GNAST: Day Seven

Starting: Jackson, WY
Destination: West Yellowstone, MT
Distance: 100 miles (I know right?!)

Apparently we drove 592 miles yesterday. No wonder I had a meltdown. Limitations: found.

This morning was AMAZINGLY leisurely. We slept in. I posted blog entries. We slept in some more. We put on clothes that weren't freezing cold, damp, or both. We loaded the car and headed out to Grand Teton. We ate granola bars and water for breakfast. We picked out an accessible trail (Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls--I had wanted Death Canyon/Phelps Lake, but it was via gravel road and it was raining). We evaded some mountain storms and hiked 6 miles (round-trip) to see a 200-foot waterfall, then raced back down to ground level and dense tree cover as another storm cracked with thunder over the peaks. (Seriously, we were ROLLING.) We ended up hiking the last 3 miles in a light, cool rain, but nothing that our clothes couldn't handle. We saw so many people in sandals, or jeans, or t-shirts, or umbrellas (WHO CARRIES AN UMBRELLA UP A MOUNTAIN IN A THUNDERSTORM). Ignorance is astounding. It made Aaron's soul hurt. But the trail was a lot of rocky, muddy, stair-climbing fun! It's impressive how COLD glacier-fed water is--it chilled the air around the falls and river 5-10 degrees. And we saw beavers! It was rated moderate-strenuous, so we were pretty proud that we knocked out a solid 10k over rough terrain at 7000 feet or so as easily as we did. That said, we were ravenous when we got back to the car, so I drove and Aaron made us PBJs.

So, uh, YELLOWSTONE IS CURRENTLY FREE, Y'ALL. THE SOUTH ENTRANCE STATION IS UNMANNED AND HAS BEEN THE LAST TWO TIMES WE WENT IN. THERE IS NO OTHER FEE STATION. WE DROVE FROM SOUTH ENTRANCE TO WEST ENTRANCE WITHOUT A SINGLE STOP.

Well, except for the time a freaking bison staggered drunkenly over the road. There was that. And the tour bus that stopped for half an hour on the road and built up miles of traffic, and I sort of want to punch the driver in the face because he was actively standing between me and dinner and oh, I was so hangry. So, so hangry. And I thought my road rage had been left back on I-26 around the Ashley Phosphate exit. NOPE. We didn't even stop for the herd of elk grazing right off the road. Hi elk! Bye elk! We came as close to you as we wanted to come last night.

The Old Faithful road was open, so we got to take the short route to West Yellowstone. Hooray! We passed a bunch of geothermal activity and made notes of places we want to come back to tomorrow, but most of all, and I feel bad for saying it... north Grand Teton and south Yellowstone are so, so boring. It's a two-lane road, 45mph max, trees on both sides, for literally about 50 miles. You cross the Continental Divide a few times (one time there was even snow on the ground!) and that is it. Whee? Oh, and there's a canyon, and a short waterfall. Whee.

Western Yellowstone is significantly better. You can see the hot spots from the road, or rivers. I'm excited for north and east Yellowstone. Also, tomorrow afternoon, we're meeting with a friend of mine who's a Ranger right now, and he'll play tour guide, so definitely avoiding the boring spots.

We got to our campground early enough, despite the slowdowns. The tent is set up, with some things inside (locked up) to air dry after Colorado's saturation. We found a hole near the top and taped it shut with waterproof duct tape. Aaron strung our paracord between two firs and we have a few more things (like what we used to wipe down the tent interior) line-drying. Then we built a fire in the grill, put out our chairs and bug-repellant, and actually had a nice night under the northern twilight reading and eating hot food. The Mountain House potatoes and chicken MRE is REALLY GOOD, and it was enough for both of us. It was the first nice, restful, stress-free night since Kansas. I can't emphasize this enough. The nights in Colorado were cold, wet, and miserable. I almost couldn't sleep the last night because I was so cold. I literally had to be wrapped in fleece, wearing three layers, and wrapped in Aaron. Last night was a ridiculous misadventure. Tonight... tonight was good. When I looked at a radar this morning, there was a nice high pressure H over Yellowstone. It misted and rained the whole drive through, but as the sunlight faded, the sky overhead was clear, and aside from the occasional dripping branch, it was nippy and delightful.

We're currently in Banana. With some stuff in the tent and the rest relocated to the front seats and footwells, and some creative seat adjustments, we should be able to sleep in here tonight. Because A, it's cold, and B, the tent is still wet. I was wearing three layers, a blanket, a wool hat, and a hood outside. Aaron was wearing his hiking pants and a jacket. We've both stripped down considerably. Thank you, car.

At any rate, it'll be better than that one late November night where we crammed in the backseat of my Subaru at the Virginia welcome center for three hours of sleep, after driving all night, in sub-freezing temperatures, and then drove to a funeral. Furthermore, we're not going to bed hungry.

On the marriage-y, honeymoon-y, relationship-y front, we're doing great. We're cooperative. We got the site prepped and running in record time tonight. I've been short most of the day (I blame hunger?), and even during my meltdown, or when he took Benadryl in Kansas, we've been able to compensate and rise to the occasion when the other one is having a weak/disabled moment. It's been good stuff.

I can't believe we're in Montana. I can't believe we DROVE to Montana. This is so surreal. But when I look up at the twilight and the silhouetted fir trees, and feel the distinct northern chill in the air, it's definitely Montana. And then there are the smells--actual fresh, clean air, and glacial water, and the trees, and the sulfuric geothermal. I did not anticipate smells, but they haven't let me down. Not even the skunks.