This is the shot I went to Yellowstone to get, Grand Prismatic Spring. I’m high up on a hill behind it so it doesn’t look that big. Look carefully and you’ll see there are boardwalks north of it with lots of little dots on it. Those are people: Bob Wells

By Bob Wells –

After a few days at the Grand Tetons it was time to move on. Because Judy and I had spent so much time here last year I had most of the photos I wanted, this trip was all about the wildflowers that were in bloom. Next up on my agenda was Yellowstone National Park which is just 30 miles north of the Grand Tetons on Highway 89.

Like nearly all National Parks Yellowstone does not allow dispersed camping in the Park, you have to stay in a campground and pay for it. All the campgrounds in Yellowstone are $22 a day and they fill up fast — you’ll be lucky to get one. That’s a lot more money than I’m willing to pay so I was planning to find dispersed camping in the National Forests just outside the entrance. So far I’ve used all of the five entrances and did find free camping at all of them.

At the south entrance coming from the Grand Tetons I got lucky and found a Forest Service campground called Sheffield Campground just 3 miles from the South Entrance Kiosk. It’s a very nice campground but it wasn’t free. It cost $5 a night.

It did have a clean vault toilet but it didn’t have water or trash. That was still a whole lot less than $22 a day in the park so I stayed there for three days while I explored the Old Faithful area. The problem is it was 40 miles from Old Faithful so I had to drive 80 miles a day to save $17. To be honest, I spent more in gas driving back and forth than I saved in camping fees so it didn’t really make sense. But there were two reasons it was worth it to me: 1) I hate campgrounds and having so many people packed in around me, and 2) I think all the campgrounds in the Park were full so I couldn’t get in one even if I tried.

It’s a nice little campground, but it only has 5 sites. I didn’t have any trouble getting a spot but I’d bet that on weekends and later in the summer it will be full all the time — making it iffy whether or not you can get a site.

One of the bloggers I follow is Becky at “Interstellar Orchard” who I admire a great deal because she is a young, single female who has bravely rejected the rat race and is living life on her own term in a Cassita Travel Trailer. She supports herself by being a work camper in the summers and for Amazon in the winter. This summer she is working at Old Faithful in Yellowstone NP.

So I emailed her and told her I was headed her way and offered to buy her lunch. Soon she wrote back and said she would love to meet with me. So I headed north to Old Faithful where I met her after work and we went for lunch. It was a real pleasure to finally meet her in person and not just follow her online. I invited her to attend the RTR and even lead a seminar. She wasn’t sure how that would work for her so she is thinking about it. I’d encourage all of you to follow her blog and write her and tell her you would love to meet her at the RTR! You’ll be glad you did.

I spent three days camped at the Sheffield campground and taking photos of Yellowstone. I have to be honest though, the insane traffic and large crowds ruin the experience for me so I got all the photos I wanted and got out of the Park as fast as I could.

Because most people love Yellowstone this may make some of you angry or disappointed with me, but I have to say I am not a fan. The southern area is mostly flat and not very pretty at all. The northern areas are mountainous and beautiful but the traffic is crawling along on them so slowly I can’t enjoy the view at all.

Yellowstone is known for its wildlife, and there is lots of it, but every time you come across any there will be hundreds of cars parked all over the road and people stopped on the road or just crawling along at 5 mph so you can’t really see them. Again, the frustration level from the traffic ruins the experience of “wild” things for me. The Grand Tetons are much more beautiful, have just as much wildlife, and nowhere near the traffic.

To get there you take the Fairy Creek Trail until it’s just across from the Grand Prismatic hot spring. You can start climbing up the hill anywhere in there because it’s not an official trail so it’s not obvious. But enough people know about it that there is a faint trail at the bottom of the climb and there was even a traffic cone in the middle of the Fairy Creek Trail to alert people to it.

Because it’s not a recognized trail it isn’t cared for, or even a real trail. The day I climbed it I bet there were 50 of us climbing up the side of this mountain and just wandering all over looking for the easiest way through all the downed trees from the 2008 wildfire. It’s fairly steep and all the downed trees make it difficult climbing. I’m surprised no one has been hurt so it seems to me the Park Service should turn it into a safe, groomed trail. I asked at the Visitors Center about it and the Ranger said they knew people climbed it, and it was legal to do so, but they didn’t recognize it as a formal trail.

Even as great as that shot is, unless you have a ton of patience and a very low frustration level, I suggest you skip Yellowstone. If you do go, try to make it as off — season as you can, spring and fall will have the fewest crowds and are the most pleasant. Spring is best for wildlife and fall for colorful trees. I’d also plan to spend most of my time at the Grand Tetons and just take a few day-trips into Yellowstone to see its best features, like the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring.

I’ll tell you about dispersed campsites just outside the other entrances in a later post. You can camp in them for up to 14 days and take day-trips into Yellowstone every few days — you’ll need a day or two between trips to recover from the frustration of the crowds.

Something else you MUST do while you are there is to drive the Beartooth Highway Scenic Byway. I believe Yellowstone pales in caparison to its incredible beauty. Even if you have limited time, make sure you drive the Beartooth even if you have to skip some of Yellowstone — it’s worth it.

No trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a shot of Old Faithful erupting: Bob Wells

Castle Geyser with hot springs in front: Bob Wells

My favorite geo-thermal feature is the hot pools with their very bright colors. Different bacteria thrive at different temperatures of water and they give the water a different color. Some of them are spectacular: Bob Wells

Some of the springs have very deep holes that go far into the earth. The water is clear enough you can see fairly far down them: Bob Wells

More Photos

Republished with permission from CheapRVLiving.com. Bob Wells has been a full-time Van Dweller for 12 years and love’s it. He hopes to never live in a house again.