From Jackson, we had to drive north back through Grand Teton National Park to get to Yellowstone National Park, which was about a 2 hour and 45-minute drive. Yellowstone is the eighth national park we have visited since we started full-time RV traveling. Yellowstone became the first national park in 1872 when Ulysses S. Grant was President. The park is known for its wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, cougars, bison, and elk (Pat was hoping to see a moose but none engaged us) and its many geothermal features, including the Old Faithful geyser. Yellowstone Lake is centered over Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super volcano on the continent (it is now considered a dormant volcano), which created Yellowstone’s geothermal features. 
Once we entered Yellowstone, we drove directly to the Old Faithful Visitor Center (before driving to our campground) and parked in the lot there. Old Faithful was named in 1870 and was the first named geyser in the park. So named because eruptions can be predicted within 20 minutes of accuracy. Intervals between eruptions can range from 60 to 110 minutes, averaging 66.5 minutes in 1939, and slowly increasing to an average of 90 minutes apart today.
Once we arrived at the Old Faithful Visitor Center, it was about another hour wait until the Old Faithful geyser would erupt again, so we wandered through the Visitor Center and a nearby gift shop. We headed out to the seating located around Old Faithful about 10 minutes before its earliest predicted eruption time, but it started to rain while we were sitting there, so we came back inside for a few minutes. We ventured out again after the rain subsided and sat again in time to experience the eruption, which we captured in pictures and on video. During the eruption, there was lightning in the distance from the storm that had just passed over us, giving us an extra eerie and exciting feeling. 
After experiencing Old Faithful’s eruption, we drove the RV (and rental car) to our first campground within Yellowstone National Park: Madison Campground. We were especially excited about staying at Madison Campground because our friend, Ellie, was working at the campground. We met Ellie when we stayed at Bentsen Palm Village RV Park in Mission, Texas, in December 2022. Ellie was working on the activities committee at Bentsen Palm, and we really enjoyed the activities and made fast friends with Ellie (see our blog post entitled, “A True Resort,” from December 21, 2022). We had a nice chat with Ellie as we checked in and then drove to our RV site.
Our RV site was a pull-through site, made of gravel/dirt. There were no hookups at this RV site, so we were boondocking for the night. The RV site did have a picnic table and a fire pit though, but no grill.
Campers were not allowed to run a generator between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., so we once again had to be careful about running the furnace too much on the house batteries. We made it through the night, started the generator in the morning, and left Madison Campground after saying goodbye to Ellie.
Before we drove to our new campground in Yellowstone, we parked the RV at the nearby Madison picnic area and drove the rental car to the West Yellowstone Visitor Center to get our passbooks stamped and to buy some souvenirs. We ate lunch at a McDonald’s close to the visitor center.
After lunch, we drove to Grand Prismatic Spring in the midway geyser basin and walked the trail around the springs taking numerous pictures of its beautiful features. Old Faithful might be more famous, but the Grand Prismatic Spring is the most photographed thermal feature of Yellowstone because of its bright colors and enormous size (bigger than a football field; the largest hot spring in the United States). The Grand Prismatic Spring is formed by hot water rising from magma deep in the earth to the surface of the earth. The temperature of the spring ranges from 188 to 205 degrees, so no bathing in this hot spring! 
Next, we drove to Fairy Falls (make your jokes here) and saw some bison along the way!
We hiked uphill at Fairy Falls about .6 miles to an observation point for the Grand Prismatic Spring. 
We also started to hike the trail to Fairy Falls, which we thought was about a half mile; but after about a half mile there was signage that said it was another 1.6 miles to the falls. We turned around at that point because we were not prepared for a hike that was that long (no hiking boots, no sunscreen, no hats, and not enough water).
We drove the rental car back to where we left the RV, then drove both the rental car and the RV to our next campground within Yellowstone: Fishing Bridge RV Park. The drive took about an hour and a half due to construction going on, which resulted in numerous slowdowns and at times a very bumpy ride on unpaved roads. We finally arrived at Fishing Bridge RV Park, where we had full hookups this time. Our RV site was gravel/dirt, fairly level, and with a picnic table (no grill or fire pit).
The next day, we drove the rental car toward the Mammoth Hot Springs area near the north entrance of the park. Along the way, we stopped at the Mud Volcano (a volcano-like cone, 30 by 30 feet high and wide, with mud that erupts), Dragon’s Mouth Spring, and Roaring Mountain.
