Here's Our New Ride!

[2TimingTom]

Talking about high altitude and inflated key fobs, here is a picture of my puffy nut bag. It was pretty funny, as the bag was tight like a balloon!

We bought a bag of popcorn (can't think of the name- black bag with white lettering, white cheddar cheese flavoring..... find it in the chip aisle at the grocery store) here in the Denver area. We tossed it in the back of the VUE and headed up Berthud Pass to go over to Winter Park. Just as he round the first slow speed switchback to really start climbing up Berthud Pass we hear a "BOOM!". My first thought was- damn, a tire just blew. But then I started to smell popcorn and the car wasn't riding funny. I stopped to check just to be sure and sure enough, the bag popped open right at the top.

 

[VinceL]

Patience cnsheets, patience! We have 11 more days to go, speaking of which, I think it is time for an update.

That must have given you a turn with an exploding bag of popcorn! I wish I had taken a photo of the key fob now, but I guess we'll just have to go back

 

[cnsheets]

Vince, is your wife ok with you showing everyone pictures of your puffy nut bag?

 

[peterk9]

Vince, is your wife ok with you showing everyone pictures of your puffy nut bag?

I had thoughts about that as well but successfully fought the temptation to post anything.

Peter

 

[VinceL]

Day 7:

Another big travel day, going from Sheridan to West Yellowstone. We didn't have the time to come through Yellowstone from Beartooth Mountains along 212 (the best way to enter from my research - also the Beartooth have some of the oldest exposed rock of approximately 4 billion years old), so we came in through Cody. Crossing the basin to get to Cody was the most boring way from what we could gather, so we tried to spice it up. We came through the Big Horn National Park, which had the coolest markers pointing at the rock alongside the road indicating how old the rock was. The nerd in me thought that was groovy, lol.

A quick stop by Shell Falls was in order to stretch the legs. The falls were pretty neat, and the scenery around was amazing. After a bit we were off again. We decided to head north the first chance we got and swung through Greybull and upwards through Lovell and over to Powell for a bite to eat and some more playground time for Christopher. After a bit we drove through Cody, which seems like a neat little town. Gotta love the touristy bits, just a bit more of classic Americana.

We had a great drive through the park getting to the hotel. Stopped a couple of different places for some pics, but looked forward to settling in for 3 nights at our hotel.

Here are some pics from the Big Horn National Forest:

Wow, 2.5 billion years old - we shoulda stopped just to touch it!

Shell Falls (and me trying to get a little artsy with the picture - notice the blur on the water ):

At the end of a little dirt road I decided to go down:

Me catching a little fly fishing:

Not really!

The scenery is amazing. You take pictures to only take more the next time the road takes a turn. The Explorer was still doing great. One fuel-up to report with 20.46mpg and 11694 miles on the odometer.

 

[VinceL]

Vince, is your wife ok with you showing everyone pictures of your puffy nut bag?

I had thoughts about that as well but successfully fought the temptation to post anything.

Peter

Ha! Took ya'll long enough

 

[FordService]

Hey guys,

If you love these gorgeous pics as much as I do, put on the “Great Outdoors” badge to show your nature love:

http://www.Social.Ford.com/grab-a-badge/great+outdoors

...At the end of a little dirt road I decided to go down:...

Wow, VinceL! Your shots make me feel like I’m along for the ride.

I suggest submitting some of this fantastic tale in the “Your Stories” section here:

http://www.Social.Ford.com/your-stories

Cory

 

[BobbyMarks]

Hey VinceL, Great sequence of events and pics!! WOW, what a trip!

Now, I have a question, I know there is a drought going on in certain areas, but how do you keep the EX clean for the pics?

Bobby

 

[VinceL]

Hey VinceL, Great sequence of events and pics!! WOW, what a trip!

Now, I have a question, I know there is a drought going on in certain areas, but how do you keep the EX clean for the pics?

