A Full & Scenic Day
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Day 30: July 5, 2021 A Full & Scenic Day Comment via blog |
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I have seen a few of Peter Wolf Toth's
Whispering Giants in the past, and was very happy to
see this one on US-20 right around the corner from my motel.
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Looks like a Conoco fan lives here. It's a few miles south of Rexburg, ID.
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The nearest saltwater is nearly 200 miles south in the Great Salt Lake so
it must be a freshwater seagull guarding this cabin on the Warm River just
outside the Targhee National Forest in Idaho. It certainly looks worth
guarding and the seagull certainly acts like it belongs. It was strolling
along the road with a newly acquired meal when I got ready to leave.
Instead of flying away as I started to pull out, it made me wait as it
slowly strutted to the side of the pavement. I grabbed the last two shots
over the edge of the road that starts climbing just north of the cabin.
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At the first overlook inside the forest, the sign don't work 'cause the
vandals took the panel, but there are working signs -- and scenic views --
nearby. The pictures of Lower Mesa Falls and the valley below them were
taken from a Civilian Conservation Corp built overlook.
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This picture proves that there is life between the Idaho-Montana border
and the entrance to Yellowstone National Park and that they have rodeos.
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This is the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. I had hoped to be here
earlier but road closures and construction, cabins, seagulls, waterfalls,
and such got in the way. I'm sure it would have made some difference in
the congestion level but I don't know how much. Probably not much.
National parks are seeing record crowds this year. My plan was to drive
directly through with few, if any, stops and I almost accomplished that. I
did pause a couple of times to take pictures in empty pull-offs but it was
road closures and construction inside the park that did the most damage to
my plan. I know now that it wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time but the
rerouting did cause me to drive through Old Faithful's parking area. That
cost me time but made me appreciate the fact that I wasn't trying to park
an almost inconceivable amount.
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At almost the same time that I got back on my planned route, it started to
rain. It was rather heavy at first, and I knew there were some very wet
people back at Old Faithful. I was roughly half way through the park at
this point . The rain varied in rate but continued as I drove around
Yellowstone Lake and through the area of fire damage along the lake's
northern shore.
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US Highway identities return outside the park but the scenery doesn't
immediately change. Shoshone National Forest covers a lot of territory on
the park's east side.
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This hilltop house twenty-some miles west of Cody, WY, is impossible to
miss. I later learned it has a name, Smith Mansion, and
a story. The Big Boy statue and manmade trees are about
five miles from the Smith Mansion. They are about half a mile from each
other so might be connected.
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The mountains looked like they would be tough to cross but the red van
seemed to know what is was doing so I just followed. It led me to the
other side through three small holes.
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All three of these Cody, WY, structures are extremely important. The first
is where the Cody Rodeo is held, the second is the Buffalo Bill Center of
the West museum, and the third makes pizza and beer. The pizza place is
the only one I was actively looking for and it became even more
significant after I got there. I was looking for
Millstone
Pizza Company & Brewery because friends Terry and Sue had eaten
here a few years back and thought it was the best pizza they had ever had.
But they had been extremely hungry after a long drive and began to wonder
how much their appetites has affected their appraisal. I can't really
answer that question but I can verify that they make some
really good pizza.
They also make some really good beer and that's where the real-time increase in significance comes in. I track the number of breweries I've visited and made a big deal of hitting 200 a couple of years ago. I do keep an approximate count in my head but was still surprised when this place registered as my 300th on Untappd. It turns out that two recent stops that had disappointed me by appearing as restaurants had multiple classifications and were properly counted as breweries. Disappointment forgotten, surprise experienced, and big deal to be made when I get home. |
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I stopped for the night in Greybull, WY, at the
Antler Motel.
It has three free standing cabins in addition to an L-shaped string of
attached rooms. My room was at the end of
the L's long leg.
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