The Incredible Series of (Un)Fortunate Adventures

Lawful Bison

Wow....what can I say about the last 3 days?  Let's see, where do I start?  The plan for Thursday was to leave our "Teepee" lodge and head back into Yellowstone and see a few last sites at Yellowstone Lake and West Thumb before heading back south to the Tetons for the rest of our day.  As we are heading back into the park, it begins to rain and we are warned by the ranger that snow is coming (and to watch out for wildlife on the road).  We knew that it was expected to come later in the afternoon by which time we'd already be back in Jackson....or that was what we thought.  On our way to Yellowstone Lake, we have a bison walking in the opposite lane in our direction (at least he was following the rules of the road).  We see some beautiful scenery around the lake despite the rain.  Yellowstone Lake is the largest high altitude lake in North America (20 miles by 14 miles).  We see a few more geysers and decide to hit the south entrance for the drive to the Tetons.  As we approach the road that would head to the south entrance, there is a line of about 10 cars sitting there with a ranger and a closed gate that read, "Road Closed."  I believe my heart dropped right about then as I knew what this probably meant.  It wasn't snowing yet but you could tell that the drops on the windshield were beginning to turn.  As we sat there, I got a head start on my gut feeling that we were going to be exiting the park a different way and explored the atlas looking for the best possible way to get out of the park and back to Jackson.  It looked like heading back to the west entrance, up to West Yellowstone, Montana and then hitting major roads down through Idaho and back around to Jackson.  Everyone was just sitting there as I decided to drive up to the ranger, ask what was going on, and what would be a good course of action.  He said that the road was at least closed temporarily due to accidents on the road and that the snow was already falling there with an expectation of a foot of snow.  In his opinion, that entrance was probably closed for good.  If you know anything about Yellowstone, you know that there are only 4 entrances (north, south, east, and west and they aren't close together).  He agreed that the best thing to do was to get out of the park somehow and find major roads where the DOT would be better equipped to handle clearing the roads.  So I drive back up to Old Faithful for some gas and some confirmation of our idea to get back into Jackson.  By now the snow is really coming down. We hit West Yellowstone, Montana and begin our trek to Idaho Falls.  Snow is still coming down and the roads are horrible.  Turns out we were now in the Targhee National Forest and the roads are just two tire tracks in front of me and a visibility of about 1/4 of a mile, going 30 mph.  I keep praying to God to keep me safe, keep the car on the road, and to keep the idiots away from me.  :-)  After taking about 4-5 hours to travel less than 200 miles, we finally hit Idaho Falls.  Now we have a decision to make.  Without having a clue as to what was going on in and around Jackson and uncertain if we could even get through there, we decide to head south to Park City, Utah to see Ben and do something for the day.  Back to the car again!  Finally the snow turns to rain and eventually it turns to.....nothing.  No precipitation, or at least not much.  I pull into Park City, tired and sore from all the intense driving and spend the night at Ben's.  

Our Day at Park City

We wake up Friday morning and decide to go see the Olympic Park, one of the sites for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.  (Guess what?  It's snowing again.)  Spent a few hours in the museum reliving the moments of the 2002 Olympics.  Afterwards, we drive on into the historic part of the city.  It's a very neat quaint town.  Definitely full of the western motif and every building and house is unique in both style and color.  I saw houses of bright blue, yellow, purple, and everything in between.  Utah is a very "environmentally friendly" place and that was also evident everywhere.  And in the words of one (new) local-everybody's fit, everybody has a dog, and everyone has either bike rack or ski rack on their vehicle.  :-)  We walk down main street and head to Park City Mountain Resort to hike a few trails on the now dormant ski slopes.  We use a mountain biking trail and begin the trek up and once again, feel the altitude change.  Once we entered into the forest, the view was absolutely gorgeous.  Snow on the trees, snow falling from the sky, and a layer of autumn leaves on the ground provided an absolutely beautiful quiet scene.  Only wish the pictures captured it.  Almost a mile up and then a mile down gave us the exercise we needed after a day in the car.

We met up with Kenton and headed to Squatters Pub for our evening meal and good conversation.  Then we headed back to Ben's place for the evening and to prepare for the long haul back.  If only we knew that our snow adventures were not over yet.

