Time for yet another change to my plans. Only this time the change was made as much through necessity as choice.
During the night a helpful poster from Trip Advisor sent me a PM to notify me of the announced Yellowstone road closures during 2014. It seems a major road closure was happening during my visit and was going to cause havoc to my plans.
A map will help explain things further, so here is one courtesy of the NPS.
http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/interactivemap/
My plan on the 29th September has always been to drive from Jackson, up through Grand Teton National Park and enter Yellowstone at the South Entrance. When we hit West Thumb, we were going to turn left and head to Old Faithful Inn.
The problem is that the road between West Thumb and Old Faithful is closing early September for roadworks and will not be reopening for the remainder of the season. The alternative routes to Old Faithful are to either go anti-clockwise around the lower loop (i.e via Canyon and Madison), or go around both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and enter Yellowstone via the West Entrance.
The first option would take far too long. The second option wouldn't be very scenic (i.e. it would basically be a wasted day).
As well as this, it completely threw out my plans for the 30th which were to do a complete lap of the lower loop. When I found this out this morning I was gutted!
I had prepared myself mentally for the possibility of snow forcing changes to our plans, but not roadworks. I tell you what, planning a trip to yellowstone near the end of the season is no easy task. I might even go as far as to say that it takes as much planning as trip to WDW.
Anyway, not to be beaten, I jumped online and took another look at Yellowstone lodging. A change on the website showed that Lake Yellowstone Hotels and Cabins are now staying open until early October (they were previously shutting late September, a few days before I arrived). However, the booking part of their website wasn't recognising this extension in dates. Crossing my fingers this October date I was looking at wasn't a mistake, I called the hotel to find out more.
The guy on the phone was amazing and delivered a huge dose of pixie dust
Not only did he change our 29th Sep booking at Old Faithful to a cabin at Lake, but he looked up our Old Faithful booking on the 30th and discovered that there had been an opening in one of their very hard-to-get ensuite rooms. He also told me that he could make dinner reservations for us on both nights, when here I was thinking that I couldn't do that until much later in the year.
So plans for the 29th and 30th are now as follows:
Sep 29th. Drive through Grand Teton NP as planned and up through the Southern entrance, but when we hit West Thumb junction we will now turn right instead of left and head to Lake. We have dinner booked that night in Lake Hotel.
Sep 30: As long as there is no morning snow or ice on the roads, we will get going early and head for Hayden Valley (the stretch of road between Lake and Canyon). This is a major wildlife viewing area in Yellowstone and it's best visited at dawn or dusk when the animals are most active. I had previously dismissed visiting this area during prime times as it would have meant dangerous night driving. But everything happens for a reason, and it seems these road closures may work out in my favour.
Continue via Canyon and Madison to Old Faithful. Don't be fooled by the mileage on the map - this drive could potentially take all day. Between all the great places to stop and enjoy the scenery, the slow driving speeds in Yellowstone, and the potential for traffic jams (caused by people and animals), drives in Yellowstone take much longer than one might expect.
As mentioned we now have an en-suite room at Old Faithful. The old original part of the lodge has very few en-suite rooms, and as such you can't even book them online. To score one, you either need to book well over a year in advance, or you need to cross your fingers for a cancellation. It seems I was lucky and called at the exact right time to score a cancellation.
Anyway, these rooms don't have a shower (you still need to use the shared bathrooms if you want a stand-up shower), but they have a lovely claw foot bath with one of those hand-held shower nozzles. How better to end a long day out exploring, and to escape the freezing night-time temperatures, than by checking into one of the world's most famous wooden lodges and relaxing in a claw-foot bath? So excited.
We have dinner booked that night in Old Faithful restaurant, and I'm also hoping to attend a ranger talk that afternoon or evening. I want to try and help my son get his Junior Ranger badge and one of the requirements is to attend a ranger talk.
http://www.nps.gov/yell/forkids/beajuniorranger.htm
Time for some pics of the new addition to our accommodation options.
The four pics below have come from the Xanterra website
http://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/lodging/summer-lodges/lake-yellowstone-hotel-cabins/
We will be staying in a cabin. They are pretty basic and small, plus the beds are only doubles, but at least now we get to say we've stayed in a cabin within Yellowstone. It does have an ensuite which is good.
The cabins are next to Lake Yellowstone Hotel, a grand old hotel which has some of the most expensive accommodation in the park. We couldn't afford one of these rooms, but we can still make use of the hotel's beautiful facilities
Such as the sunroom which has lovely views of the lake
and the restaurant
I am not sure if its a bad sign or something because as soon as I am able to put money towards our holiday something comes up. This week I have found out that my really reliable car has decided to die numerous deaths. just cost a fortune today and have a list of other things that need doing, some immediately, others in the next month or so - stupid car! I am trying to be positive and not think its an omen of some kind. 
