Trip Out

Thursday:

I did it! I reached my goal of spending more time in National Parks on my road trip than I spent in Best Buy, Target, and Wal Mart combined. I went to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Theodore Roosevelt National Parks and the winner for most stunning natural beauty is Grand Teton. I have to reveal here I did zero hiking (unlike me, but I was in a hurry) and to give a true evaluation of the parks, I would need to get out of my car more. But, it was really sweet to break up the highway hypnosis with some slow driving and sights to see. Some highlights from Thursdays drive included: watching a hawk dive into grass right outside my car and come up with a rodent in its talons; seeing the shaggiest dear I ever met in the cold elevation of Grand Teton park; seeing countless bodies of water, some of which were steaming; seeing Buffalo; and seeing the retreating fuzzy wuzzy bare butt of a baby bear as I was the 50th tourist to jump out of his car to try to glimpse whatever those 49 other people were gawking at. If you want to make a new friend (attract a horde of strangers), a great way to do it is to stand on the side of the road in Yellowstone while holding a camera and pointing into the nearby densely wooded area. You won't believe how popular you just became.

Another fascinating aspect of Yellowstone was the fire scar left from 1988 when 793,000 acres burned. I've seen a lot of fires, but none bigger than half a million acres and in a park, no less. To me, it is really pretty now with a ton of regeneration trees coming up and many nicely spaced. I also thought the rolling seas of millions of silver-looking buckskin snags (standing dead trees) held a majesty and beauty uniquely their own.

This was a far more exciting moment for me than when I arrived in Idaho (although Idaho seems really great after driving across Nevada). It was my first real opportunity to spend time in Wyoming. I drove across it once on my way from Montana to fight fire in Texas, but it just doesn't count when your boots only touch the blacktop of gas station parking lots...






See this place in your lifetime. Put it on your list of things to do. The Grand Teton mountains are not to be missed.










-Obligatory Yellowstone shot.

Right after I took this, I thought to myself, "It's way too cold here, I need to get up north to Minnesota." Then I realized my brain had frozen and I'd gone nuts.