Yellowstone - Tetons

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This will be a fairly brief offering since the pictures say a lot more than words. To make a long story excruciating, we wound up covering much ground pretty fast between these two seemingly wondrous parks. I have to be honest and say that I was appalled by the hordes of people ravaging the Tetons which completely sapped my desire to do any climbing there for the time being. The fact that the national parks service has so little shame in charging 20 dollars per night to be stacked like sardines in tent sites so close that when you fart your neighbor says 'excuse me'. The mountains aside were beautiful beyond words...so see the pictures! I do hope to return at some point with a more organized approach to climbing there which would entail back country camping like we did in the Winds and would NOT find me there on a weekend...my own mis-judgment, I know...

Yellowstone was equally frustrating, not only due to the thousands of tourists but I was simply underwhelmed by the various sights to be seen there. The geysers smelled like eggs (sulfur) and you are not permitted to walk off the board walk, which made me feel like I was in NJ* (horrors) and these warnings are constantly thrown in your face every ten feet so you are not even permitted to daydream. While driving, the discussion of value came up in relation to the experience we had in the Winds as opposed to this weekend in the park. Call me elitist, but paving roads and setting up ice cream stands which lead the chubby, white-legged masses within inches of so-called natural wonders DOES detract. The entire concept of value is one centered around rarity. If gold grew on trees, we would use it to wipe our asses with like we do various paper products, regardless how pretty it may be. By trying to make a buck off of people, the parks service has ultimately done a great disservice to the natural elements they claim to be enhancing/protecting and to the people who would make the sacrifice (of walking a few miles on a trail or unmaintained dirt road) to see nature on its own terms and not the terms of couch potatoes.

All in all, it was still cool to see. We drove slow, pissed off plenty of people and had some existential questions answered (see photo of vacationing Amish) We now look expectantly towards Idaho and Montana for a new, less commercial installment of adventures.

* co editors note: this does not count my awesome family members that live in NJ (yes i mean you alyssa) SS.

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Photos

Grand Teton
in the center of the mountains you can see the Teton Glacier

Yellowstone
Old Faithful

Yellowstone
One of the many thermal hot springs.

Yellowstone
the discoloration is sulfur deposits

Chinese Spring
one of the calderas near ol faithful

Yellowstone
Terrace spring

Yellowstone
Gibbons Falls

Yellowstone
Storm clouds rolling in

Yellowstone
Basalt wall.

Yellowstone
River by Tower Falls

Yellowstone
Some Elk grazing.

Yellowstone
The deadwood from the fires of 1988.

Amish on Vacation
So the question I asked back in Pennsylvania was answered, The Amish do in fact go on vacation, in suburbans ... driven by a non Amish person.

Welcome to Montana
After almost a month, we are out of Wyoming.