Somewhere between heaven and hell on earth

We were unable to update the blog last night; Apparently there's no wireless internet in the National Parks! We left our scenic spot at our motel in Wapiti, WY (see photo) early but not too early. We would have left earlier but we ended up chatting with a couple from Florida that had just come from Yellowstone and was heading to Mt. Rushmore. So we traded tips. The drive in towards the east entrance was so beautiful! The whole day was one of those days where you stop to take a picture because, surely, nothing could be more beautiful than what you're seeing at that moment. And then the next thing you know, the view is even more breathtaking or the next bison is that much closer to your car (sometimes a bit scary). Within the first hour we saw three bison on the side of the road. Well, one wasn't so much on the side of the road as it was IN the road, but it moved out of the way by the time we approached. Later that day there was a bison in our trail, but it too moved out of our way by the time we got closer.

Our next stop was to the lower falls and Artists Point in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Again, SO beautiful! Most of our day was spent driving in the lower loop of Yellowstone. If you can imagine the roads of the park forming an 8 with a stick at the bottom, we took the road, counterclockwise, that encompassed the lower half of the 8 and stayed in a lodge on the stick, on the way to the southern entrance and to Jackson, WY (where we are now). The highlight of our day was walking around the geyser basins that are on the southwestern side of the park, driving south between Madison and Old Faithful. The Biscuit Basin was our favorite, creating a landscape that could easily be mistaken for another planet (or maybe something between heaven and hell, as Alison put it). It started to rain and it was getting towards dusk, so we skipped the Black Sand Basin to go catch Old Faithful doing her thing at around 6:30. Sure enough, by 6:35, she was spouting high up into the air. The air was relatively cold so there was lots of steam, which obstructed the view, but it was still pretty great to watch. From there we headed south to our lodge, had dinner by Yellowstone Lake, and popped open the bottle of wine we had bought earlier in the day to provide our own entertainment since there are also no TV's in the parks.

This morning we got up and headed directly south into the Grand Teton National Park and towards Jackson. We pulled over on the side of the road because lots of other cars on the side of the road signify wildlife. We managed to glance an ear of a moose hiding in the brush, but that was about it. I wouldn't have known it was a moose or even where to look if it wasn't for the friendly person next to me who gave me her spot on the pullout to get a better look.

Within a half hour we were coming up on the Grand Teton itself (with some serious cloud cover). I haven't been back here since my WEMT course in December 2006. It was great to approach the range from a new angle and to see it all without the snow. Though, I have to admit, I'm partial to the basin in the winter time. We missed the turn-off for Kelly, where I had my training, so we just decided to keep going to Jackson rather than backtrack. We passed the National Elk Refuge which was sans elk. I guess they wait until winter to migrate down to this park of the basin. When I was here two winters ago, you couldn't count the elk because there were so many. Today we couldn't see even one. But the landscape never ceases to be stunning with or without the elk. We pulled into Jackson and right to Alice Roby's house. (Thanks, Alice!!) I have known Alice almost my entire life, though we haven't seen each other in ages. Her mom, Louise McPherson, was at the hospital when I was born. I actually still haven't seen Alice, as she's at a wedding right now, but she graciously opened her home to us (literally...she left the door unlocked) and so Alison and I have been free to come and go. Just a block down from the house is the Elk Refuge and it's off the main drag of town. Great location! We hit up the Whole Grocer to replenish our snacks for the last push into the west. I fondly remember the Whole Grocer from two years ago, and though Jake Stout might tell you I have a bad sense of direction from our time together in Spain, I remembered exactly where the store AND the Snake River Brewery were.

Only two more days! We should be in Portland by early evening on Monday. Tomorrow night we'll be in Boise (where, I've learned, you say the S softly and not like a Z).

P.S. Our mileage has been above 55 mpg for two days now!