Since Scott and Kiara had more work to complete before they headed back east, they went back to Pinedale and we headed north.
I tell people the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (which includes Grand Teton N.P.) is my favorite place in the world. Granted it may not be the prettiest (I consider Yosemite and Glacier to be prettier, and that’s just in the U.S.) and I have not been when the temperature has dropped below freezing for very long. I hope someday soon to make it to the area when snow covers the ground. I have seen it snow in July and seen puddles freeze over in June, but I have not yet braved the frigid days of January or February. I can’t honestly say I have been true to the mission of trying to see it all, if I don’t see things through the lens of different seasons. One thing is for sure, I won’t get my wife to come with me when the thermometer will likely fail to get above 70 for an entire week. She hates being cold.
This trip I have been calling my wife Miss Daisy (from the 1989 Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy movie). I am extremely happy to have her with me, but she has taken to sitting in the back of the car, even when I just had a shower. She told me before the trip started that she was not going to drive and she would not commit to more than three weeks. (I am not sure what she will do when we pass the three-week mark.) Simply put, camping is not really her thing. Truth be told, I would rather be staying in luxury hotels, but we are newly retired and I would like to see it all on a limited budget. Besides, beautiful places are not always near luxury hotels. I have to admit, there is something amazing about waking up with a wonderful view that comes without any expense other than navigating a bumpy unpaved road to get there in an old van. I don’t think I am the only guy in the U.S. that thinks that way. We met a guy our first day in Yellowstone who was also newly retired who had a much better rig. He was a VP of the second largest paint manufacturing company in the world. He had a carbon fiber mountain bike and a kayak on the back and a nice dirt motorbike on the front on top of the winch that (he said) could get him out of trouble, if the custom-lifted, four-wheel drive of his highly modified Mercedes Sprinter let him down. Admittedly, it was pretty cool and he did a lot of the work himself to get it that way. I am not saying I would not enjoy traveling in a better vehicle, but I’m truly happy with what I have. Miss Daisy may not agree, but she seems pretty happy with some of the sights we have seen, so far. I think she is especially pleased with what we have seen the last few days and though this in no way proves the case that Yellowstone is the best place on the planet, I still will tell people it is for me. Hopefully the photographs will help show why I am so fond of it.
For a few photos of our first day in Yellowstone, click here.