Perils of a Flight

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Wyoming - day 1
Perils of a Flight

Today begins our Wyoming adventure. I call it an adventure, because we really do not know what to expect. I have been watching the weather forecast and it keeps changing - one day warm, the next cold, one day dry, the next rain, some days windy, some not. All of these things have an impact on the current fires in the area which is why I have been watching so closely. There are currently 5 fires burning in Yelowstone National Park. According to news reports, only one poses any type of threat to visitors and that is more of a nuisance threat than a physical threat. That particular fire is close to the main road and officials will close that section if the fire or smoke makes it a dangerous situation. We are hoping for the best.

This adventure includes only me and my mother. I have been to this region before but my mother has not. In addition to it being fire season, it is also rut season. That should make for some interesting stories. I began my trip by flying out of Atlanta and into Jackson Hole with a stop in Dallas which is where my mom and I met up (she flew out of Montgomery, AL). I arrived at the airport, went through security and arrived at my gate with no problems. This was my first time flying with American Airlines so I was not sure how their service was going to be. When checking in for my flight I was given the opportunity to board in group 1 boarding for an extra fee - I declined. When it came time to board, guess how many people boarded in Group 1? None. Glad I did not waste my money. It was not a full flight so after closing the gate, the flight attendant told us we could move to another seat if we wanted to spread out some. Looking around, I saw the exit rows were empty, so I opted to move and I was the only one! I could not believe it. No one wanted to move for the extra leg room - so not only could I stretch out a bit, I had the entire row by myself. Nice. They did serve drinks, but no snacks - not even the tiny bag of pretzels. The flight went faster than expected which is always a plus and we landed in Dallas and I went to search for my mom. Her trip did not start out as well as mine.

Mom woke up with her blood pressure way too high and made a rush visit to the doc before heading to the airport. After getting meds and an OK from the doc, she rushed to Montgomery and made it just in time to catch her flight, but they would not allow her to check her bag. So she boarded with no luggage. Going hiking in the mountains of Wyoming with no luggage - no clothes, no boots, no hiking sticks, nothing. What is one to do except go shopping. She made it though and after meeting up in Dallas, we were off on the next leg of the trip - Jackson Hole.

That flight was smooth as could be expected. When booking our tickets there were not any 2 seats available together, in fact only middle seats remained. But as luck would have it, the gentleman sitting beside me asked if I would trade seats with his wife. 'You would like me to give up my middle seat for an aisle seat so you and your wife can sit together?' You betcha! And there was no one sitting in the middle seat beside my new aisle seat so that was an even better bonus. Flying is so much more comfortable when you are not cramped in like sardines. Mom unfortunately was still stuck in the middle of her row. We received our complimentary beverage and it was then I realized that only first class passengers get a snack - I wander if it was more than a tiny bag of pretzels.

Our shuttle was waiting for us as we departed the tiny Jackson Hole airport and we were soon driving our rental car. We decided to go find our hotel and then proceed with shopping. We found a Dollar Tree and Kmart - thought that was good enough to replenish the essentials that are still in the suitcase that never made it on the plane. We were too exhausted after flying all day and then shopping that we skipped dinner and headed to the hotel.

Tomorrow is the real start to our adventure - where we head into the park and do some hiking. My biggest concern about this trip is encountering a bear while on the trail. I personally feel that no trip to the Yellowstone area would be complete without at least seeing a bear, but I really do not want to run into one while on the trail. We had taken precautions - packed a whistle (for a noise maker and warning other hikers) bells (noise to warn bears that we are in area so we do not surprise them), hiking sticks and pocket knife for protection (just in case the worse scenario does happen) but all those items are in the well-planned, well-packed suitcase that did not make it on the plane. So we bought a can of bear spray during our shopping spree, but hoping we do not have to use it. I read a disclaimer that stated to not spray it on humans or clothing. Some people think it is a bear repellant and use it like insect repellant! It is pepper spray for bears - not a repellant. But it does make me laugh to picture those people spraying all their gear with that expensive bear spray.

No opportunities for pictures today, but I will take plenty tomorrow. I will continue to write the blog but I do not think connectivity will be available to post until a few days later. I will update as I can.

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