision was that I (Mary) had never been to Utah. I wanted to see Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and Arches. Plus, I wanted to see some places in Colorado that Robert talked about. We decided that we wouldn't push ourselves and would take our time. We didn't make any reservations except for the Harvest Hosts on the way to the Badlands. 
We made our way out of TN with the first Harvest Host as the first goal. We ended up leaving a day later than expected because of an issue with our cabin air conditioner. We took it by the dealer where we purchased the van only to be told that the battery was okay. I'm not sure if they didn't understand that we knew the battery was okay; it was the AC that needed to be looked at. In hindsight, when Robert bought it, I think he just checked to make sure that it was blowing and not that it was cooling. Anyway, we made the decision to go ahead with the trip without a working AC unit in the cabin; if it was too hot at night we would just get a hotel room. This actually worked extremely well for us. We ended up staying a few nights in hotels but opening the window above the bed and turning on the MaxxAir was all we needed. 
Holt RV Service was our first host. We spent the night of the 4th of July there. They were so very welcoming, even though they had a family party happening that night. We were treated to fireworks and nice conversation. If you're thinking, "Couldn't he have fixed the AC?", the answer is "no" due to the voltage of our AC. 

Nice spot at Holt RV Service

They have a super friendly cat that we had to make sure we didn't take along with us when we left the next day.

The next stop was my sister's house in Missouri, just north of Kansas City. We ended up spending a couple of nights there so I could have my sister time, then headed to the next Harvest Host site in Iowa. Stensland Family Farm is a working dairy farm. We dealt with flies, but it is a dairy farm. The parking was in the parking lot which was very level and quiet. We got a quick tour of how the freeze-dried ice cream was made and were given some samples. There is a small store with a pizza maker, ice cream, and cheese. You pay via the honor system which means if you want to use a credit card you have to make a phone call. They ended up getting a bit of a tip since we didn't have exact change.

View heading toward the farm

View from the front of the van

We parked in the parking lot but it was a quiet night. There was one other camper who came in while we were there.

It's a working dairy farm....you've gotta take a picture with a cow (real or not!)

On to the Badlands! On our previous trip out west we drove past this National Park but didn't actually go into it. This was one place I knew I had to visit and it definitely didn't disappoint. The scenery was breathtaking! We found an amazing place to Boondock, along with about 100 other people. You'll want to make sure you get to this space in the afternoon; if you wait until the evening you won't be able to find the best spot.

The view from our van

We spent 2 nights on the Pinnacles (also called "Badlands Boondocking Area" or "Badlands Boondock Campspot" on Google Maps). The whole drive through the Badlands was just breathtaking. We rode through the "loop" when we got there, found a spot to spend the night, and then spent the next day going back through the park at a much slower pace. We showered at the campground and then headed back to the Pinnacles to find a spot for the night. 

We had been advised to be aware of the wind. We had a young couple in a tent in back of us. Luckily the winds weren't too bad that night and their tent didn't end up against the van. We ended up seeing the couple again a couple of days after that on the interstate to Billings. It was very cool to have someone to wave to when we were so far away from home. 

From the Badlands, we started heading north/northwest. We had the luxury of taking our time deciding where we were going to go next as we drove along. We averaged 4-5 hours of driving each day which was perfect for us. I was already amazed at how beautiful this area of the country is; there was much more to come!

Harvest Hosts: Tsali Notch Vineyard, Madisonville, TN

Night 2 of our anniversary weekend trying out Harvest Hosts was spent at Tsali Notch Vineyards in Madisonville, TN. We were there an hour before we said we would be, but JD welcomed us with open arms and told us to head into the Tasting Room to let them know we were there. It was only about a 20-minute drive from Grain Bin Commodities so if you wanted to stay at the Vineyard and make a pastry run, you could. (Just a suggestion!) If you're coming from I75, the drive is only about 10 miles from the exit so it's not too far out of the way. The vineyard is also just down the road from The Lost Sea so you could spend the day exploring the world's largest underground lake and then stay the night.

Entrance to Tsali Notch Vineyards

When we arrived JD was prepping for an event so we tried to just stay out of the way. I managed to get in the wine tasting ($10) before it started raining. Tsali Notch is a Muscadine vineyard, and, being a red-wine girl, I wasn't sure how I would like the wines. But I managed to find a couple that I liked, so again, I had no trouble spending the suggested $20 for staying the night. The Chatsworth is a dry red with just a hint of sweetness. Even the French Broad (rosé) surprised me. Their juice is pure juice from the Muscadine; no sweeteners are added...or needed. 

The Tasting Room

While it rained, Robert napped and I read. Even with an event happening at the bottom of the hill, it was extremely quiet and peaceful. 

View from the side window as it rained.

The view looking out of the windshield

Our site for the night was just beautiful. There was one other van that came in later; their view was awesome as well.

We parked right across the road from one of the vineyards

Perfect spot!

Our view from behind the van before the rain.

We had asked ahead of time if we could set up our gazebo and were given the go-ahead. There were storms in the forecast so we decided not to put it up in case the wind picked up. It ended up just raining, which was fine since we had such a nice quiet afternoon. The views after the rain were even more spectacular:

Mist over the vineyard after the rain

Low-lying cloud in the distance

More clouds in the distance

More views of the vineyard:

I loved these Tennessee Tri-Star fire pits

In the above picture, the building on the left is the Jackson Lounge, where the restrooms are housed. The restrooms were kept open at night and weren't that far of a walk from the van. That made it really nice so we didn't have to use the van toilet. Also, the gates are closed at night, but when we left around 9:00 the next morning, they were already open. As we drove away, I made Robert stop so I could jump out and take a few more pictures of the vineyard in the morning mist.

Looking out over the main vineyards

The Event Barn

Both nights during our weekend were A+! Harvest Hosts is a great way to discover unique places in your area of the country that you may not have known existed. It may not be your typical camping experience, but what a great way to support small businesses! 

Have you heard about Harvest Hosts? It's an RV camping membership that has opened up exciting and new overnight experiences for my road trips! Use it to unlock unlimited overnight stays at locations such as farms, wineries, museums and so much more. The network has over 4000 locations and is expanding daily - and it's so much fun! I think that you'd really enjoy it. Here is the link to join with a special discount: Flyin' the Coop Harvest Hosts Invitation . Check it out and let me know what you think!