Tetons, Yellowstone, Bozeman MT
I spent most of yesterday (Thurs) morning in Lander. (*Note* I opened the hot chocolate this morn -> I'm in the cold north) That's a great place. Actually, I spent most of my time at NOLS. First, I went to stock up on some food. I love bulk. Then I went down the hall to get topo maps for my backpacking trip with Kathryn. That took a while because if you can find the ones that you need in this huge (but only semi-organized bookcase), you can get them for free. I needed four maps. I found one, and spent a while making sure the others weren't in there. Now, I have all the maps we should need. Good. From there, I walked down the street to the alumni office to get stickers. I got a shiny one! (Forgot to tell Dre and Lee: saw Weekly World News story about a shiny baby born somewhere, "When I look at my little bundle of joy, I can see my reflection!") I spent a little while in the office talking to the guy there about differnt sticker options, what to do in the Tetons and how I need to go on an alumni trip. We agreed I should go on a trip and discussed the options. I was more than tempted to sign up for mountain biking on the north rim next week. I probably would have done it, but I'm too excited about my backpacking plans. Eventually, I had all the swag I wanted, he showed my a beautiful webcam shot of the Tetons (good weather!) and I was headed north.
I had a short, uneventful, but beautiful drive to the Tetons. I finally got to break out my National Parks pass and felt extra-special for getting there before it expires on June 1. I guess it's not that big a deal since I plan to renew anyway... The tetons are STUNNING. They are so extreme and unique looking. I wanted to hike, but most of the hikes there are pretty long and there is a lot of snow. I didn't really have enough time. (I might go back.) So, I just did a part of the loop around Jenny Lake, which provided me with lots of photo ops but not much of a workout.
From Teton NP, I headed to Yellowstone, our famous and highly-visited national park extraordinaire. I have to say that I was rather disappointed...at first. After the Tetons, southern Yellowstone is just a bunch of hills covered with dead trees (somewhat recent fire it looked like). As I made it to the NW part of the park I began to see what some of the fuss is about (still not as cool as Teton). Yellowstone appeals to the geologist and zoologist in all of us.
My first stop was Old Faithful. Now, the geyser bit is pretty cool, but I had a lot of fun people watching, too. I just moseyed up from the parking lot and waited (maybe 50 min). I read the signs (said you can't really predict the next blast and to stay off the geothermal ground) and walked around but mostly just sat and waited, watching the steam pour out of O.F. After a while, a small crowd of people from the nearby lodges wandered over. I guess they have the predicted blast-off posted somewhere in there. Man! People are impatient. Now, I will grant that it was a bit chilly, but it was like these people expected O.F. to go at exactly 8:05pm. This is geology people! not the train schedule.
"What time did they say it would go?" "8:05." "It's 8:06!!!!!"
Actually, my favorite overhead conversation was off-topic.
mom: Why don't you sit by your sister to help keep her warm?
sis (~12 yr old): He won't. He thinks I have girl cooties.
mom: (to son): Well, you're sitting by me.
son (~8): That's different; you're a woman.
-no response-
Kids are funny. Anyway, I did end up seeing the geyser go off. Not bad. Then I went to camp. Here's something I bet not very many other people have done: I walked up to a Yellowstone on-grounds campground without a reservation and got a site. Yes!
This morning I woke up to one of the most dreaded of backpacking sights. No, not a bear. Frost on my tent. Oh man! I hate to pack a frosty tent. My hand get freezing cold to the point of pain and/or numbness. This wasn't as bad as backpacking, though, because I was able to warm up in the car. The most exciting part of packing was that a small herd of bison wandered into the area. I watched the bison and their babies from pretty close up. That was sweet. (Other animals I saw: more bison and bison babies, wapiti elk, cow moose and blue heron. No bears, no wolves. Bummer.) On my way out of Yellowstone, I stopped at the Artist's Paint Pots and saw the boiling mud, which is so awesome. There's burning hot mud flinging around and this great blop-blop sound. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't look so great. I'm goint to post it anyway.
Right now, I'm in Bozeman, MT at their incredible co-op. Great fresh smoothies and free wireless. Right on. I'll probably head to Missoula soon.
I had a short, uneventful, but beautiful drive to the Tetons. I finally got to break out my National Parks pass and felt extra-special for getting there before it expires on June 1. I guess it's not that big a deal since I plan to renew anyway... The tetons are STUNNING. They are so extreme and unique looking. I wanted to hike, but most of the hikes there are pretty long and there is a lot of snow. I didn't really have enough time. (I might go back.) So, I just did a part of the loop around Jenny Lake, which provided me with lots of photo ops but not much of a workout.
From Teton NP, I headed to Yellowstone, our famous and highly-visited national park extraordinaire. I have to say that I was rather disappointed...at first. After the Tetons, southern Yellowstone is just a bunch of hills covered with dead trees (somewhat recent fire it looked like). As I made it to the NW part of the park I began to see what some of the fuss is about (still not as cool as Teton). Yellowstone appeals to the geologist and zoologist in all of us.
My first stop was Old Faithful. Now, the geyser bit is pretty cool, but I had a lot of fun people watching, too. I just moseyed up from the parking lot and waited (maybe 50 min). I read the signs (said you can't really predict the next blast and to stay off the geothermal ground) and walked around but mostly just sat and waited, watching the steam pour out of O.F. After a while, a small crowd of people from the nearby lodges wandered over. I guess they have the predicted blast-off posted somewhere in there. Man! People are impatient. Now, I will grant that it was a bit chilly, but it was like these people expected O.F. to go at exactly 8:05pm. This is geology people! not the train schedule.
"What time did they say it would go?" "8:05." "It's 8:06!!!!!"
Actually, my favorite overhead conversation was off-topic.
mom: Why don't you sit by your sister to help keep her warm?
sis (~12 yr old): He won't. He thinks I have girl cooties.
mom: (to son): Well, you're sitting by me.
son (~8): That's different; you're a woman.
-no response-
Kids are funny. Anyway, I did end up seeing the geyser go off. Not bad. Then I went to camp. Here's something I bet not very many other people have done: I walked up to a Yellowstone on-grounds campground without a reservation and got a site. Yes!
This morning I woke up to one of the most dreaded of backpacking sights. No, not a bear. Frost on my tent. Oh man! I hate to pack a frosty tent. My hand get freezing cold to the point of pain and/or numbness. This wasn't as bad as backpacking, though, because I was able to warm up in the car. The most exciting part of packing was that a small herd of bison wandered into the area. I watched the bison and their babies from pretty close up. That was sweet. (Other animals I saw: more bison and bison babies, wapiti elk, cow moose and blue heron. No bears, no wolves. Bummer.) On my way out of Yellowstone, I stopped at the Artist's Paint Pots and saw the boiling mud, which is so awesome. There's burning hot mud flinging around and this great blop-blop sound. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't look so great. I'm goint to post it anyway.
Right now, I'm in Bozeman, MT at their incredible co-op. Great fresh smoothies and free wireless. Right on. I'll probably head to Missoula soon.
posted by Ashleigh @ 1:05 PM
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