Yellowstone National Park

Animals everywhere!

The beauty of it is jawdropping. As many have said, the 50 mile drive from Cody to Yellowstone is one of the most beautiful drives in North America. It’s definitely up there.

Though much more commercialized than I had hoped, it was a beautiful time that we spent there. We met up with 2 friends (wildlife photographers) who had been there many times before. Our first night we met them at this rather remote campsite, where everyone was in bed by 9 p.m. and up at 6 a.m. The best times to see the wildlife is early morning and late evening, so we were up with them. This also worked out rather well because as soon as the sun went down, it got real cold. Average elevation around here is 5000-8000 ft. It stayed near or just below freezing at night, but Toby (and a couple of sleeping bags) kept us real warm. Mornings were freezing, but we would get up, make water for tea and hot oatmeal and head off to look for the wildlife. It sounds kind of weird, outdoors people, driving up and down roads, looking for animals. But, Wes said, you can cover way more miles this way. He has been hiking in the backcountry and not seen anything.

So, I digress. A morning of driving around brought few animals, except for the Bison (Buffalo) who graze everywhere, cross the streets and just hang out. We saw hundreds of those.

The evening session however, we saw Pronghorns (Antelope family) and Bison hanging out together (they’re friends). We saw a Coyote up close as it walked along the road, we saw Elk and Bighorn Sheep. The next morning as we were driving out, we even saw some Wolves and heard their howling. They were far enough away we had to use binoculars, but cool to see nonetheless. We have yet to see any Bears or Mountain Lions, though they are supposedly everywhere and you have to be very careful with food, can’t wash dishes anywhere really.

For those of you who have visions of a National Park with remote, untouched beauty, do not go to Yellowstone except for the backcountry. There are tourists everywhere. People will stop in the middle of the road because they see something cool, causing traffic jams. There are stores and gas stations, little villages, even the town of Mamoth has it’s own herd of Elk that hang out in the center of town. Walkways abound whenever you are going anywhere, other than the back country. However, the juxtaposition of this, with wild animals roaming is quite interesting.

Whipper was rather unhappy. Rules for dogs are quite strict. Always on a 6 foot leash, never more than 100 feet off the road. So, we were quite limited in this way.

We did see some of the tourist things as well. We checked out geysers, which is where water sprouts up from rock formations due to geothermal activity. There is a bunch that I checked out, none of which erupt with any regularity. However, Jake (along with 500 other people) checked out the Old Faithful, that erupts every 90 minutes, for the tourists pleasure. I can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer. Yellowstone is a big volcano and there is lots of thermal activity and one of only 5 places that have geysers in the world. Which, incidentally, have microbes in them that have helped with DNA mapping and HIV research.

After a couple of days though, the crowds and Whippers unhappiness led us to leave, work our way down parts of Grand Teton Park and head a bit east into the National Forest where Whipper can roam and camping is free. Just find a road, drive around and pull off and camp.

The first night we camped completely alone at the top of this hill. Just before going to bed, Whipper, luckily on a leash, started barking. We jumped in the van, unsure if it was a bear, flicked on the headlights and watched a deer cross our campsite.

Finally went hiking yesterday, Whipper was so happy. It was nice to get out of the car and stretch some muscles. Then, as we were driving, we found a dude ranch, with restaurant and view of the Grand Tetons. So, with a little birthday money, we had a wonderful night out, watched the sunset, and ate buffalo meat. Yum.. Then drove down the road to a quiet little campsite next to the river. Ah, what a perfect birthday.

Check out the photos at:

http://picasaweb.google.ca/tjkuenzli

Stuck in Lander, but finally leaving!

Our first free campsite (other than a rest area)
So, we made it Lander, Wyoming after 3 long days of driving through the plains. It was beautiful, for the first couple of hours, and although we saw some cool things (like our last post), we were ready to get somewhere new.

We love our free camping book by the way, thank you Jason. That snagged us a beautiful empty campsite on conservation property, just off the highway, near a lake. It even had an outhouse. It was definitely a step up from the rest area we had slept in the night before.

Arriving in Lander, we were quick to find City Park, right near "downtown" (the whole town is pretty small) and were able to camp for free. Again, near a river, in the middle of a beautiful park, with toilets and water.

An early night, and we were up early. We headed up to The Sinks, a beautiful rocky area filled with mostly limestone. There is this cool river, that runs fiercely for a period, then disappears under this limestone rock and the water takes about 2 hours to filter through, and then comes out the other end a quiet, trickling river. It's very bizarre (see the pictures we took). There is so much different types of rock here, it is a geologist haven.

Well, we tried to start up Toby, and she wouldn't start. Tried a couple more times and she was running real rough. We headed back into town and were still planning to try and get up to Wild Iris to try climbing when we were driving down the street and she started to sound real bad. So, we luckily happened upon the public library with free wireless internet which extended to the parking lot and we proceeded to, with the help the The Samba and Full Moon Bus Club, try to fix the westy. We spent the day, and other than rescuing a lost dog who came upon us and finding it's owner, and meeting tons of really nice people offering their homes and their tools, we were unsuccessful and proceeded back to the city park, quite discouraged, knowing nothing was open again until Monday, 2 days later.