Bobby

Glad you are enjoying the ride. The trip was awesome. We laugh when we bring up the next vacation, it is getting more and more difficult to top our previous vacations, but we are already thinking about the next, the Hawaiian islands. Don't think the Ex will be making that one though, lol.

Funny you should ask about keeping the car clean, because after looking the the pic that Cory included in his response, I was about to talk about it!

The drought actually helped a bit since the car only got rained on once. It also seems like it has tamed the insect population, so it wasn't as bad as I have seen. Nevertheless, we would run it through a gas station car wash every couple of days to knock off what bugs were splattered all over the front end. I never like letting bug guts sit on the paint too long. Also, before we left, the Ghost got a mega thorough cleaning and a fresh coat of wax all over, and an extra layer on the front end.

I fully expected to take all of these pics of the car along the way and wanted it to look its best. Now that I look back, the Ghost stayed pretty shiny the whole way. If you were to have been there and looked closer, you'd have seen a bunch of little bug bits, but she looked great from afar

 

[cnsheets]

If you were to have been there......

WOOHOOO, does that mean we are all invited on the next trip? Here we come Hawaii!!!!

 

[boltsfan17]

Awesome pics Vince!!!!

To add to cleaning, for removing bugs, the best stuff to use I found is called BEST Bug Off. It works really well. Better than anything I have tried from auto stores. You can buy it online or find it at an RV store.

 

[VinceL]

Day 8:

This is our first full day in Yellowstone. While packing up the car for the days run, our friend Stephen tossed something in the back, and look out! he hit the fold button and the seats, they started a'movin'!! A few frantic button presses and catastrophe was avoided, but the look on his face was great.

We dedicated a day for the south loop and the a day for the north loop. Today was the day for the south loop.

We ran from one site to see to the next. The maps tell you the big stuff, but the sides of the roads are lined with little signs pointed to side roads that have little surprises of their own. We only had time for two full days in Yellowstone, and we quickly realized that 3 would be a bare minimum, and four would be a lot better and give you the chance to go down and check out all of those little side roads and attractions.

The weather was again fabulous, and traffic in the park wasn't too bad. There were a couple of times that parking at bigger (yet smaller) stops was a bit tight. Circling for 10 minutes to find a parking spot can get a bit tiring. Speaking of tiring, man, we walked, climbed, scrambled, and stumbled all over Yellowstone. It is a way to get into shape quick, fast, and in a hurry! We especially loved seeing the "Got Oxygen" shirts in the gift shops. It was interesting listening to the people of various ages trying to catch their breath, but I will tell you what, there were a good number of oldsters who looked like they could barely walk tackling everything that got in their way. Talk about tenacious!!

Old Faithful was the big stop for this day, and we had a good time waiting for it. We watched it tease a little here and there before the big show. It is an awesome spectacle to see in person. The rest of the day we spent circling the loop and stopping off at every steamy hole we found

We started the day early and didn't get back to the hotel until after the sun set. Way too much to see!

Here is the start of our day:

As you can see, the hillside in the background fades pretty quickly into a haze. A haze that would plague us most of our trip. We would later find out that they were doing controlled burns in Yellowstone, and the smoke was ever present, and would get thick at times.

Here are some of the more 'thermally active' zones we passed through:

And of course, no Yellowstone travelogue is worth its weight in bytes if it didn't include this:

Old Faithful doing its thing!

Everywhere you turn is another breathtaking vista:

The view to end the day with:

It was then back to the hotel for an evening of rest, and a pizza from a local shop. Hit the spot after a busy day!

 

[VinceL]

WOOHOOO, does that mean we are all invited on the next trip? Here we come Hawaii!!!!

Sure, it'll be BYOE (bring your own everything) of course, but it'd be a blast!

Awesome pics Vince!!!!

To add to cleaning, for removing bugs, the best stuff to use I found is called BEST Bug Off. It works really well. Better than anything I have tried from auto stores. You can buy it online or find it at an RV store.