After waking up and packing up our stuff, we head out from Park City, UT on I80 headed to Cheyenne, WY.  Our destination?  Just past the Nebraska border.  It was supposed to be our "easier" day of driving.  I drove in mostly snow up through Rawlins, WY but it wasn't too bad.  Had to be careful going over bridges with the temperature hovering around freezing but otherwise I could go mostly the speed limit.  Keith took over driving around 100 miles from Cheyenne.  So close to our goal....or not.  About 34 miles west of Cheyenne the snow picks up but the traffic does not.  Traffic on I80 has come to a stand still.  The reason?  They've CLOSED I80 due to the snow so after sitting in traffic awhile we are turned around back to Laramie.  A quick check of the atlas reveals that the only way around is to take 287 down to Ft. Collins, hop on over to 76 which will take us back up north to 80 west of North Platte, NE.  So on we go.  Snowing like crazy.  Seeing a tractor trailer jackknifed on the road.  Thinking to ourselves, "What more?"  Tired and sore from being in the car a lot longer than anticipated, we decided to make our stop for the night Ft. Morgan, CO...about 2.5 hours away.  It puts us 11 hours away from Iowa City.  Definitely not making our next day of driving any easier.  We've encountered 4 unplanned states and two detours off our intended path.  After sleeping on a concrete floor the last two nights and needing a shower, the Days Inn off of I76 is a welcoming sight.  A good nights sleep and it'll be back in the car.  I know tomorrow will be long for both of us as Keith will head back to IN and I will turn around and go back to Nebraska.  I can't believe where our adventures have taken us.  It's been a crazy ride.  Can't complain too much, although I think my body is complaining about the hours in the car and sleeping on the floor.  We've been kept safe throughout all of this and everything has eventually worked out.  Thanks to the Lord for the protection and we pray for continued protection across a few more states.  :-)

The (Mis)Adventures of Yellowstone

Struggling to breathe, can't get enough oxygen, what's going on??  Oh, it's okay.  It's just adjusting to life at 8,000 feet!  I'm not even trying to exert myself, just climb up that ramp, and I'm huffing and puffing like I can't get my lungs filled with that precious O2. But enough about that!  Let's get on with tales from my adventures in Wyoming.

Sun peeking through the steam at Midway

Tuesday starts off with us venturing from the Tetons to Yellowstone.  A much longer drive than I anticipated.  Once you get to the northern edge of the Tetons, it seems like the drive to the entrance of Yellowstone is always just out of reach.  The temperature kept dropping as did the rain drops as we drove north.  The radio stations dwindled to just one....102.9 which plays an unknown style of music and cell service drops to "No Service".  That's my phone's way of telling me, "I ain't even trying anymore.  No use searching."  By the time we reach anything in Yellowstone, it's around 1 pm.  Grant Village is closed and we have to drive all the way down to the marina to find a bathroom.  Once that first mission is accomplished (and one that will allow me to fulfill all the rest of our missions) we head to Old Faithful.  Along the way we encounter our first bison.  Old Faithful erupted a mere 20 minutes after we arrived (average time between eruptions is 91 minutes).  It's almost anti-climatic but still, it's a "must-see".  We walk a couple mile loop around the rest of the geysers and read up on how they are formed and what's going on under the surface.  I realize that we are on the continental divide as my breaths don't seem to be bringing in much air as we climb the 1/2 mile to Solitary Geyser.  We take it slow and easy and I find that breathing through my mouth gives me just a little bit more air!  After taking in the sites of the Old Faithful Inn and the gift shop, it's off to Midway Geyser Basin which was so beautiful despite it's "ferociousness".  Under the boardwalk was a fragile thin surface filled with the little bacteria and micro organisms that fed off the hot water erupting from the geyser basins.  Steam everywhere.  The sun trying to break out from the steam and clouds.  I turn to my left and what do I see?  A FULL rainbow.  Never have I seen so full a rainbow that was so bright and clear as it entered the ground.  I turn on my camera trying to somehow capture the brightness when a SECOND FULL rainbow appears.  I can't help but smile.  I almost tear up.  God-thank you for that sight.  It already looked like You were trying to come out from the clouds as the sun tried to fight through the steam.  Then You show me your promise as clear as day.  Awesome, wonderful, breathtaking.

Norris Geyser Basin

By the time we investigated a canyon, another falls, and encountered two female elk, it's time to find a place to sleep.  We go to the Madison campground and pitch our tents under the big Wyoming sky.  It's only 8 pm and the temperature is falling fast.  I won't sugarcoat this...it was one of the more miserable nights I've ever had due to the cold.  Even in my three bottom layers and four upper layers PLUS a sleeping bag rated to 20 degrees, I was shivering.  I think I needed more padding between me and the ground.  My calves were so tight the next day due to the constant fetal position I was sleeping in to stay warm (although my sleeping bag made bringing my legs up to the rest of my body pretty difficult). I started off fine but I woke up a few hours later to find myself pretty cold.  I woke up every 2 hours (I know I dreamed) and by 5 am I needed to go the bathroom (I looked out for any signs of bears before I ventured out) and it started raining once I was back in my tent.  I contemplated going to the car for that had to be a little warmer, didn't it?  Well, I braved it out in the cold and was "awake" (was I really asleep?) by 7:30.  Still raining so we got ready and took down the tents in a cold, cold rain.  Oh no, a very low tire.  Where do we go?  Rangers don't have air compressors by the way.  A kind gentlemen pumped up the tire for us and we headed off to West Yellowstone, Montana to get that leak fixed.  Still cold.  Still raining.  Two hours later we are finally back on the main loop of Yellowstone off to Norris Basin.  This basin's springs are much more acidic than the alkaline ones found at Old Faithful (although those ones smelled too).  The sulpher smell is strong and the landscape of  Yellowstone changes into a barren wasteland.   Not barren but not like any other place we'd seen at Yellowstone.  And finally I begin to feel warm and the sun pokes its head out, for like an hour....or less.  After Norris it's up to Mammoth Springs.  Home of more springs and geysers and the old Army fort.  We eat a quick lunch and map out the rest of our drive.  Hark!  More Buffalo!

