10 posts tagged “wyoming”
Some pictures from the trip back to California from Denver. I had to drive through a snowy Wyoming.
And here are pictures of my host and my home in Westminster, CO...
Yeah, I know, it's been over a year now since my trek around America.
But I'm still making slideshows from my pictures, and just finished another one...
For JoshTrek readers who didn't see all the pictures, and for those who just want to see them again, here are a couple slideshows from the more memorable locations:
How's this for a 4th of July celebration:
Day 11: Sundance, WY --> Rapid City, SD
Trip Stats: 11 days, 6 states, 3450 miles
Song(s) of the Day: Peaches by Presidents of the United States of America & Ooh La La by Faces
For the 4th of July, I went to the perfect place to celebrate Independence Day: a memorial to the guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence, the guy who won the War for Independence, the guy who preserved the country through a Civil War, and Teddy Roosevelt. Yes, it's a pretty great place to be on the Fourth and they had a lot of celebrations going on. They had live music there all day (one band being a typically annoying a capella group, and Washington did not look amused.)
Still, I was a little disappointed by Mt. Rushmore. It's pretty much as it looks in the pictures, and the scale of it (which is the most impressive thing) did not wow me like at Crater Lake or Devil's Tower. And also, while at places like those, you can walk around and every angle you're at, you see something new -- at Mt. Rushmore, once you've seen all 4 presidents, you've seen it all.
Much more impressive was Presidents Park in Lead, South Dakota. At Presidents Park, there are statues of every single US President, from Washington all the way to Bush 2. It is truly hilarious. I didn't have much time to take it in, because they wanted to close the place in 10 minutes, so I rushed around the path and took pictures of some of the lesser-known presidents (I feel bad that they never get memorialized). Definitely a good warm-up for Rushmore.
While on the subject of big goofy statues, I also visited Rapid City's Dinosaur Park today. High on a hill overlooking the city are about 6 giant dinosaur statues. I suspect they are not paleontologically-correct. Who cares? -- you can climb on them! Happy Birthday to a country that would have a place like Dinosaur Park.
And while I'm on the subject of the greatness of our country, how about a country where gold could be discovered and, a few years later, there could be a booming city filled with immigrants and Americans who've come to strike it rich? That city was Deadwood, South Dakota. OK, so it also had gambling, prostitution, and soulless killings, but according to what I was told today, that was only a small part of the town. It was a true boomtown for a while, and now it's a booming gambling tourist town. Surprisingly, the town still maintains it's Old West charm and doesn't seem overly tacky, even though every other building is a casino now. (Can't say the same for the towns surrounding Mt. Rushmore. The tackiest place I've been yet.) I learned about famous residents like Wild Bill Hicock, Calamity Jane, Deadwood Dick, and Poker Alice, and even visited Hicock's grave in "Boot Hill" high above town. Very cool.
Day 10: Billings, MT --> Sundance, WY
Trip stats: 10 days, 5 states, 2200 miles
Song of the Day: Nee nee nee nee nee (Close Encounters theme stuck in my head all day -- thanks alot, John Williams.)
Geography Joke:
Q: What did Montana say to Wyoming while trying on clothes?
A: "Does this make my butte look big?"
I started the history portion of my trip today at a place called Pompey's Pillar. It is a big rock sticking out of the landscape by the side of the Yellowstone River. Probably wouldn't be of any consequence, except that William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) stopped there on his way back from the giant expedition, made note of the rock, and even carved his signature into the rock. And coincidentally, I showed up there almost exactly 200 years to the day after Clark. (He was there in July, 1806.) Anyway, it is pretty amazing to see his signature, although it must be a real dilemma for park rangers to be celebrating someone carving his name into something, when that is probably one of their biggest pet peeves. I also learned a lot about Lewis and Clark in their new museum -- it turns out I knew pretty much nothing about them before today.
Left there and headed down to Little Bighorn, site of Custer's Last Stand. Another dilemma for park rangers: how do you celebrate the bravery and heroism of these men who died in a horrible military disaster, when they were there to force the Indians onto their puny reservations after taking away their land and the real heroes were the Native American warriors who won one final battle before losing the war forever? It is definitely a striking memorial, seeing gravestones all around the hills and ravines in the area, showing where cavalrymen and Indian warriors were killed. It's a sad story all the way around, and handled with dignity there. (It's the first battlefield I've visited -- maybe they're all like that -- I guess I will find out when I head to Civil War sites.)
