Trip through Yellowstone in May

bcaddel · April 07, 2009, 08:26:57 PM

We are ready to make our first really big trip in our mc7. The plan is to leave May 1st but we may leave a week or so sooner depending on business levels at work. The plan is to take at least 30 days and travel about 7,500 miles and visit many friends and family during the trip. We have been reading this board for almost a year now and have learned so much from everone and feel we are ready to take one of our biggest steps towards determining our lifestyle once we actually get to retire in a couple of years. We are thinking about Full Timing and this should give us a nice peek into that lifestyle and how well we can function living together 24 hours a day in such small living quarters.

We have installed our Jake Brakes, invested in a great GPS system, have out toad all outfitted, ordered our copy of "The Bus Garage Index" just in case the bus is not in as good of shape as we think it is in. We spent all last weekend polishing aluminum and praticed sitting under the canopy and drinking a couple of adult beverages once Happy Hour arrived. Is there anyting I forgot? Oh yea, I guess the cell phone and checkbook.

Anyway, my question is toward the end of May we will be coming back towards home (Reno,NV) and plan to drive through Yellowstone. Is there any issues with driving our bus (12 ft height and 40 ft length) into the park and on the smaller roads in the park? We took our pick up camper to Yellowstone last year and toured the park on Snow Mobiles in March. There was lots of snow on the ground in March but I assume that will all or most be gone by the end of May. I have read that many national parks cannot support a RV the size of a bus but assume you can drive through the park without encountering too many low hanging limbs or curvy roads?

I haven't had 30 days off work in almost 30 years so as you can imagine we are really getting anxious for our big adventure and appreciate any input especially on Yellowstone.

Bob

gumpy · April 07, 2009, 09:18:01 PM

I've not taken my bus into Yellowstone, and it's been several years since I was through there (like 20), but I don't remember any reason I'd be concerned other than the narrow roads, wild life, and stupid tourists (the smart ones are ok).

I see your route takes you through Minneapolis. If you need assistance through that area, feel free to contact me.

craig

Sean · April 07, 2009, 10:14:45 PM

Bob,

Our coach is 40' long, 100" wide and 13' tall, and weighs 47,000 lbs. We had no problems anywhere in Grand Teton, John Rockefeller, or Yellowstone parks. You can get a feel for the roads and campgrounds by reading our blog entries for June, 2008 here:

http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html

Scroll down to June 8, when we arrived at Grand Teton, and read upwards (the blog is posted in reverse order) through June 21, when we wrapped up in Yellowstone.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

Barn Owl · April 07, 2009, 10:15:06 PM

Quickly becoming one of the best reference/how to guides for our type of travel is Sean's blog:

Our Odyssey

I typed "Yellowstone" in the search box and it took me to the part of the blog where they wrote about their visit to Yellowstone:

Our Odyssey - Yellowstone

You will find that they have probably been almost everywhere, some places more than once. I am planning a trip in middle May to middle June and have found the "mechanics" involved in living and traveling in a bus have taken on a new meaning and has become some the most important parts of their blog to me.

Try to incorporate the Beartooth Highway into your trip, into or out of Yellowstone. It is one of the great American Byways and some consider it one of the most beautiful roads in America. If you make a big "S" through Yellowstone you can see just about everything. I am going to post my final plans sometime in the near future but I will link to my Yellowstone portion here:

My plans for Yellowstone

I am traveling up from the south up into the Tetons but instead of going into the south entrance I am going to go up the back side and enter into the west because the Idaho scenery is worth the few extra miles.

There is a flaw in Google's maps that will not allow a connection between Cooke City Mo. to Red Lodge Mo. but here is a link to the Beartooth Highway:

Beartooth Highway

Barn Owl · April 07, 2009, 10:18:00 PM

Ok, so Sean can type faster than I can. Obviously by looking at the size of his blog he has had good pratice. I just missed beating his post by a few seconds.

Barn Owl · April 07, 2009, 10:22:09 PM

But I took the time to clean up my links. Ha!

Barn Owl · April 07, 2009, 10:26:08 PM

Sean if I recall you got snowed on while you where there in May/June. That is what I mean about how valuable this type of information is. I am packing summer and winter clothes because of what I have learned by reading the blog.

bobofthenorth · April 08, 2009, 03:49:06 AM

This is my free advice and therefore worth exactly what you are paying for it but ..... if you are going to do all that travel in 30 days then you are going to spend WAY too much time driving and not enough time living. Its a big country and it will still be there next year and the year after. Don't try to see it all at once.