As we drove into the park, so did another vanagon, who we of course befriended. While they didn't have much mechanical knowledge to share, they did raise our spirits some. We shared a meal and then headed out to Lander bar to meet some friends of theirs. A fun night of drowning our sorrows, and we were up the next morning and decided to head back up to the Sinks with them to do some climbing, knowing we'd have a lift down if Toby broke down.

An amazing day, absolutely beautiful weather, amazing rock and fun climbing, though slippery on limestone, we were happily exhausted by the end of the day. It felt so good to be climbing.

This morning we woke up to face our problems. We thought we had figured it out Sunday night, so we went looking for a part, back to the same auto place that Jake had visited Saturday and who had offered us parts at cost. He did not have the part, but remembered a friend of his who used to be a VW mechanic, and gave us spotty directions to his home. Off we went, we found it, and he found the problem, right under our noses. The hose was loose around the Mass air filter and we were getting too much oxygen in.. He put a new hose clamp on, larger in size, and so far we're doing really well. We headed up to Wild Iris to see how she did on a long hill, and up she went.. Jack, our saviour turned out to be an amazing man, showed us his workshop and gave us a bit of history.

And so, tomorrow we are off to Yellowstone National Park, meeting some friends from KY. The weather looks nice, cool, freezing at night, but surely some beauty awaits us.

Check out our pics to date at

http://picasaweb.google.ca/tjkuenzli

Buford, Wyoming Elevation 8000', Population 1

Yes, you read it right. In the middle of nowhere, we find the Buford Trading Post, Population 1, but they have free wireless internet. So, we are stopped for lunch.

We are on our 3rd day of traveling since we left Kentucky. We have been driving mostly through the plains (the prairies for us Canadians) and while there has been a lot of beauty, it has been long driving. Many hours each day, although some beautiful sunsets.

Our first night was spent in a rest stop which was surprisingly quiet and we had a great nights sleep. Our second night, thanks to a friends book (Free Camping in the US), we found a beautiful spot, just off the highway, at a Nature Conservation facility where there was a lake, bathrooms and no one else. It was perfect for the night, totally quiet.

Tonight, we will be arriving in Lander, Wyoming and hopefully climbing in Wild Iris tomorrow. Lander offers free camping in the city center, so we will be taking advantage of this tonight.

So far, budgeting going well, except of course for the gas.

Loving it, can't wait to be seeing the beauty of the mountains.

Pics to follow next time we find some free internet.

On to Wyoming!

After a week in the Red, we are ready to leave.

Got some good climbing in, trying to get slowly back into shape. Spent a day working on a paintball course with our friends Matt and Amy and got to play at the end of the day. It was awesome. A must do, especially down here in the Red where the course is super cool.

Anyway, great times with friends as always.

Next stop is Wild Iris, Wyoming, followed shortly by Yellowstone National Park. However, it is supposed to snow on Monday there, so we're trying to beat the weather. We shall see how that goes. 3 days of driving ahead of us..

Pics to follow.. the road trip has begun

3 Weddings & 1 year of Honeymoon

How many people get to say that!

It has been any amazing 3 months since Jake and I stopped working. Between time in Columbus, time at the cottage and in Montreal, it has been an experience.

I don't think we could have pulled it off had we been working. The amount of time we spent at the cottage, getting the land prepared for 65 people, campers, food, bathrooms, and all the details of doing all this without electricity.

The end result in Montreal was magical. Everything I could have imagined, the island was alive with people, the energy was amazing. Having such a small group, and a wedding that went on for days in some ways, allowed us to be relaxed and enjoy the company of our friends. Waking up the next morning to coffee and bagels on the dock, taking a swim and enjoying the first beautiful weekend in a long time. We were so lucky.

Then down to Columbus for a simpler planning experience, but a beautiful day. It began with a church service, where I actually felt nervous for the first time. A walk down the isle with beautiful music, followed by some stellar photo taking at a covered bridge. A reception in the Kuenzli backyard with a tent, christmas lights and more candles. A few more people, but very enjoyable.

Oh yes, and for those of you who don't know, we got married for the 1st time, legally, in Montreal in April so we could begin our immigration process.

That being said, we are officially married, 3 times lucky, I hope :) And we are off on our next adventure.

Tomorrow we leave to spend a week or so in Kentucky and then our next stop is Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

We will keep you all posted and keept he pictures coming.

Speaking of pictures.

For Montreal wedding shots, some Columbus and a few more along the way, please go to http://picasaweb.google.ca/tjkuenzli

We hired a professional photographer, fellow climbers and friends Wes and Tanya Allen. They took some beautiful shots of the Columbus wedding. Please check those out at
http://redriverweddings.smugmug.com/gallery/5870596_vo56t

Enjoy