Then it was a long drive back into Wyoming and east. But a very rewarding drive, because it led to Devil's Tower. The tower is amazing from far away (though you really don't see it until you get pretty close) but up close, it is truly awe-inspiring. The size and the fact that it is just pure rock that seems to have just been thrust upward from underground (apparently, that's not what happened, despite the Indian legends). I can't imagine any rock climber not making Devil's Tower the ultimate goal. I was so inspired, I hopped up there and started climbing. Made it halfway, but had to go back down because the sun was setting. I did not see Richard Dreyfus or any aliens (unless they took the form of prairie dogs).
Day 9: Cody, WY (Yellowstone) --> Billings, MT
Trip stats: 9 days, 5 states, 2650 miles
Song of the Day: Showdown at Big Sky by Robbie Robertson
I have to admit, I ain't got much today. I said goodbye to Yellowstone with a somewhat uninspired half day of waterfalls and random driving around the northern part of the park (looking for bears -- and I did see one, but the rangers were there so I couldn't stop my car and gawk) and a stop at Mammoth Hot Springs to see yet another crazy thermal feature.
Of course, the waterfalls and the scenery I saw today were pretty great (though Yellowstone Falls are a tough act to follow) and the terraces, like the geysers and mudpots, are weird-looking and amazing. They are really interesting because it is so obvious how they are formed by the hot springs. Supposedly, they also change as often as daily (sometimes dry, sometimes overflowing, always building themselves up, etc.) so if I ever get back there it will be interesting to see how different they look.
One thing I discovered about Yellowstone in my few days there: so far, in my experience, Yellowstone has the stupidest visitors of any National Park. I heard countless moronic statements and saw people walking up to 5 feet from a buffalo to get a picture, despite warnings every 100 feet saying not to approach dangerous wild animals.
Yellowstone also appears to be Family Vacation capital of the world. I saw all of the classic family vacation moments: young kids complaining to parents how much their legs hurt and that they can't go on; parents saying "too bad" and making their kids keep walking; teenagers acting aloof; parents not stopping kids from doing stupid things (like running near 500-foot cliffs); kids refusing to smile or take off their hats for pictures; kids being wise-asses; and even a few families that seemed to all like each other and be having a good time (very heartwarming).
The second half of the day was a drive north into Montana -- yet another amazing road through canyons, along the Yellowstone River, with tall mountains on all sides.
Day 8: Yellowstone National Park II
Trip stats: 8 days, 4 states, 2250 miles
Song of the Day: Ooh, That Smell by Lynyrd Skynyrd
OK, it is late because I went to the rodeo tonight. Yee-haw! It was fun but I felt very out of place, especially because I didn't have the required headgear.
It was the end of a good day spent entirely at Yellowstone. First, I went to see more geysers and fumaroles and mudpots. It turns out the Old Faithful area geysers are actually quite refreshing smelling, compared to the nasty rankness of the Mud Volcano, Dragon's Breath, etc., that I saw today. I have to assume the bison
is a stinky animal, because they didn't seem to mind at all.
Mudpots smell slightly better than geysers and fumaroles, and they are so cool. I could watch them all day.
If you prefer a more standard concept of beauty, I also visited the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone", which is a giant canyon formed by the Yellowstone River, including two very big waterfalls.
Day 7: Yellowstone National Park
Trip Stats: 7 days, 4 states, 2100 miles
Song of the Day: Faithfully by Journey
Well, I thought 3 days at Yellowstone was going to give me time to get some rest, take it easy, see parts of the park most people don't see, etc. I should have realized the park is gigantic and there is so much to see that 3 days can't possibly cover it. (It doesn't help that I'm stuck staying out in Cody and the east exit road is closed from 8PM to 8AM, and being worked on and unpaved for a few miles of it.)
After a late start today, I finally got over to Old Faithful and the geyser basin around it, planning to see it, then head to the mudpots and Yellowstone Falls, etc., etc. Never made it out of the geyser basin. It is huge and amazing and there was just too much to see right there. Geysers are totally insane. I can't believe the first people who discovered this place didn't put a big X on the map and tell everyone else to stay away. There are these boiling hot pools in the middle of nowhere that sometimes just suddenly start shooting water straight up. It is completely crazy. Everywhere you go, there's smoke coming out of the ground, and half the holes in the ground are making bubbling noises. Meanwhile, the smell is not pretty -- I would venture to guess Yellowstone is the funkiest-smelling National Park. There was even a sign saying that the gases are poisonous and that guests should leave the area if they feel sick.