John316 · April 08, 2009, 05:09:18 AM

Yup, I agree with Bob. You have more driving that you are planning on. Yes it is doable, though. We had one trip where we had to be on the west coast (San Jose, CA) one weekend, and the next weekend in Connecticut, and the next weekend halfway across the States again.

So, if you can, enjoy that trip, and slow down a little. There are lots of places that you would like to spend more time at, but I know from experience, it is too bad to just keep on pushing.

God bless,

John

bcaddel · April 08, 2009, 06:04:13 AM

I got started reading some of Sean's adventures last night and really enjoyed it. I haven't even got to the Yellowstone part yet and that is what I went there to read. I will today though. The main thing is appears there are no issues with driving the bus through the park so that will most likely be a part of our trip.

A couple of folks mentioned that we are driving too many miles in a short time frame. I agree with that but for working folks, there aren't that many options. We have covered the western half of the country pretty well over our lifetime (we're both in our early 60's) but haven't gotten to the east coast. I used to be in the aircraft business in the 70's and flew small aircraft around a lot of that part of the country but only saw airports, hotel rooms and maybe a couple of nightclubs but haven't traveled the roads.

So for us to get on the East side of the country we needed to take a bigger vacation (30 days) and that is pretty hard to come by for most working folks, but we did it. I probably won't be able to do so again until probably after I retire in 5 or so years. My dad coverted this bus and by the time he got it converted he was in his late 60's and he was not comfortable driving long distances, like we want to do. My point is I don't want to be 70 years and saying I wish I had taken a trip to the east coast and seen that part of the country back when I was healthy and had the energy and ability to do so.

We are both in good health now but who knows what will happen in that much time. So I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else but that is the reason for covering so much ground in the short time frame. We both just want to see that part of the country.

Plus that's why we have the coach, I enjoy the driving there more that the actual arrival. The wife could go shopping and visiting for days at a time, but once I get there, get set up and have a shot of whiskey, I am usually starting to get anxious to get back on the road again..

Thanks again for all the input and hope to meet up along the road.

John316 · April 08, 2009, 06:13:33 AM

BC,

I agree. Of course my comments were barring working folks. Retirees can toodle along at whatever speed that they want, working people can't.

You guys will do just fine. You will just be glad to get back home.

Good job, and have fun.

God bless,

John

Ed Hackenbruch · April 08, 2009, 08:01:58 AM

I would just stay home Bob. Yellowstone is going to explode and take out the Eastern U.S., Mt. Saint Helens or Rainier to the North will take out the Pacific NW. and when the big one hits the San Andreas fault that will take out California. You may end up with a lava field to your north and beach front property to your east and west. Got room in your yard for a few busnuts? Of course if an asteroid hits anywhere all bets are off as to being safe anywhere.

Enjoy your trip.

Sean · April 08, 2009, 09:08:05 AM

Bob,

Glad you are getting something useful out of our blog.

Looking at your route map, I will say that we've covered most of that territory in our bus, and you can get specific information from the blog by using the search function at the upper left, or the "topic" pull-down in the sidebar, on the right. We've categorized all our posts by state, as well as type of camping (National Park, State Park, municipal park, private RV park, dry camping in parking lots, BLM, etc.). In particular, we just did part of your route along the southeastern coastal states last year.

I don't know if you are mostly an RV park/reservation sort of camper, or a catch-as-catch can (we fall into this latter category), but I will tell you that the east is very different from the west when it comes to finding camp sites, and you will see this reflected in some of our posts. In the east, having the right resources at hand, and having a backup plan, is essential.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

Tom Y · April 08, 2009, 04:48:55 PM

Bob, We had snow there in June. For your imfo. Tom Y

bcaddel · April 08, 2009, 06:36:47 PM

Thanks Tom, I also noticed in Sean's pictures that it was snowing in June last year at Yellowstone. We went there last March and rode snowmobiles towards the end of March and I think they said they were closing the snowmobile riding in the Park by the end of march and would plow the roads in preparation for car traffic in April I don't mind a little snow in the air just don't want much of it on the road.