Thanks, I had a great time taking them all. And when I mean all, I mean 8,256 of them. Yeow! Had to buy a 32Gb card at the Wal-mart in Sheridan because I was quickly finding out that my 8Gb card wasn't going to cut it. I guess I should be thankful my camera is a 6MP, and not higher. I would have had to buy a bigger card!

As for the bug remover, thanks, I'll have to keep that in mind for next time. What we ended up doing most of the time was fill up first, and use the squeegees to knock the worst of the bugs off first. I'm not a fan of such rough techniques, but I was hoping that Ford has some good paint processes. Having cleaned the car up since the trip, I cannot find any long term damage (etching from bugs, or scratches from trying to keep it clean). I think the extra layer of wax helped. Next time I'll put an extra coat on

 

[peterk9]

Now my day is complete. Fantastic pics Vince. Really enjoying the trip and I can hardly wait until next year.

Peter

 

[gdecamp]

Hey Vince,

What a fantastic trip report! I really like your photos as well, thanks very much for taking the time to do this!!

 

[VinceL]

Hey Vince,

What a fantastic trip report! I really like your photos as well, thanks very much for taking the time to do this!!

Thanks gdecamp! Having seen your work, you saying you like my photos is quite the complement

As for taking the time, it is all my pleasure, but I have to admit it is taking more time than I anticipated. This is the first time doing something like this and I am trying to do it right. I am really enjoying that everyone is digging it!

Be sure to keep those comments and any questions you all have coming

 

[VinceL]

Day 9:

Today we dedicated to the north loop and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The Mammoth Hot Springs were just that, mammoth and hot! They were also one of the bigger highlights of the day. This day was also waterfall day, as there was a waterfall every time we turned a corner. The smoke was heavier today and took a toll on visibility and a number of our pictures. We stopped by the Norris Geyser Basin, and after hitting the 1.5 mile loop of the big basin, we headed over to walk the Porcelain Basin. There were lots of mini geysers and bubbling, steaming, reeking holes of either mud or water, lol The end of the day was left for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It is technically on the south loop, but we ran out of time and left it for the end of our north loop day. It was definitely worth it, and going down to see the lower falls (as grueling as the trek is) was totally worth it.

Here we are parked in front of Roaring Mountain (which by the way hasn't roared since the 1920's or something like that!):

Here are some various waterfalls that we came across:

Here are some from the Norris Geyser Basin (where parking actually stinks more than the steaming holes):

A mini-geyser:

The Porcelain Basin (named because of all the geyserite (white stuff) all over the ground):

Some mountain pass (it all begins to run together!):

Beryl Spring is one of the hottest springs in the park with a water temperature hovering around the boiling point:

Mammoth Hot Springs:

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone:

The Upper Falls:

Light was obviously starting to fade. Check out the smoke plume in the background blotting out the sky (nope, those weren't clouds)

The Lower Falls:

The haze was strong with this one...

Extreme close up!!! Problem was, my lens wasn't quite wide enough to capture the whole thing!

Warning signs: Yellowstone is covered in them and the graphics can be pretty funny:

Having maxed out what we could do in a single day, we again drove back to the hotel in the dark, all of us ready for some shut eye. But first things first, we have to get all the cameras, camcorders, and phones on their chargers for the night!

On a side note, MFT locked up super-hard today. It was non-responsive. The USB reboot file did nothing, cycling the ignition and door opening and closing did nothing. Nothing did anything. We finally just left it alone and we came back to the car one time and it was doing its scheduled maintenance. That brings the total reboot count to something around 5. Most of the time it wasn't obvious that it rebooted except that the screen stayed black longer after we started the car and all of the recent destinations were erased (which sucked because it is easier to set a destination from that screen). Other than that, MFT's NAV was a trooper, having every paved and dirt road we came across accurately depicted on the map. The NAV continues to impress me.

One fuel-up to record today at 22.59mpg.

