Day 4: Camping is fun

"We are beginners"

In order to get one of the good first-come, first-serve campsites in Yellowstone during the Forth of July weekend we decided we'd need to get to the campsite when it opened at 7am. This in turn meant being at the west park entrance at 6:00am when it opened up, which meant we were packing up and departing the hotel at 5:45am. A little early for us particularly when you compare it to the last six weeks of the program and our time off since graduation. Early bird gets the worm though and we were not about to be shut out of camping altogether on this trip - I bought a sleeping bag and safety whistle damn it. Despite staying up late to see if Michael "I'm the smoothest badass on the planet in this movie" Douglas would successful kill Gwyneth Paltrow in A Perfect Murder, we were able to hit this schedule, successfully securing a premier spot in the L loop of Grant Village.

Apparently, the best time to explore Yellowstone is the very early morning, which makes sense because it's quiet and peaceful and all the animals are hanging out doing stuff. And it really is beautiful in the morning as the sun hits the water and other natural things that are in nature.

We had joked about seeing animals at a close distance - I have often mentioned my fear of a bear encounter - but we had no idea we could see animals of  such size and scope as we did this morning. Notably, we had a showdown with a herd of buffalo that were blocking our road that eventually became this photo op.

I suppose we should have read the safety material they gave us at the gate before walking up to arms length distance, but they seemed very friendly and happy to be eating grass or whatever growing nature greenery they were enjoying.

Our campground consisted of a spacious pad of dirt, not one, not two, but three luxurious picnic tables and a fire pit that would eventually consume much of our time and lure us into a false sense of security. We set up the tent, played with the fire for a bit and made a couple of quick breakfast sandwiches before setting of to the visitors center to obtain a trail guide and fishing licenses.

At the desk where you get a fishing license we talked to a nice ranger who told us what flies to use and where to go. There were pictures of him with giant trout on the wall, presumably ones he caught, so we figured his advice would be as good as any we'd get out here. He explained to us that number 16 elk hair caddis flies were excellent this time of year. I must have stared at him so blankly that not only did he asked us if we knew what those were but his assistant came over from her location and told him to write it down for us. Scott Lee then added, "We are beginners," in case they couldn't tell by my Wal-mart  fishing vest and red Nike Shox running shoes. We did get our permits and trail guide though and set off to see the next viewing of Old Faithful at 10:39am plus/minus 10 minutes.

At 10:35am when we pulled up we noticed everyone leaving and knew we'd be stuck waiting another 60-90 minutes. Which was fine as we got to walk around and look at all the other less-cool geysers while getting the smell of sulfur on our clothes. Plus they had phone network access there so I could check ESPN and see who LBJ was meeting with at that point in time.

Old Faithful was pretty cool. It would be cooler with an opening act, a countdown clock, fireworks, a scoreboard monitor of some kind and Bruce Springsteen playing as it goes off, but I suppose those things aren't in the budget. The Japanese tourists that clap when it erupts would love it though. "It got pretty high," says Scott Lee, "I've seen higher".

After another sandwich for lunch we headed to Lake Village and the Elephant trail, a moderate strenuous hike that would reward us with a picturesque view of Lake Yellowstone. The hike was accurately described. I was respectably tired when we were finished and there was a nice view of the lake, but even so I still don't understand hiking. And this included a cool deer attack on Scott Lee (not pictured); both the deer and Scott Lee survived.

The day of activities continued with a round of fly fishing in a creek off of Lewis Lake. I use the term fishing loosely however, as our ability to catch fish was hindered greatly by a) the worst fishing rods you could ever assemble b) an army of mosquitos and c) general lack of ability. We had a great time nonetheless attempting to cast at fish we believe to exist. Look out Colleen, Scott Lee may have found a new hobby. The rods will be unceremoniously be disposed of tomorrow and instantaneously we will become 17 percent better anglers.

Dinner tonight was revolutionary by camping standards. Two newly invented Mike Ham recipes were made, but I cannot detail them here. Once perfected, one will be introduced when my smoker is built and the other at the next seafood boil. Stay tuned, you most certainly will want to try the dessert.

Finally, our evening concludes with a large campfire and bitter, bone-chilling cold. The fire was, well a fire. And the cold, damn the cold…that will be detailed tomorrow.

Meghann Glavin Highlight of the Day:

Scott Lee: Fly fishing with $25 Wal-mart rods
Mike Ham: Buffalo encounters

Tomorrow's Agenda
Route: Yellowstone > Greystone > Gillette > Custer > Mount Rushmore > Rapid City
Estimated Distance: 552 miles
Estimated Time: 9 hours 35 minutes