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On Thursday we left the Tetons and started to head east. We changed our plans for our campsites for the next week due to the heat that was forecast. With the highs supposed to be over 30 degrees C, we were concerned it might be too challenging to sleep, since our campgrounds looked like there was no shade and no electric hookups. We headed to a town called Thermopolis in Wyoming where there are hot springs. The last hour of our drive was through the Wind Canyon and was spectacular!

We had an early supper when we arrived at our campground and headed to the hot springs and spent the next couple of hours there. They had both indoor and outdoor pools but they kept the temperatures around 35-37 degrees C. They did however, have a hot tub outside that was kept at a nice 39 degrees C.

We spent 2 nights there before moving on towards South Dakota. We made a stopover on Saturday night in a city park in Douglas where we had stopped on our way to Yellowstone. It was a nice quiet place along the river with only a few other campers for the night.

On Sunday we arrived in South Dakota where we are staying for 5 nights. Once again we have reserved an electric site since most of the time we are expecting temperatures around 30 degrees C. It’s a small campground that had one last site available for Sunday night but by Monday there were lots of sites empty.

Today we decided to go for a drive to the north. There is a large area in this corner of South Dakota called the Black Hills which has a lot of tourism and national parks to explore. We drove through Wind Cave National Park but the cave there is closed this month for some maintenance work. From there we went into Custer State Park and drove the loop road. There were lots of bison there – unfortunately we are too early for their bison roundup which occurs the end of September. It is a real event to see apparently.

We also saw a group of burros on the road. Years ago the burros were used for pack animals for travelling through the area. When they were no longer used, they were released into the wild to roam. However, they have become beggars since people feed them! It causes quite the traffic tie up at this location, where they tend to stay, since there is a stream for water and a grove of trees for shade.

We headed back to our campsite mid afternoon since there was some possibility of thunderstorms and the weather changed from our clear blue skies and 33 degrees C to dark clouds and 17 degrees C. We may wait until Wednesday to resume our sightseeing since there is a cold front and cloudy weather forecast for tomorrow.

It’s a good thing we set multiple alarms – Paul’s phone didn’t go off this morning despite him asking Siri to turn on his alarm and he says he saw it on…. Anyways we had a pleasant surprise when we go up – it was actually 12 degrees C so much warmer than yesterday was. Unfortunately we also had a fairly stiff wind so it made for rougher water. There were lots of people for this morning’s boat cruise- over 50 which meant they took 2 boats out. The horizon was also hazy compared with yesterday morning. One of the staff commented she wondered if it was because of the wildfires. We haven’t experienced any on this trip, but I guess it could be, yet there was no smoke smell. Disembarking at the island for breakfast was rough with the boat crashing against the floating dock.

Breakfast was cooked by staff who came over at 6 am with all the food. It included trout, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, pancakes, lots of fresh fruit and yogurt with granola, and danishes/muffins. Along with juices and hot chocolate, there was cowboy coffee made over the fire. What they do is simply put the coffee grounds in the coffee pot and add water and boil it over the fire. Paul noted the “sludge” in the bottom of his cup as the grounds aren’t filtered out!

The water in Jackson Lake is down nearly 10’ from normal. The people in Idaho own the top 30’ of the reservoir and they have started taking the water out. We were told they probably will only have about another week of boat cruises before the water is too low to dock.

The dam holds the water in Jackson Lake an extra 39’ in height. It was reinforced in hopes of being able to withstand a fairly significant earthquake.

After our ride, we went for another drive to see an area we had missed yesterday. We drove a 5 mile road up Signal Mountain. The sky seemed a bit clearer when we got to the top.

On our way down the mountain we saw a moose grazing in the trees just a short distance from the road and were able to snap a few pictures.

We also stopped at Jenny Lake Lodge – much newer and more modern architecture than the one at Old Faithful but there is a nice viewing lounge and often the animals are grazing.

Large windows overlooking the meadow make a good view to watch for moose but none were evident when we went through.

We were able to get a view of Jenny Lake from a lookout at the side of the road. There are hikes to a waterfall and boat cruises on the lake as well.

It was a good day and we headed back by 5 to barbeque supper before it got dark! Tomorrow we leave the Tetons and head to central Wyoming where we hope to get to some more hot springs. We also expect hot weather for the next week.