We Arrived Outside Yellowstone

Today we finally arrived at our destination outside the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park.  Yesterday was an easy, uneventful drive.  We left Grand Island, NE and drove west on I-80 to Cheyenne, WY.  We gained an hour so arrived mid-afternoon.  It was nice to just chill out and get some rest.  Although the KOA indicated they had a heated pool, it was not very warm outside and the water didn't feel too warm so we bypassed the pool. 

This morning we got up early as I figured it would be a long drive.  Although we had been told the drive from Cheyenne to Cody wasn't bad as far as steep grades, I still had some unrest about it.  Overall, it really was an easy drive and the grades weren't too bad.  About three hours into our drive we stopped at a rest center and encountered two large tour busses of people from China.  One of the \young men came over to see our dogs and spoke fluent English.  He actually lives and works in Vancouver but was traveling with the group from China.  Our rig drew a lot of lookers from this group - especially the car and motorcycle hauler.  They were also fascinated with the fact we lived in our RV.  The young man was interpreting our conversation for them. 

Our first road encounter occurred as we were almost out of Thermopolis and boom - we come to road construction and have absolutely no way to turn around to avoid it.  No warnings whatsoever!  They had ripped up the entire road heading out of town and up into the mountains.  Yep - a pilot car was going to lead us for a few miles over hard pack dirt that road like a scrub board.  This was incredible that they tore up the entire road and not do one side and then the other.  There was a nice pull out at the end of that trek so we pulled out to not only let the cars behind us get by us but to make sure the car and motorcycle were still tied down!  When we arrived in Thermopolis it was past lunch time and we had not eaten.  We found a large parking area next to the A&W Lanes which was fast food and a bowling alley.  The parking lot we were in had some craters and sure enough I bottomed out the front of our car hauler so I had to slowly back it up with the car hanging off the back of it but all went well and we moved on.

The drive through Kansas, Nebraska and until we got past Thermopolis was pretty borning but wow after Thermopolis the scenary got very nice.  As soon as we started through a pass with a river running beside it Bailey jumped up on the dash and stayed there checking it all out.  We encountered a few steeper climbs but nothing too bad which was a relief.  We even drove through several short tunnels.  I noticed that none of them posted their heighth but we easily fit.  I didn't have reservations since we had passed big rigs on the road so they had to be high enough to accommodate our RV.

About 4 pm we arrived in Cody, WY and from there it was only 25 more miles.  The drive to our final destination was beautiful.  There was a large body of water beside the highway which we definitely have to go back and check out.  We made reservations at the Green Creek Inn and RV Park months ago - thank goodness.  I don't think we would have found a place to stay if we didn't have that reservation.  This is the last place to stay before you go into Yellowstone.  It only has 9 RV slots and several motel rooms but it's very clean.  We met a nice young couple and their two kids next to us from Lebanon, Missouri.  Can't wait to get into the park tomorrow and see the sights.