Thank you roadtrippers for this gem. My husband and I were on our way to Yellowstone and I insisted we stopped here. We were alone most of the time. A few people stopped in and seemed really disturbed and left. I got TONS of awesome photos and we did a lot of exploring. This place is a real trip. Loved it!
We arrived at Yellowstone on a Saturday morning and were very surpised to hear from a ranger at Old Faithful that we should be to find a camp site so we headed straight to Norris. We scored a camp site on loop A (lower loop near to the meadows). The rangers here were very nice and the ranger museum is also there. They sometimes have campfire talks at night and we learned a lot about the Shoshone/Sheep Eater Indians from a new ranger.
Be aware though.... This camp site is very near a lot of wild life. It is Yellowstone. Our first day there 3 bison came into our camp, large 1k+ lb males. They simply grazed on grass. Always keep a distance from Bison and if they look at you and raise their tail and arn't poopin, take cover because they will likely charge. A few days later when I awoke in the morning I saw the same bison running up the road and they ended up charging straight through our camp within feet of myself who was getting ready to duck under a picnic table and my husband who was peaking out the tent. Just be safe and remember wild animals though beautiful are wild and should be respected as such.
OH. I also saw what is apparently a rare site in Yellowstone near the restroom in A loop. A yellow bellied weasel. It was very neat
just spent almost a week in yellowstone. it was great and all the rangers seemed really knowledgeable and awesome. please be a respectful camper and a smart driver and for gods sake don't be stupid around wild animals. i actually saw people circle around a bear with their children to take photos. they are wild animals and should be admired from a very safe distance. if you do not believe me, get the book in their giftshop called Death in Yellowstone. Darwin, I swear.
Mono Lake is breath taking. The flies are pretty gross but you get over it. Even Mark Twain commented on them. No body can take a bad photo of mono and when I went we were the only people brave enough to take a dip or a float as it were. Bring a jug of water with you. Some people are sensitive to all the salt in the water so just rinse yourself off when you are done!
Bodie is AWESOME been visiting since I was a child. If you look it up on youtube there is a great old black and white video about it from the 50's.
It's not private property it is a state park. If I recall it's $7 per person or per vehicle to enter. I could be wrong. Bodie is awesome but avoid going when the place is swamped by rude German tourists. I've been going there since I was a child, it never disappoints.