Day 8 – Really, is that all this exit has? NO!!!!

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Mileage 293.1

We wake up EARLY today, eat and head out early so that we can get to Jackson Wyoming around 9. I start driving but let Susan take over when it gets curvy. She prefers to drive when it’s curvy and in the mountains. The haze is thick and we are afraid we are going to miss good views because of it. We climb and climb, then descend. I know why they call it Jackson Hole, Jackson is in the middle of a valley surrounded by mountains. We get to Teton Village and pay to ride the tram up the mountain. The tram went from 6000+ feet up 4100+ feet more. It took only 12 minutes to go up that far. Susan said, it’s like taking a gondola from Sea Level to Boone in 12 minutes. The views were great. We didn’t stay up on top very long as we had a long day ahead of us.

We headed back down and into Jackson and then into the Grand Tetons. Well, the haze disappeared and we got some spectacular views. The mountains are jagged and very high. Most have snow on portions of them. We stop often to take pictures from different views. The pictures from Jenny Lake were some of the best. We ate at the Grand Teton Lodge restaurant for lunch. The floor to ceiling windows had an incredible view of the mountains. We all enjoyed our lunch but really enjoyed our view. After lunch we strolled outside and took more pictures including a selfie. Back into the car we went and we continued on thru the park. We stopped at a couple of lakes and more views of the area. We stopped a lot!!!

As soon as we left the Grand Teton Park, we entered Yellowstone. We came in from the South entrance. We were still following the Snake River and getting near to where it started. The River cuts through a gorge and we hopped out often take pictures. We took pictures of Lewis waterfall and then stopped at Lewis Lake. Pam took off her shoes and got into the water. I kept seeing a red hue on the water and tried to get it in a picture. I then realized it was my polarized sun glasses causing it. So I took a picture into the water, through my glasses. Wow. You just have to look at the picture. Our next stop was the West Thumb Geyser Basin. We stopped and took pictures of a bubbling mud bath but didn’t see signs for anything else, so we hopped in the car and drove off. As soon as we drove out and could see from the outside, Susan and Pam saw the other areas. U – turn and we went back in and parked. There were hot pools, geysers and the bubbling mud area. There was a long boardwalk thru the area and we went all around it. We even were able to get a close picture of an elk about 3 feet from us. Someone near us thought it was a moose. The hot pools were so clear. It is unbelievable that they can be so clear, and some of them were so deep you couldn’t see the bottom. We got a lot of shadow pictures and some beautiful pictures of the features. We then got back in the van and headed onto Cody.

We stopped several times to see views and we also made pictures of the elk we saw. Our favorite picture though was the bison walking in the road. We ended up having to pass him to get by. Today was also really good for shadow pictures.

Driving thru Yellowstone and in the Tetons, was sad at times, especially in Yellowstone. We passed thru many areas that had been burnt in previous years. In Yellowstone, one area in particular was just huge. It was so sad.

We drove into Cody and to our hotel The Holiday Inn. Yes, another free night. That’s when I reach up to scratch my ear and realize my earring is gone. NOOOO! Nicky just gave these to me last week. I’ve worn them every day but so far, it’s nowhere to be found. I did have it on earlier today because I can see it in some of the pictures. I’m so sad.

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Photos

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View on the tram

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a great shadow

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Earthquake zone

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view along the highway

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view of a man at lunch

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Elk

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Bear

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bison

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Parker's shadow (Parker is our van)

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Self portrait