|
Yesterday, I Tweeted the news that I was under the world's largest elk
horn arch and got a reply asking how it compared to those in Jackson. I
didn't know and I didn't even realize that I would soon find out. Jackson
has an elk horn arch like the one pictured on all four corners of the town
square. They appear to be larger than the similarly shaped ones at the
ends of the main arch in Afton but are
clearly smaller than that main arch which crosses four lanes. I also noted
that Jackson also has a Cowboy Bar (although I didn't try it) and is
celebrating its centennial.
|
|
Grand Teton National
Park is adjacent to and just south of
Yellowstone National
Park and you actually go through GTNP to get to YNP when coming from
this direction. These pictures were taken well before I was in either
park. A mountain range that approaches 14,000 feet is not easily
contained.
|
|
The first picture is from inside Grand Teton National Park and the second
is inside Yellowstone National Park. They look pretty much like they are
supposed to and there are no legitimate surprises. A little earlier,
however, I began to realize just how naive I had been.
I had been using the first Yellowstone National Park entry listed by my
GPS to estimate time and distance. When I bedded down last night, I had
about a two hour drive to reach the park. Since Old Faithful was the main
thing I wanted to see and I had seen a suggested itinerary for a one day
Yellowstone visit that started with Old Faithful, I decided that's where I
should head first. I found Old Faithful listed on the GPS and set it as my
destination. My ETA jumped by an hour. Yellowstone is a big place and,
while two hours might get me to the entrance, it was quite a bit farther
to the big geyser. My simplistic view of the park would affect things
later in the day even more.
|
|
The estimated time of the next eruption is displayed near the doors of the
Old Faithful Visitor Center. I checked it and immediately headed to the
viewing area thinking things might start popping any minute. Old Faithful
is predictable but not precise. Based on the duration of an eruption,
experts can predict the time of the next within about ten minutes. My math
was a lot less accurate than that. I had mentally goofed on the time zone
adjustment and, instead of being a few minutes away, the next eruption was
an hour and a few minutes away. Maybe that was a good thing since I had a
front row seat as the area continued to fill. My choice of location was
reinforced when a ranger arrived at the end of the bench I was sitting on
to give a presentation.
|
|
Old Faithful beat the prediction by about seven minutes. The tall tower of
water was partially obscured by the ever present steam but it was
definitely impressive. So was the crowd which the ranger had estimated as
about 900. Bucket list shortened by one.
|
|
I goofed again right after the show although it wasn't apparent
immediately. That sample itinerary suggested walking through one or more
of the park's geyser fields. Old Faithful is in the Upper Geyser Basin and
a stroll around it was there for the taking. Though I had not walked
through any part of it, I had been looking at it for the better part of an
hour so decided to go elsewhere. I should have taken to the paths at hand.
The photos were taken on the road between Upper Basin and Mammoth Hot
Springs, the sample itinerary's end point. I turned onto the road leading
to the Midway Geyser Basin but managed to extricate myself from the mass
of cars hoping for a parking space before it became impossible. I didn't
even try any of the others. I've included the picture of the backs of two
people I don't know because of what they are looking at. The white arrow
in the full size picture is aimed at a brown bear. I chose not to get into
the tangle of cars pulling over but do kind of wish I had held up traffic
long enough to get a decent photograph. My fuzzy enlargement of the fuzzy
bear isn't much help but here it is.
|
|
The last two
pictures were taken on what I believe is called Firehole Canyon Road.
|
|
Now I'll reveal just how naive an old guy can be. Maybe naive isn't
exactly the right word but it will do. I didn't plot this eastbound route
very carefully. I had some idea of just heading east when I was ready to
leave Yellowstone. An after the fact closer look indicates that I was
thinking of somehow getting on US-14. I checked the GPS when I got ready
to leave Mammoth Hot Springs and it pointed to the north for the fastest
route. Admittedly, going for the shortest route would probably have put me
on US-14 but I had come through a fairly big construction site on the way
to the springs and avoiding it did not seem like a bad thing. Besides, I'd
never been in Montana.
|
|
Plus I got to go through the Roosevelt Gate for which Teddy himself laid
the cornerstone in 1903. The quote comes from the congressional act that
created Yellowstone, our first national park, in 1872. I'm wondering
how/if fees are collected when folks enter through this gate.
|
|
Gardiner, Montana, lies just outside the park. There are quite a few
motels but every one I saw with a "vacancy" sign had the
"no" turned on. I didn't even try. I did try out one of
Gardiner's many taverns, however. The name
Two Bit Saloon
caught my eye so I stepped in and up to the bar. They had plenty of other
choices but, like the bar in Afton, Wyoming, they had Pabst Blue Ribbon on
tap. I'm thinking it might have been two dollars plus some tax since I got
two-eighty-something back from a five. In fact, I'm going to believe
that's exactly how much it was because I like the idea of a two dollar
beer in a Two Bit Saloon.
|
|
I headed north on 2-lane US-89 then east on 4-lane I-90. On both roads,
the view through the windshield was pretty good.
|
|