Trip to Minnesota - Day 1
We left Logan, Utah at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. It was a sunny day. The night before we had both packed our car. Christine also made a trip to Roy with her brother to visit her family and I went up to the university campus with Blake and some of my housemates - Russ, Jessica, and Eric - to play Quake in a computer lab where Blake worked.
After leaving the great white house where we had been living for only a month, we headed to McDonalds for some breakfast to eat as we started our trek across half the United States.
We had talked about how we were going to head out of Cache Valley where Logan is established. We had a few options. One of our options was to go east through scenic Logan Canyon. Another was to go north to Idaho. We chose the latter route because it would be easier on our car, because we have made several trips through Logan Canyon having lived in Logan, and because we knew there were many stretches of Logan Canyon under construction.
We continued north on US Highway 91 through Preston and on to Niter and Grace. In Niter we were stopped by a young woman who looked to be no older than 16 or 17 who was stopping traffic, not with her looks, but with a STOP sign (although she may well have been able to get by on her looks alone). A construction crew up ahead was putting down new pavement on the highway and a pilot car was being used to direct traffic through the construction area each way. We waited for roughly 15 minutes while the young flagwoman smiled and waved at all the local boys in their pickup trucks who came to visit the gas station on the corner near to where we were stopped.
Finally we were on our way again. We went through Grace and then through
Soda Springs. In Soda Springs, we turned left and headed North into
Swan Valley. Swan Valley was one of the most breaktaking sights along
our entire trip. Deep shades of green were everywhere to be seen.
We followed Idaho highway 34 into Wyoming where we got on US highway 89 at Alpine Junction. Going through the canyon between Alpine and Jackson, Wyoming, we ran into more construction. The wait was minimal and tolerable because we got a great view of the mighty Snake River rolling below us. The water looked muddy from the seasons unusually high runoff levels.
On our way into Jackson, I noticed a group of bicyclists riding along the side of the road. It suddenly hit me at that point that I had forgotten to attach our bike rack with our bikes to the car. We had no bikes. We were bikeless. We were losers. Flip!
Christine had never been to Jackson Hole so we walked around a little. I
showed her the park in the center of town with its twin arches at
opposite corners made entirely of elk antlers. She wasn't impressed as her
mind filled with the thoughts of all the animals that died to make those
arches. I guess when I visited Jackson Hole in my early teens I didn't
think about that.
It was lunchtime so we found a restaurant, Moutain High Pizza Pie,
to eat at. We eat had a salad and shared a vegetarian calzone pizza.
After lunch we headed out of Jackson stopping at the Flat Creek Lodge,
a gas station, to top off our fuel. The price for gas there was $1.39 per
gallon-- not much higher than we were used to.
From there we entered the Grand Teton National Park. Unfortunately we never stopped to snap a photograph of the Grand Tetons as we drove by them.
In the middle of Teton National Park is the South Entrance to both
the northern section of the park. A hefty $20 fee was collected
which gave us access to both Teton and Yellostone National Parks for
seven days.
We stopped near Jackson Lake to snap a photo of the lake with the devastation of the Waterfall Canyon fire visible on the other side of the lake.
Also on the other side, near the location of the Waterfall Canyon fire,
is Ranger Peak. I don't know what significance that has, but it was clearly
indicated on the visitor information plaque near where this photograph was
taken so it must have significance to someone.
It wasn't long until we were in Yellowstone Park. We crossed the Continental Divide three times on our way to the Old Faithful geyser. Unfortunately, we snapped this picture at the crossing which holds the lowest elevation. The third crossing of the Divide as you approach Yellowstone is about 3000 feet higher.
When we got to Old Faithful we found out that Old Faithful wasn't
due to erupt again for at least another hour. We didn't want to wait
around that long, so we grabbed some snacks and drinks at the Hamilton
Stores grocery store at Old Faithful village.
While in Yellowstone park we saw a moose lounging in the grass about
seven meters from the road. We were suprised when traffic came to
a halt after we had left Old Faithful. To our left was a herd of bison.
But ahead of us, crossing the road, was an even bigger herd. All cars
were stopped and some less intelligent, life-risker tourists got
out of their cars to take
pictures. I rolled down my window and snapped a snot as a mother bison and her
young strolled by our car. Unfortunately, I coudln't get the baby- which is
what Christine repeatedly told me to capture on film. I suspect there was a
natural reason for this. The mother probably walked on the side she did to
be between her young and us (the enemy).
We arrived in West Yellowstone around 5 p.m. and started looking for lodging. Everywhere we looked, it seemed, had no non-smoking rooms or had exuberantly high rates. Finally, we settled on a $65 room at the Hampton Inn & Suites. Not only was this the least expensive room we could find, it was also probably the nicest we could have gotten.
The Hampton had only been open for two weeks and was offering special rates to build business. Normally our room would have gone for $90 to $120.
After moving our stuff to our room, we headed to a nearby McDonalds. The prices were significantly higher than that of McDonalds in Utah. When I exclaimed surprise at the prices, the girl at the register shrugged and said, "Welcome to West Yellowstone." That seemed to be everyone's excuse for screwing you over as we went around town.