 

[VinceL]

Day 10:

This was mainly a travel day, with a cruise through, and stretch and walk stop in, the Grand Tetons. Now that is what a mountain range should look like. It was incredible. That thar is some big mountains. We stopped off at Jenny Lake (Jennifer liked that one), and took the opportunity to stretch the legs and walk a few of the paths. What a pleasant surprise that stop was. Funny thing is, we have whole other vacations we can create from the little stuff along the way that we didn't plan for, but ended up really enjoying.

The Grand Tetons:

Panorama did you say?

After hopping back into the car, off we went and made our way to Jackson Hole where we stopped for some Dairy Queen (we were a little homesick, haha). I enjoyed a hot and tasty serving of fried cheese curds. They were tasty. I keep forgetting to get some fresh ones whenever I am in Wisconsin!

In planning our trip to Rawlins, I tried my best to make sure the ride was scenic. The two typical routes, 191 and 287, had good and bad aspects, but I was trying to avoid any barren wastelands, so i decided to deviate. Using MFT's excellent NAV map interface (not really - it is a total PITA to scroll the screen around. Too much of the map's detail is lost when zooming out, but zoomed in, scrolling around is wayyyyy too tedious), I selected a new route that looked to stay in the mountains most of the way. My new route took us down 89. Little did I know just how far west that would take us. so far west and south, that we were able to add to our list these to destinations:

and

Whoops! My little detour added about 2 or so hours to the day's driving... so we ended up taking 12 full hours getting to Rawlins. Ugh!! We saw some amazing scenery, but yikes, holy mis-mapping Batman

Had the chance to go through another tunnel or two, watch the storms all around us, see a beautiful sunset, and drive through desolate country at night Again, we found ourselves testing Verizons coverage map. Again we found a number of holes. That became the new game in the car, seeing if we had coverage and seeing whose phone did have it or not.

Christopher did well on the trip, and Uncle Stevo was able to find some small community parks along the way to take some time out to stretch and play.

We had two fuel-up with 21.28mpg and 26.51mpg.

 

[VinceL]

Before I forget, here is one of the 'thermal area' warning signs. It appears that our intrepid tourist from the Bison bison warning sign is in trouble once again

 

[boltsfan17]

Sure, it'll be BYOE (bring your own everything) of course, but it'd be a blast!



Thanks, I had a great time taking them all. And when I mean all, I mean 8,256 of them. Yeow! Had to buy a 32Gb card at the Wal-mart in Sheridan because I was quickly finding out that my 8Gb card wasn't going to cut it. I guess I should be thankful my camera is a 6MP, and not higher. I would have had to buy a bigger card!

As for the bug remover, thanks, I'll have to keep that in mind for next time. What we ended up doing most of the time was fill up first, and use the squeegees to knock the worst of the bugs off first. I'm not a fan of such rough techniques, but I was hoping that Ford has some good paint processes. Having cleaned the car up since the trip, I cannot find any long term damage (etching from bugs, or scratches from trying to keep it clean). I think the extra layer of wax helped. Next time I'll put an extra coat on

That sounds like me. I always take a ton of pictures when I take trips. I'm real big into photography. I usually bring like 6 memory cards with me just in case.

Where I live here in California, there are so many bugs. A week after I wash my car, I probably have every species of insect in North America dead on my windshield and bumper. Sometimes it's difficult to get the bugs out just by washing the car. I don't like scrubbing hard to remove the bugs since I don't want to damage the paint. I was trying to find a better bug remover then what's available at your local auto store. From searching, I found rave reviews about the B.E.S.T. Bug Remover. I ordered a few bottles and it works great. It was kind of hard to find online. Not many places carry it. Here is where I ordered the Bug Remover just in case you might want to try it one day:

http://www.rvupgradestore.com/Bug-Off-p/38-8488.htm?cvsfa=3124&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=33382d38343838

That RV store shipped it pretty fast.

BTW, your last set of pictures are stunning. I need to visit that area of the country one of these days.