Steven and Betty RV Adventures

FLAGG RANCH, WY. We drove cars and motorhomes separately to the Cody rodeo stadium parking lot, hooked up cars to motorhomes, then proceeded to Flagg Ranch, WY. The RV park was just too cramped to do all that for 16 motorhomes at once. I delivered a short devotional, this being Sunday morning, before departing. It was a short drive to Flagg Ranch.

As we were connecting our brake system hose from motorhome to jeep, we noticed the connector for the jeep was damaged beyond use. It had become disconnected and dragged on the road from Buffalo to Cody. When Betty disconnected the Jeep upon arrival, she did not notice that the one end was dragging, so this meant driving without the brakes connected from Cody to Flagg Ranch. Apparently the weight of the Jeep is so insignificant compared with the motorhome that the motorhome air brakes can handle both, but it is better to have both sets of brakes in play, especially on long declines.

We arrived at Flagg Ranch early. Once set up in the Flagg Ranch RV campground, we got in the Jeep and I began a quest to show Betty all the places I remembered from 45 years ago when I was summer pastor there with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks. I soon became frustrated because nothing looked the same. After driving around the buildings in disorientation, we went inside to talk to the people working there. The women in the gift shop only hinted at things. We finally found the assistant manager of the complex of hotel, restaurant, gift shop, store, and gas station. He explained that the old location was near the Snake River and on low ground. In the past 45 years it had flooded several times, then was caught up in a forest fire that crossed over the road to engulf it. The park service strongly suggested they rebuild on higher ground, which they did, but the new complex is much smaller and does not have the huge gas station and dude ranch the old one had. The places where I slept, ate, and even preached were gone, and the original location is now barren and overgrown with over 20 years of wild tree and bush growth. Truly a shock and disappointment.

Where I Am Standing Is Where I Pumped Gas 45 Years Ago

Now Barren As the Plains of Troy

At Night We Walked Across the Street Through Heavy Woods

Digitized Poor Quality Photo of Steven Taken in 1973
While Working at Flagg Ranch.

This Path Passed Through a Thicket
With Ominous Large Wildlife Sounds

The roads we drove through Yellowstone Park from Cody, on the east of the park, were either stripped down for resurfacing or simply in terrible condition. The trees were just as bad, with many near dead or dead due to beetle infestation. Fires have left a charred trail through the park. The result was a shocking drive through the naked remains of what I remember from 45 years ago. The air is filled with a smoky haze from distant fires, so that no background view is clear. Again, landscape photography is very difficult.

Another disappointment was that there is virtually no Verison (or AT&T, T-Mobile, etc) coverage or WIFI in the area except for limited and unreliable signals around Old Faithful Village and Canyon Village. Many other areas were under such heavy construction that vehicles were backed up for miles, leaving the areas nearly impassable.

We did take some photos of Moose Falls and Lewis Falls along the road north from the south gate of Yellowstone.