Day 2: Perfection Right Out of the Gate
Here are the notes I am taking while Molly and I are on a road trip through Idaho (briefly), Wyoming, and Montana, October 2018.
OCTOBER 7, 2018
JACKSON — DRIVING TOUR — GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
After getting up at a responsible adult hour, gassing up, grocerying up, mapping up, and getting our fully-caffeinated selves into Mom Van, we took a suggested driving tour, looping from Jackson, north towards the Gros Verte River and hitting Mormon Row (“a line of homestead complexes along the Jackson-Moran Road near the southeast corner of Grand Teton National Park, in the valley called Jackson Hole.”)
Here I am pretending to be a Mormon homesteader. I am so glad I ordered this faux fur hat and decided, last minute, to bring my down jacket. It was brisky brisk, but dry.
We got excited seeing the Tetons. Little did we know, as we looped north to the Oxbow Bend, what was waiting for us.
And look. Holy moley. Minimal tourists, changing leaves, brisk but clear weather, and this. This!
This scene actually made me tear up. Perfect, like jigsaw puzzle photo perfect. I still can’t believe I saw this.
Once we finished the loop, we stopped at the Visitor’s Center at Colter Bay Village.
We passed on purchasing this, as well as the bear spray that was a steal at 70% off. As of this writing, we have not been eaten by bears. At another visitor’s center, Molly did purchase a Grand Tetons t-shirt, which was a little saucy if you know the origin of “grand tetons”.
We took a stroll out behind the Center to view Jackson Lake with the Tetons in the background. We found another hiking loop that took us even farther out. There was no one, and no sound except for the splashing of the lake water and the wind in the trees.
It was cold and clear and the hike was gorgeous and mercifully flat – the high altitude was rendering us unattractively out of breath.
GRAND TETON — YELLOWSTONE
We had a lot of road to cover. We booked serious miles towards the East Entrance of Yellowstone. The scenery just did not stop.
A fire ate up 1/3 of Yellowstone in 1988, which seemed to only bother humans. Flora and fauna have flourished since then.
Up up up up through the mountain passes
YELLOWSTONE — CODY, WY
There was a point where were were like “enough of this perfect beauty” so we went to Cody and did some drankin’ at Buffalo Bill Cody’s old saloon and hotel.
WALMART
And then we stopped at Walmart, which cured us of the beautiful spectacle of nature.
So glad Walmart is acknowledging the Furry Population
WALMART — RED LODGE, WY
If this day weren’t perfect enough, we found ourselves at the PERFECT motel
Yodeler Motel – 111 years old and counting. Perfect kitsch-meets-modern touches. Savvy owners kept the awesome touches but made the rooms really comfy. www.yodelermotel.com
And there was steam!
Molly thought it was gross and insane but I loooooved it. It was the first and last time my sinuses felt minimally normal this whole trip.
We found an actual hipster eatery for dinner, and later Molly and I regretted our chicken and waffle dinner decisions, but not really.
Back to Yellowstone tomorrow for keeps! Whoopie!