I waited to see Old Faithful, which went off right on schedule and was definitely impressive, no matter what all the punk kids who think Xbox is cooler than nature say. Though I guess I'm easily impressed, because even the puniest little geyser was cool to me, even just the little springs that were bubbling over. The whole place is just crazy -- it's surrounded by the usual incredible National Park scenery, rivers, trees, canyons, etc. And then suddenly there are a bunch of steaming pools and fountains. Very weird.
The wildlife in Yellowstone is as advertised. I saw a bunch of bison -- every one of those impresses me, too -- they are huge. I also had a wolf run across the road right in front of my car. I said "good doggie", but he didn't stick around long enough for me to take a picture. And I saw a few elk with unbelievable gigantic antlers.
Tomorrow, hopefully enough time to see the Yellowstone River and the mudpots...
OK, it's already after 9AM because the internet connection didn't work last night, so here's a quick report on yesterday. Spent the whole day at Grand Teton National Park. The Teton Mountains are amazing, amazing, amazing. Everywhere you go, there is an incredible view of the mountains. Around the park, there are also beautiful lakes and the Snake River and lots of great trails.
I hiked one trail to Inspiration Point high up on a mountain overlooking Jenny Lake. Given the choice between walking the 2-1/2 miles back or walking 5 miles all the way around the lake to get back, I took the even smarter choice: taking a boat back across the lake. (I learned my lesson.)
There were some thunderstorms later in the day, which brought out the mosquitos. But also seemed to bring out the wildlife. I had a good animal-spotting day. First, I saw a black bear cub in a tree (you can kind of see it in the picture). I also saw a bald eagle on a tree by the lake, but it was too far away to get a picture.
Later, there was a deer right in the trail I was walking, and I also saw a bunch of little marmots. Then, driving up to Yellowstone, I saw a crowd on the side of the road. I stopped and found that they were all watching a moose mother and baby in a creek by the road. And finally, as I was driving out of Yellowstone at the end of the day, I saw a lone buffalo grazing on a hill, but it went away before I could get a picture.
I just drove through Yellowstone quickly and out to my hotel in Cody, Wyoming. The road between Yellowstone and Cody is unbelievable, too. Think Disneyland's Big Thunder Railroad, then multiply by 10,000.
I have 2-3 days to spend at Yellowstone, so hopefully before everyone descends on the place for the weekend, I'll go see the popular stuff today, then get to do some back-country hiking tomorrow.
Day 5: Twin Falls, ID --> Teton Village, WY
Trip stats: 5 days, 4 states, 1700 miles
Song of the Day: Walking on the Moon by The Police
Started the day at Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, ID. It's actually a bigger drop than Niagara Falls, but they divert so much water to their power plants that it hardly compares.
From there, I headed to the Craters of the Moon, but on my way out of town, going back over the bridge across the canyon, I saw a couple guys in helmets and jumpsuits. Perfect timing to catch this:
Craters of the Moon is a huge volcanic site, basically a bunch of lava rocks in different formations. There's one area that has piles of small lava rocks and larger flows of lava that cooled. There are splatter cones where lava spit out of the main flow and formed small cones. There are big cinder cones that built up from the lava and now have trees and grass growing on them. And there are caves formed from hollow lava tubes. Interesting geology lesson, but honestly not the most beautiful place around, as my pictures showed.
On my way from there, I passed Arco, Idaho, the first town in the US to be powered by atomic energy. I understand it was not the original planned site for first atomic town, but there were some complaints from the first choice: Notus, Idaho.
The next stop was a big one: The Idaho Potato Expo. I learned a lot about potatoes (really -- I even got answers to questions I had since coming to Idaho. Why do I keep seeing wheat and barley fields instead of potatoes? Turns out they have to rotate the crops every 3 years to keep the potatoes growing.) And I saw the World's Biggest Potato Chip. Very exciting.
Then, it was up into the mountains and over the Teton Pass to get to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The trip was pretty amazing, especially when you finally get a glimpse of the Tetons themselves. Jagged and rocky, with a frosting of snow, they couldn't look more like a Bob Ross oil painting. And Jackson Hole itself looks just like the setting for a TV western -- flat plain surrounded by tall mountains on all sides.
