Wyoming to South Dakota

Before we left Yellowstone, Emmett got his Junior Ranger Badge. It was 8:30 in the morning and not at all busy at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center so the Ranger who awarded Emmett his badge did so with a special little ceremony, gaining the attention of the 3-4 other early morning visitors before crowning Emmett with his own ranger hat and then bestowing upon him the Junior Ranger badge (and a proper little sew-on badge it was; there are no plastic badges at the granddaddy of all national parks).
We climbed for hours up and over the Bighorn Mountains reaching an altitude of 9,033 feet at Granite Pass. So high were we that we found ourselves driving among the clouds. On our way down off the mountain, cows wandered just beside and sometimes on the highway in an open range area. We did a 180 when James spotted a young moose along the road. We found him munching on some plants along side the road and were very pleased with our find. We needn’t have patted ourselves on the backs too heartily. A few hundred yards along the road, we saw several more moose (these ones with great horns on them) also engaged in a mid-afternoon snack. They looked quite “majestic” as Ben put it with their big, velvety horns. We drove through small towns like ‘Shell’ where the population is just 50 and had to wonder, just how frequently are they having to change those signs? A few hours into our journey, we hit I-90 that runs clear across the country to Boston. We’ll stop off in South Dakota tonight though and try to get a glimpse of Mt. Rushmore. Tomorrow, we’ll hit Bear Country and the town of Keystone. We’re just now having a debate about whether or not Keystone Beer is brewed in Keystone, South Dakota. If it is, we’ll just have to have one won’t we? There’s that whole commitment we made prior to embarking on this trip to eat ‘local’....

A Quick Yellowstone Recap

Some personal favorites from our visit to Yellowstone:
Best Geyser Display=Fountain Geyser
Most Frequently Encountered Animal=Bison
Best Hike=Lower Geyser Basin (not really a hike but rather a stroll along the boardwalk; there’s not a lot of ‘hiking’ at Yellowstone due to the danger of stumbling into a hydrothermal feature – ouch)
Best Side Road Trip=Firehole Lake Drive (along southwestern rim)
Best Campsite=Madison (not that it was more fabulous than the site at Bridge Bay but at least we didn’t have a sign posted 5 ft beyond our ‘rustic’ tent site stating “area beyond closed; high bear traffic area; for your own safety, do not go beyond this sign”
Best Grand Canyon=the one in AZ (sorry Yellowstone)
Best Main Road Drive=all of them. No matter where you go at Yellowstone you will be treated to some truly amazing sights.

Yellowstone National Park

We all woke up at about 4:30 – cold, thirsty and needing the bathroom but there was no way I was stepping out of the car – it was 42 degrees outside! Too cold for me but the perfect temperature for the grizzlies to do a little hunting…. As I lay there not able to fall back asleep, Aidan suddenly announced he felt like he couldn’t breathe (I had been lying awake for some time listening to Abby panting, and I too felt I was working extra hard to fill my lungs) Was it the altitude? (We were spending the night at 7,000 feet.) Was it that the 5 of us were beginning to tap out the oxygen supply in our little car-coon? (Unlikely.) Or was it just so damn cold?! (Probably not…) Hmmm… Anyhow, we ended up cracking some windows and managed to make it through the night. We woke early, leaving the campsite by 8 and drove along to see Old Faithful. Along the way, we saw a family of bison (3 adults, 2 babes) munching on some grass by the river. Driving along the loop road gave such a wonderful overview of the park. Steam rose from the ground like thin wisps of cotton and further along, great clouds hung in the air, blanketing the trees and walkways around them. We thought we’d tuck in to some breakfast on the boardwalk along side Old Faithful as we waited for the next show. We didn’t have to wait too long and when Old Faithful erupted, she went for about 3 minutes (a fairly long eruption as Old Faithful eruptions go). After a quick stop in the Visitor Center and the shops which had far too many t-shirts to choose from, we snuck on to the back of a tour at the historic Inn, which was built in 1904. The rustic interior, done up with wood on the floors and walls, is so dark and the lighting so dim, I felt as though I could lose the person walking next to me if I wasn’t careful. The grand foyer which elevates 5 stories above your head has the most amazing exposed post-and-beam structure which includes a ‘Tree-house’ at the very top (Sadly, due to the fire code, people are no longer allowed to climb to the tree-house. Sorry kids.). All-in-all, the Inn is well worth a look if you’re ever in the area. Yellowstone Park is massive and we wouldn’t be able to do it all during our stay, so we identified some places we’d like to see and hit the road. At the Fountain Paint Pot Area, we saw geysers, as well as hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots. The geysers were very active, especially Fountain Geyser and in my opinion, the display rivaled that of Old Faithful. The colors in the hot springs shone a beautiful turquoise blue, even in the clouded, mid-afternoon sun. As we trotted along, we could hear the fumaroles hissing loudly while the steam danced delicately in to the air (and what a stink that sulfur has…rotten eggs anyone?), and finally, the mud pots, a beautiful brilliant white that bubbled and belched as we strolled along the boardwalk. Along the same route we saw bacterial mats of bright orange, yellow and brown which glistened under a thin layer of water. As my mother-in-law put it, the hydrothermal features at Yellowstone make you feel like you’re on a foreign planet. We stopped at the ‘Grand Canyon’ of Yellowstone, which was rather picturesque, and from the walkway, one could see a beautiful waterfall cascading down to a narrow river below. We camped the second night at Bridge Bay, setting one of the tents up just a few feet in front of a sign which warned hikers not to enter due to the ‘bear danger’. We managed to improve upon the sleeping arrangements in our ‘car bed’ (found the space blanket that I couldn’t put my hand on last night. Those things are loud but warm…) and had a wonderful warm nights’ sleep!

