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I’m not through sending out Yellowstone pictures, but now we’re moving again.  We drove south to Montpelier, Idaho.

 

2026 Summer Trip Map link

 

Some KOAs are gravel parking lots.  Not this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LeHardys Rapids

 

 

 

 

 

A good place for American Dippers.  One of my all-time favorite birds.  They feed underwater in swift water.  Sometimes they walk around out of the water and pick at bugs and grubs underneath the surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes they go all-in and dive underwater to graze the deeper streambed.

 

 

Hayden Valley

 

 

 

 

 

A good place for bison.

 

 

 

 

And ravens.

 

 

Catching bugs.

 

 

And Trumpeter Swans.

 

 

The road to Yellowstone

 

 

Smoke almost all the way here, but it suddenly got better the last hour of the day.  A short layover at a lush city park in Ennis.  Green grass for Jesse to run in, roll on, and shake off the road dust.

 

And on into town at West Yellowstone.

 

2026 Summer Trip map

 

The weather is cool.  The air is clear.  Perfect.

 

We’ve always stayed at Grizzly RV park right in town for easy access to Yellowstone’s west gate.  It’s by far the nicest park in the neighborhood.  I looked online for reservations and they’re now $200 a night for a van.  We booked at the KOA five miles outside of town instead.  We’re very happy with this KOA campsite.

 

First things first, after setting up camp, a drive back into town for an early dinner of chicken fried steak at our favorite eatery, the Old Town Café.

 

So familiar.

 

 

Then a late afternoon drive into the park.  Yellowstone is so crowded in the summer, but going in in the evening avoided any lines, a lot of the traffic, and many times we felt like we had individual spots to ourselves.

 

Didn’t go very far in today; Madison Junction and then off to the south for some mud, steam, and geysers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And encrusted pinecones.

 

Jesse crashes out before we even finish getting set up for the night.