I Would Like To Have Seen Montana
Do you know where the best place to pass gas in public is? Stay tuned.
We woke up this morning to get ready to leave. Carrie said that she actually feels good! So, she had a good night of sleep, and the residual altitude sickness has gone. After we loaded up, we stopped off to get fuel, and to get a quick car wash. Pat has been graciously cleaning our windows by hand to make photography easier. Today, she got a well-deserved break.
We drove back through Jackson to head north through Grand Tetons, and up to Yellowstone. The weather was amazing, and it was a beautiful drive through the rest of Grand Tetons that we hadn’t already seen. We did get an interesting human nature example, though. You know how when you are in a long line of cars to enter somewhere….it is easy to say to yourself, “Self, it’s ok, it will take as long as it is going to take.” However, if you are in one lane of two, and that second lane is moving 2 cars for every one of yours, that same wait can be very frustrating. That is what happened to us, trying to enter the park.
Having hilarious travel partners make such situations very easy (Carrie is gregariously hilarious, and Pat picks the right time for a short, barbed, perfect comment - both hilarious). Once we finally made it in the park, our tour directed us to the first stop. It was an active episcopal church. Since today is Sunday, that meant services were going to be happening. While we were a ways off, Carrie kept trying to get a picture of the chapel with no people in it. There was this annoying couple of people who just kept hanging around the front door. Once we got closer, we realized one was handing out bulletins, and the other was a greeter, or possibly the pastor. How dare they interfere with our picture by welcoming worshipers to their church? 😄
Back in the car we continued up the road, taking pictures of landscapes. Carrie was getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of animals, save the random chipmonk. We found out later that in this part of the park, animals are out in the afternoon or early evening. Oh well, landscapes it is!
This is a very beautiful park, with lots of relatively easy hikes and bike paths. I think we will come back and spend more time here exploring. Since we had quite a wait to enter the park, and Carrie and I were already wanting a restroom break, there was a bit of an urgency to our next stop - the visitors center.
Just like Zion, the Grand Tetons Jenny Lake visitors center is not just a place to stop in at, but is a hiking starting point. So, most of the cars there will stay for hours. We just wanted to visit the facilities, and get our passport stamped and leave. They really should have a few spaces for short durations. Otherwise, you get the situation where cars will stalk people walking in the parking lot, in the hopes that they are preparing to leave. I ended up dropping Carrie and Pat off, with the plan of them swapping with me when they were done. I found a good holding area to wait for them to come back. While I was walking I nearly saw 2 overly-lifted pickemup truck drivers come to blows over who had spotted a particular pedestrian first. You don’t know how much I wanted that pedestrian to only be getting something out of their car, so that neither of them got a space.
We continued down the road, and took a one-way scenic drive around Jenny Lake. This was extremely beautiful. There was a historic lodge back there as well that you can still stay at. Carrie and I were interested. Pat was not. As it was surrounded by trees, she said that it had no view, and would be a definite NO.
We ended up finishing that drive and leaving the park, heading north to Yellowstone. We had another Shaka Guide tour, and started it right up. It is super helpful and interesting. It also points out lots of unposted sights and drives. Today, we were going to do a good part of the southern loop. The drives in Yellowstone make a figure 8, and we were focused on the southern part today. That is where most of the geothermal activity is.
We arrived at Old Faithful, and found that it was due to erupt in 40 minutes or so, so we walked around, took pictures, and found a nice place to wait in the shade. As the eruption time approached, we walked over to find a spot to take pictures. We ended up standing behind a group of kids working on their Junior Ranger books. They were all seated nicely, so we could stand behind them, and have an unobstructed view.
As expected, Old Faithful started up the show. It was really cool, and nice to see again. It was funny to see the numbers of people who started to leave right after it started erupting. I realize that there was going to be a lot of traffic, so the impetus is to get a head start on it. However, isn’t the whole thing to see the geyser erupt? Man, people are jaded.
Once it finished, we walked over to the visitors center to get a stamp, and made our way to the car. There was definitely traffic, and it is jarring to see how poor people are at the concept of zippering. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, as all some people think about are themselves. We made it out without incident, and continued down the road.
The next stop was Biscuit Basin. This is a series of geothermal pools and geysers. The smell of sulfur was everywhere, wafting over the boardwalk in steam. (This is the place, btw). There were beautiful pools, like Emerald Pool, and some amazing colors. There was even a lone bison, chomping away on the grass. We got some great pictures, and returned to the car.
Things were getting really busy, and traffic was increasing. We stopped at a few viewing locations, and saw a random cluster of cars up ahead. There were a lot of people getting WAY too close to a herd of bison, with some calves. Every year we hear stories about how some tourist found out that wild animals are WILD. Thankfully, our long lens allows us to get good pictures from a safe distance.
The tour recommended another scenic drive along a river and waterfall, and it was beautiful. We approached the park exit, and decided to head to our hotel. Unfortunately, someone (or multiple somebodies) were not following defensive driving strategies, and there was a wreck. We were stopped on the road for at least 30 minutes.
Many people walked over to the tree lines to get some relief, since we were stuck away from restrooms. One lady heade out into the woods. Carrie was saying, “honey, that’s not far enough”. This other couple walked down the road, and stared looking into the treeline. Thinking they saw an animal, He got closer and closer with his camera to capture the wildlife hiding in the trees. Quickly, he ran back to the road. I think the official name of what he spotted was Femalia Urinatus. Once we were able to move, and we passed the trucks involved, one was totally upside down. As the speed limit there was 45, methinks someone was driving way too fast. I hope everyone was ok.
We made to the city of West Yellowstone, Montana, where we are staying tonight. Carrie had found us a great cabin in town. We checked in, and unloaded. Carrie and Pat went to pick up pizza for dinner - they graciously did it, as I think I hit my limit of driving for the day. They are painting masterworks as I type. We are staying here for tomorrrow night as well, so we don’t have to load up in the morning, and they are already set up for painting tomorrow night. I think they will be painting for years from all the beautiful things we’ve seen so far.
Thanks for the well wishes for Carrie’s health. She had a great day, even when we crossed the continental divide 3 times! …signing off for tonight.
Note: if you have not seen The Hunt For Red October, shame on you 😄. Today’s title is one of the best lines in the movie. Go watch it! It’s worth it to hear Sean Connery’s Scottish Ruissian accent.