On to Yellowstone

We chose to take the scenic route to Yellowstone (Hey, why not? A mere 2500 miles to cover in 9 days to get us back to Millis by the 20th). So along Route 89 we went. We traveled the Oregon Trail Bear Lake Scenic Byway and I’m very glad we did. Somewhere, I think in Idaho, we passed by Bear Lake, with its beautiful blue waters, surrounded by mountains. There were restaurants selling burgers, fries and ice cream, bakeries advertising freshly baked goods (lots with raspberries; maybe the local crop?) and stores selling inner tubes and floats. It reminded me a bit of a Cape Cod community but much smaller and without all of the horrible Cape traffic! We stopped for a tailgating lunch in Paris (still in Idaho) and then carried along through Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Snake River ran along beside us for several miles and we enjoyed watching the tubers and kayakers floating down the rapids (which looked a bit more fun than the rapids we encountered along the Colorado in Moab. Snake River Kayak and Canoe which runs out of Jackson Hole seemed to have had a lot of the business floating along the river – we’ll keep that in mind for our next trip out west). We drove through the Grand Tetons, which were absolutely breathtaking. The many peaks form a beautiful jagged skyline. They reached high up in to the sky, so high in fact that some of the peaks were dotted with snow. We finally reached Yellowstone and zigzagged across the Continental Divide before finding ourselves at Old Faithful. We could see her erupting in the distance and would probably have to wait at least another hour or so to see her go again (she averages 90 minutes between eruptions; the wait time depends on how long the eruption lasts. A long blast means a long wait until the next one) so we decided to head on up to Madison Junction, make dinner and set up camp. We would camp one night there and the next at Bridge Bay so in order to save time (and between you and me, save my ass from being bear bait – you’ve been keeping track of the news this summer right?) the kids and I slept in the car which meant we had only 2 tents to put up. Dinner, then straight to bed so we could get an early start the next day.

