Monday, September 25, 2023

2020 pandemic road trip to from Wisconsin to Montana: Chapter 5

  
Heading to Yellowstone National Park

Photos by Retiring Guy


Sunday, September 20. 2020 

With Yellowstone National Park on our itinerary, we packed for the possibility of cool weather. Not long johns and parkas but items we could layer to ward off the cold. And as it turned out, the weather during a 7+ hour visit was cool, windy and damp, although the occasional rain was never more than an annoying drizzle. 



We left Cody at 7:00 and arrived at the eastern gate of Yellowstone at 8:15, where only a few cars waited in line to enter the park. The only logical alternative, the north entrance, is accessed via I-90 and exiting onto U.S. 87 at Livingston, Montana, but a number of views of the park’s webcams at the north entrance prior to our departure led me to believe it was a must to avoid, even in the off-season. 




The forest along the eastern access road exhibits extensive fire and bark beetle damage In the former case, trees stand bare, their needles or leaves singed to a powder, their trunks blackened in spots. In the latter case, all of the limbs and twigs remain in place, giving the tree a skeletal look. The damage is extensive throughout a large swath of the park east of Yellowstone Lake. No similar sightings were made in other areas is the park.




Read about the entire trip

And check out "Covid Chronicles" here.

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