Bison

Now we begin our trek from the northern edge of the park to the eastern side.  Along the way we encounter more rain (surprise), a bison blocking the road (two of them in fact), and some beautiful falls.

Panoramic View of Falls Canyon

 Our ultimate destination is Canyon Falls, the home of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  It took us a few hours to get there making all our little stops along the way to get out of the car to take pictures.  But it was well worth it.  We hiked down to the lower falls (and hiked back up the switchbacks.....yikes...yet I saw several "older" married couples making that trek, they just stopped to rest and I was proud of them) and I took video of the falls there.  The noise was deafening!  Then we hiked the northern rim only to find that the end of the trail had been washed out.  So we hiked BACK to the middle and hiked the OTHER way of the north rim only to stumble across the Grand Canyon.  Well worth the hike!  Gorgeous.  Beautiful.  Magnificent.

Grand Canyon

Lower Falls of the Canyon

Now it's on to find dry warm lodging.  On the way out of the park we encounter a herd of elk....

and a moose taking a swim.....

and saw Yellowstone Lake which is 20 miles by 14 miles....largest high altitude lake in North America (no pictures yet).  We drove the east entrance all the way to the bustling building of Pahaska, WY.  No kidding, the town shuts down next week.  This "town" consists of one building with a restaurant, gift shop, bar, and service station and several "teepee" huts behind it.  No frills lodging (no TV!) but a slow wireless, an actual bed, a warm shower, fulfilling food, and dry clothes are all it takes to make me happy.  Good night world.  (FYI-2-3" of snow are expected tomorrow)

Now if you have been thoroughly entertained and now want some "deeper" reading, read on.  Otherwise, just exit out.

Something that has struck me in seeing these geysers and springs and such is that all of this was made because of sin.  Why you ask?  The earth was never in such tumult in the Garden of Eden.  Everything was at harmony.  Canyons, mountains, geysers, springs, volcanic creations......all a result of a world no longer perfect.  And we find these creations to be so awe-inspiring and captivating when it's actually the result of destruction, a world in conflict, of pressure needing an outlet (Old Faithful).  Many of the sights we've seen recently are also the result of patience.  Water, fire, wind, pressure didn't do all of this in a day, a year, or even a decade.  Over the thousands of years that this earth has been rotating around the sun, these systems have been at work.  Rarely forcing it (sometimes yes in the case of floods, volcanic eruptions, etc) but letting the river flow and make a new creation.  Isn't that how we should be?  Not forcing the issue, pushing the river, or trying to take matters into our own hands but rather letting God work through us, in His time, in His way and just think about the creation He'll make in us.  It takes pressure to create beauty and sometimes He'll allow some pressure in our life to create something much more beautiful.  Next time you see a picture of a crater, a canyon, or even Old Faithful, remember a few things.  First, all came as the result of sin entering the world but yet, a beautiful creation can still be made.  Secondly, it didn't happen overnight and God's work in you won't take overnight but He'll keep working on you till the day you die.  And third, what an awesome God we serve!  He created a world so awesome and beautiful not for us to worship it, but to point us to its Creator.  Wow, just wow.

Jenny Lake

Day 1 of our adventure began in the Grand Tetons.  While on the highway, winding our way through the countryside, we saw the sign for the National Forest and when we went around the corner, I saw some of the most breathtaking sites.  Mountains reaching for the skies, a sky that was bigger than I would ever see in Indiana, and a view and altitude that took my breath away.  Trees that seemed like they were reaching for God.  And that's what we should be doing.  Reaching up for God.  We, in and of ourselves, can never reach God just like those trees will never reach the sky.  But they never stop trying and neither should we.  Never stop reaching out to God.  And God will reach down to us and bridge the gap that cannot be bridged by us.  But I digress... :-)

We walked about 7 miles around Jenny Lake, which is about in the heart of the Tetons.  It took us about 4 hours to make this trek up and down a very rocky terrain.  By the time we had finally made it all around the loop, we were done ourselves.  A short drive back into Jackson, WY and finding a motel were on the agenda.  Tonight it's a good rest and headed up to Yellowstone for the next 2 days.

Not a man made sound to be heard at Jenny Lake.