Salt Lake City

After a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Tabernacle Square to listen to a 30-minute organ concert. The rounded wall behind the impressively large instrument glowed a different color for each of the songs that were played for us. After the concert, we wandered out in to the square where there were a number of brides and grooms wandering around, posing for photos in the lush surroundings. Emmett then informed me that on average, there are 70 weddings a day in Salt Lake City (he’s a wealth of knowledge that boy). We continued our stroll around the square which was beautiful, bright and clean with large buildings, perfectly manicured lawns and overflowing flower beds. It felt more like I was walking around the headquarters of a large Fortune-500 company and not the central offices of a church which left a funny taste in my mouth. Church and excessive displays of wealth should not go hand in hand in my opinion. That being said, we didn’t spend a lot of time there and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the next part of our day – a swim, or float as it would be, in the Great Salt Lake. We debated going the 40 miles to Antelope Island State Park vs. the 20 miles to a beach just to the west of the city and settled on the quick and dirty method of the water by the city. I’m glad we did. Within no time of leaving the hotel, we pulled up to Saltair, grabbed our cameras and headed out to the water. Sand flies were everywhere, some dead, some alive but none of them really bothered us. There was quite a breeze that whipped up across the great open space but the water was nice and warm, and very clear. We had to walk out some distance to reach the water and even then, it only came up to our thighs. One by one, we all laid back in the salty water of the lake. I am able to confirm for you now, it is indeed true that you will float in the Great Salt Lake. It was relaxing to lie in the water and look up at the mountains that surrounded us. Getting the salty water in your eyes and mouth, not so fun, but you’ve got to take the bad with the good, right? After a long float, we headed back to shore where our skin and swim suits seized up with the salt which now encased us. Opting not to take a shower when we got back to shore (it was a cold, windy walk back from the water and I was finally dry and warm by the time I reached the shore), I now have at least a shaker full of salt on my seat in the car. Before we left, we ventured in to Saltair. Once a popular family destination in the early 1900s, offering a float in the lake as well as an amusement park, the building now lies vacant except for a very small souvenir shop. Postcards and a model of the original Saltair, exquisitely decorated inside and out during its hey-day and reminding me a bit of the Taj Mahal, were displayed in the shop. Saltair experienced a few set-backs over the years, including drought and a few fires, but the final blow was delivered in 1970, in the form of an arson fire from which this tourist destination never recovered. One of the most simplistic yet smart ideas I've seen in a while were the little buckets of orange flags found at the crossings in SLC. Apparently having pedestrians wave these little flags while crossing the roads has significantly cut down on accidents and injuries.

Landscape Arch...and on to Salt Lake City

In 1991, while visitors looked on, a 60-foot long section of Landscape Arch fell to the ground. Park Rangers think that in another 10-15 years, there won’t be a Landscape Arch any more. With our breakfast tucked away in our backpack we started in on the 1.6-mile loop to view what remains of Landscape Arch. We found a cool place behind some rocks to stop, eat and enjoy the scenery. From a distance, Landscape Arch looks rather fragile and thin (but the narrowest part is still 6 feet across) and has several large cracks running along it. After a few snaps of the arch, the kids, the kids and the arch, we set off back down the trail. We were headed for Salt Lake City where we would check in to our hotel and lay low for the rest of day (a little swim, a little Animal Planet on the TV for the kids – their new addiction when we check in to hotels, and a little something to eat…). Really just a whole lot of nothing which was just what we needed….

Rafting the Colorado

We hired a raft from Canyon Adventures in Moab, strapped it to the roof and headed on up route 128 which winds along just east of the Colorado River. We had beautiful views of Arches and the surrounding canyons as we floated down the river. All-in-all the trip was very tame (a welcome surprise for me as I had visions of Emmett falling out and me somehow getting to shore where I’d sprint along the bank before diving in and scooping him up further along the river). We hit a total of 4 rapids (up to a class 2) – just enough bounce for the kids (except Aidan who of course was wishing it was turbulent enough to throw someone overboard) to make the day fun and relaxing for all. Ben and Aidan took turns paddling up front with me while James and Captain Steve handled the steering at the rear. Maybe next time we hit the Colorado, with the kids a bit older, we’ll be ready for some proper white-water rafting (and hopefully I won’t be too old by then to enjoy it). We headed back to camp for a cold beer and a quick swim in the pool before heading off to the BarM Chuckwagon just 5 minutes along the road from us. The ‘old west-themed’ evening included a gunfight, an enormous dinner (BBQ chicken and beef, baked pinto beans, biscuits, baked potato, spice cake and apple sauce all served on a tin plate which was all washed down with a delicious Polygamy Porter), as well as live music and entertainment by the BarM crew. A good value and fun for all. Tomorrow we’ll do a quick morning hike up to Landscape Arch before hitting the trail for Salt Lake City.