Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:41 am
* August 20, morning, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 2803 miles: Got up bright and early leaving Cody with the sun already getting warm, heading again to Yellowstone Park. Along the way was this towering, odd shrine of a building, which I was told the creator fell off the thing and died. Also passed the Double D Ranch and couldn’t resist a shot of that! I met up again with Stephanie and we rolled into the Park entrance, when who should I meet but Bill Spencer! He and his bud Scott Forest were at a seminar in Montana (and met my bud Bruce Butler) and were on their way back to Oregon. What are the odds of that?! So I rode with them the rest of the day. Going into the Park, there were forest fires becoming more prevalent. At one stop, Scott realized his film camera - had no film! Doh! So much for all the pictures he had been taking. We made our way over the Continental Divide to Old Faithful and waited for it to blow its top along with a throng of other tourists. Oh, great story: I quizzed one of the rangers as to what was the craziest thing that’s happened since he has worked there and he said that for a couple years there were a couple pranksters running around the park in gorilla suits stopping traffic. The Forest Service finally caught up with them and it was a couple of kids having fun. Too funny! I can just imagine the East Coasters saying, “Look, Yellowstone has gorillas!” We then went inside the stunningly rustic Old Faithful Lodge - what an amazing work of art!
Afterwards we started pointing our way south towards Grand Teton National Park and eventually to Jackson Hole, where I was going to rent a motel room. Along the way were countless buffalo on and alongside the road. One stop had people watching a grizzly, but we just missed them - maybe a good thing. Along the way, a gent from Illinois named Bob Meada hooked up and rode with us on his BMW. He missed a turn, so thought he’d go with us. We pulled into Jackson Hole and checked into motel rooms. The cheapest I could find was a discount of $195/night - whoa! Jackson is an expensive town! Bill and Scott decided they would continue west to Oregon, so Bob and I decided to find a place to pitch our tents, but no camping areas to be found! WTF? Evidently property in this area is so expensive, it doesn’t pay to have a KOA or something - crazy! We eventually found a campground north of town a number of miles away - with signs warning of grizzly bears - ack! Bob and I stashed our food and toiletries in a bear bin and hit the hay (after the mosquitoes ate us). Needless to say I didn’t sleep well all night waiting for Yogi to pounce on my unsuspecting body stuck inside a mummy bag. We awoke this morning unscathed and grateful. We rode into Jackson for coffee, but not without dodging buffalo on the way. Today I’m thinking of hitting West Yellowstone or Red Lodge by the end of the day.
Ho bisogno di una doccia,
-Tom
Afterwards we started pointing our way south towards Grand Teton National Park and eventually to Jackson Hole, where I was going to rent a motel room. Along the way were countless buffalo on and alongside the road. One stop had people watching a grizzly, but we just missed them - maybe a good thing. Along the way, a gent from Illinois named Bob Meada hooked up and rode with us on his BMW. He missed a turn, so thought he’d go with us. We pulled into Jackson Hole and checked into motel rooms. The cheapest I could find was a discount of $195/night - whoa! Jackson is an expensive town! Bill and Scott decided they would continue west to Oregon, so Bob and I decided to find a place to pitch our tents, but no camping areas to be found! WTF? Evidently property in this area is so expensive, it doesn’t pay to have a KOA or something - crazy! We eventually found a campground north of town a number of miles away - with signs warning of grizzly bears - ack! Bob and I stashed our food and toiletries in a bear bin and hit the hay (after the mosquitoes ate us). Needless to say I didn’t sleep well all night waiting for Yogi to pounce on my unsuspecting body stuck inside a mummy bag. We awoke this morning unscathed and grateful. We rode into Jackson for coffee, but not without dodging buffalo on the way. Today I’m thinking of hitting West Yellowstone or Red Lodge by the end of the day.
Ho bisogno di una doccia,
-Tom