Day 11: Green River, WY to Yellowstone

6/2/11  It was another great day!  It doesn't seem possible, but it seems that each day brings so much beauty.  Our nation is a beautiful place; I wish all of my family and friends could see some of the sights I've seen on trips.  Having Sis along is a special treat and makes the sights even better.

We left the motel and went back into town to get gas and breakfast.  The Buckaroo Family Restaurant was the right place to stop.  It was definitely a mom and pop place, and the food was excellent.  The decor included a real lariot, a Elk trophy with antlers probably 6 feet wide, and many other localized items making the place feel homey.

We had decided to take the road less traveled (as we often have), with a road following the Green River and Fontenelle Reservoir due north towards Jackson (otherwise known as Jackson Hole).  The road had almost no traffic, a 65mph speedlimit, and sight distances in miles.  While the scenery was not as good as I had thought it would be, it was okay, and it changed often as we drove along.  It was an easy ride.

Along the way, we saw a number of small herds of Antelope off to the sides of the road.  They were just grazing in the huge pastures along the way.

We arrived in Jackson and basically traveled through town without stopping and on into the Grand Tetons National Park.  Bar had been pining over not seeing big mountains, but she was satisfied with the Tetons being real mountains and being a part of the Rockies.  They were snow laden, with snow in all of the crevices, making them grey and white.  They were beautiful.

On the way to the park, we had encountered several snow showers, mixed with rain showers.  Not enough to wet the car or the road, but making the ride more exciting as we wondered if we'd see any snow sticking on the roads.

We rode through the park, seeing what we could see.  Lots of pictures were snapped at various points of interest.  We were riding along and saw a number of cars stopped on the shoulder.  Knowing that they were seeing something, I whipped over to the side, too.  About 50 yards away, a smallish Grizzly bear was walking through a pasture!  We took pics until it was too far away to snap a decent shot.  This was the first Grizzly bear I have seen close enough to see it clearly without binoculars!  Terrific!  A little further down the road, another cluster of cars stopped on the side of the road.  We wheeled in again, and there was a calf moose with its mother.  We could barely make them out, and the pics are not great, but it was neat seeing them.  Further down the road, Bar spotted a group of 4 Mule Deer.   A good game day!

Entering Yellowstone, it started snowing pretty hard.  The temperature dropped to 35 degrees, and it was so neat to see the snow falling and the temperature so cold on June 2.  The sides of the roads are lined with snow pushed up by the plows.  In some places it was about 10 feet high, and was at least 2 feet everywhere. Most places had snow about 5 feet deep.  All of the forested areas are covered in snow, with no ground showing at all.  The lakes are all iced in, with no water showing at all.  It's like being in another world up here!

As we were about to exit to go to the Old Faithful Lodge Cabins where we're staying, a herd of Buffalo had the traffic stopped where they were crossing the road.  They were about 100 feet in front of us.  As we were snapping pics, a bull stepped out of the woods about 6 feet from the front of the car and calmly strolled across the road in front of us!

We drove on to the lodge and got registered.  Then we watched Old Faithful burp, emitting huge clouds of steam vapor in the cold air.

The day was a wonderful one.  Animals galore, up close and personal.  Good driving.  Snow falling and covering the sides of the road and woods.  A good dinner.  The day was just too good to describe properly.

Tomorrow--exploring the park.

ps:  I was successful in tethering my phone to the computer to post this blog.  I'll try to post some pics, but the connection may not let me.  If no pics, come back in a few days and they should be added by then.