July 29, 2019
Today was National Park day, it turns out. Both Yellowstone & Grand Teton.
The road from Cody into Yellowstone passes through the Buffalo Bill State Park where there are a few tunnels, and a dam that creates a reservoir on the Shoshone river. The longer tunnel is really neat, but I skipped the dam tour.
Saw a random Bob’s Big Boy statue in a field, so that was interesting. So much so that I went back for a picture.
Additional comments from the present (Nov. 21, 2019): So it turns out that Bob turned up one day in the summer of 2013 with no explanation. He’s just there… holding aloft his burger amid an epic backdrop of a volcanic rock ridge. I suppose the restaurant isn’t going up next.
Then it was on the Yellowstone, which is an absolutely amazing place. It is absolutely incredible. Luckily the weather was fairly warm, too. I spent a lot of time just being slow, looking around, enjoying. Didn’t take as many pictures as you might think, either.
Lots of wildlife today, but no buffalo. I did see a grizzly. From about 20 yards away. All the idiots in their cars were blocking the ENTIRE road so I had zero escape path. I finally had to yell at someone to move. I was not pumped on being that exposed. Otherwise, those vicious geese, amiright?
There were quite a lot of elk, as well. Including one giant dude sitting in a field staring at me. Right in the eyes. Just chewing grass. Giant antlers.
Because of all the bubbly earth Yellowstone has quite the unique set of smells depending on what you’re near. It’s actually really cool, and just watching the waters boiling away, smoke wafting up, smelling of sulphur was quite relaxing to watch.
I did not visit either geyser, because there were two billion people at those spots in the park. Gross.
Crossed the continental divide, which was cool. Saw lava rocks, and waterfalls, and rivers, and Yellowstone Lake, and Lewis Lake, and Jackson Lake, and… you get the idea.
The Tetons are flat out insane. I think I prefer that park, actually. The mountains are jagged, rugged, clearly formed by a lot of drama over a long period of time. Absolutely love just staring at them. Reminded me quite a bit of Cordillera Paine in Chile.
The lighting was insane as well. Cloudy, but the sun was filtering through nearly like a spot light whose rays you can nearly see. Total presentation. There were even a herd of elk grazing in the distance. Nature is such a showoff.
The weather cooled dramatically when I entered the Tetons, but it was a nice change. There is actually a big thunderstorm raging outside as I write this. Such great noises.
After the parks I made a quick stop in Jackson Hole for the visitors center, then hightailed it to Pinedale.
The road leaving Jackson is also pretty incredible. It snakes it’s way along a river, and the views are spectacular. No pics, because I was pretty tired, cold, and had an hour left.
Peace!
Odo Start: 24,839
Odo End: 25,093
Daily Miles: 254
Cum. Miles: 10,520
Ryan Cavalier 