Day 11 - Yellowstone/Grand Teton

 5:30 a.m. On the road to Yellowstone after a night of very little sleep for both of us.  Early morning is the best time to see/hear the wolves.  It's 35 degrees.  We saw dark humps on the side of the road, which turned out to be buffalo sleeping.  Peaceful sight to see them sleeping in the semi-darkness. There's buffalo poop all over the road.  We can hear it hitting the underside of the van, and we can smell it even with the windows closed.  We passed a van pulled over on the side of the road that had just hit a buffalo.  The guy was changing the front tire, their side mirror was on the road, and their windshield was shattered.  

Buffalo at dawn.  Moon is still up.

6:20 a.m. Parked at Slough Creek, listening to wolves barking and howling a little. They didn't do it long, and we never saw them.  Headed back to Lamar Valley.  Saw hundreds of buffalo, including several nursing babies.

7:45 a.m. Back to hotel for breakfast. Then we did an outdoor, self-guided walking tour of old mining equipment.  Cooke City was a silver mining town in the 1800s.  Mike spotted an elk on the tour.

8:45 a.m. Drove several miles down Beartooth Highway and pulled over at a scenic overlook.  We hiked a little way off the road and just enjoyed the view and the quiet.  It's the first time we've been without other people crowding around, and it was peaceful. We saw two deer in the forest.  It's a beautiful morning.  No wind. Up to 49 degrees already.  Forecast calls for snow in 2 days, so we will be heading south today.  

9:40 a.m. GAS at Sinclair's in Cooke City, Montana.  10.1 gal x $2.60/gal = $26.32. The only other station in town is an Exxon, and Mike refuses to give them his business, because they wouldn't let him use their nasty little outhouse without purchasing something. Heading for Grand Teton National Park.  No idea where we're staying tonight.

11:10 a.m. Up to 76 degrees.  We have to drive all the way through Yellowstone to get to Grand Teton.  We saw this gorgeous elk at the village near Mammoth Hot Springs.

12:17 p.m. 84 degrees. We're discussing why West Virginia isn't called North Virginia.  Mike suggested I write a letter to the governor of West Virginia.

We tried to find lodging in Grand Teton and were told that everything was full and to try Jackson Hole, Wyoming, an hour and 20 minutes away.  Drove through Grand Teton on the way to Jackson Hole.  Gorgeous views in Grand Teton. 

 

I called every hotel in Jackson Hole, and they are all full, including the super cheap nasty ones.  There was one that was willing to rent us a studio condo for $359 a night, so our only option is sleeping in the van tonight, heading out early to Grand Teton, and then driving south until we find a place to stay.

I saw a nice lady carrying her adorable cat, Pico.  She let me pet him. He's the only cat I've seen this whole trip.

We walked around, sat in a park, and when it got dark, went to a very expensive hotel and sat in their business center to use their wi-fi and charge our phones and camera batteries.  They had a beautiful old player piano for sale for $267,000.  It was pleasant to listen to, and it was playing songs that my dad used to play.  He would have liked it.  Wish he was here (again, he's not dead, just not on the trip with us). 

At about 10:00, we headed out to the van for bed.  To be continued tomorrow...