After arriving at Mammoth Hot Springs, we walked on the boardwalks surrounding the springs. Mammoth Hot Springs is a much different feature from other parts of Yellowstone, as it looks like an inside-out cave covered in white. 
Next, we drove to the nearby Albright Visitor Center at the north entrance to the park and got directions to the Roosevelt Arch, which was the original entrance gate to Yellowstone National Park, completed in 1903 for horse-drawn carriages (the cornerstone was laid by President Roosevelt, thus the name).
We drove the temporary road to the north entrance of the park (a temporary road had to be built because portions of the original road were washed out by the record-breaking floods that occurred in June 2022), which was actually fun to drive since it curved one way and then the other down the mountain to the park entrance but we could NEVER have driven it in the RV! We took pictures at Roosevelt Arch, then drove into the town of Gardiner, Montana, located at the north entrance of the park, and ate dinner at a restaurant called Antler Pub and Grill. Tim had the club sandwich and fries, while Pat had a pulled pork sandwich and waffle fries.
After dinner, we drove back to the Fishing Bridge RV Park, spotting many bison along the way, including a few walking down the highway and right past the driver’s side window (we had stopped so as not to frighten them).We stopped at a few locations to take pictures, including at Canyon Falls (20 years previously, we hiked down from the top to the bottom of the falls with our kids, but that trail is now closed because it became dangerous).
We had a full day; arriving back at Fishing Bridge just as the sun set.
The following day was a rainy one, so we spent the day doing laundry, catching up paying bills, and reading emails. We also ventured over to the general store to buy a few grocery items. Not a remarkably busy last day in Yellowstone, but we sure saw a lot throughout our time there!
Review of Madison Campground
Madison Campground is at an elevation of 6,800 feet and is set in a partly wooded area known for its great fishing and convenient location with regards to Old Faithful and the Upper, Midway, and Lower Geyser Basins. The campground is near the Madison River and has magnificent views of the National Park Mountain; and there is an outdoor amphitheater near the river. The Madison Information Station is located nearby, where you can obtain information about the park from a ranger and shop for souvenirs.
There are 278 individual and 3 group sites for RVs and tents. None of the sites have hookups for electricity, water, or sewer (a dump station is available); however, all sites have a picnic table and fire pit. The sites can only accommodate RVs up to 40 feet long.
Cell service is even more limited at Madison than the spotty coverage at the rest of the park. There are no laundry facilities. There are 14 restrooms located at the campground, but these do not have showers.
While Madison Campground is located in a beautiful area that is convenient to some of the most popular attractions in Yellowstone National Park, the drawbacks are no hookups and limited cell service. Since we prefer our full hookups, we would probably stay at a different campground in Yellowstone rather than return to Madison Campground.
Review of Fishing Bridge RV Park
Fishing Bridge RV Park is located near the mouth of the Yellowstone River as it leaves Yellowstone Lake. The RV Park is named after the Fishing Bridge, a wooden vehicle bridge that used to be a popular place for fishing for trout; however, fishing is no longer allowed from the bridge. A pine forest surrounds the RV Park.
The RV Park was recently renovated to include new and larger sites and an expanded registration building with more showers and a larger laundry facility. Indeed, the laundry facility was huge. Campers get two free showers per day, per reservation. There is also a small retail space in the registration building with limited items.
Fishing Bridge RV Park has 310 sites that are only for RVs because the RV Park is located near a bear habitat. All RV sites have full hookups and a picnic table, but no fire pits or grills. The RV Park has sites that can accommodate up to 90 feet of an RV and a towed vehicle.
Fishing Bridge RV Park is located near the Fishing Bridge Museum and Visitor’s Center, where you can obtain information about the park from a ranger and purchase souvenirs. The Visitor’s Center also has an amphitheater. Additionally, there is a general store located nearby with a large number of grocery items and camping essentials. It also has a restaurant for sandwiches and burgers (the restaurant had not yet opened for the season during our stay).
We really liked all of the amenities at Fishing Bridge RV Park; especially, the large laundry facility and the general store located nearby. In addition, the RV Park had the quiet and tranquility one would want at a campground in Yellowstone. We would definitely consider staying at Fishing Bridge RV Park again if we find ourselves in Yellowstone in the future.
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