kolamblog

Onward to Utah

Wednesday,July 31
We are off to Vernal, Utah to see the old bones!
Driving into the area, I was not prepared for the beauty of the place. Entering Utah on highway 191, we passed through an area known as "Flaming Gorge" - a very apt name. The road wound in and out as we climbed one mountain and went down another through a series of switchbacks (or what I refer to as hairpin bends). So I was unable to pull over and use my camera. We did go back a few days later and got all the photos we wanted.
The whole area is a lesson in geology. The sides of the mountain show striking layers of the different geological periods. I later read (in the Field History Museum in Vernal) that hwy 191 passes through the precambrian rocks. Boggles the mind.

Driving through the park road to the camp site:

I enjoyed staying at Red Fleet State Park outside Vernal. Coming down 191, with all the mountains around us, it did not seem possible that there could be a State Park anywhere within a 100 miles. We did finally (after twice over shooting the entrance) find the road leading off the hwy. Nestled behind and among the mountains is lake and a state park. The evenings were beautiful as the setting sun created beautiful colorations (quite different from what we saw in the mornings) on the mountain slopes.
The first night we were there was a very clear night with bright stars from one end of the horizon to the other. What a great way to end a long drive - sit out below the starry sky with a drink and a nice conversation with our neighbors.
The second day, we had a Swiss family (parents and 3 kids) from Zurich pull in next to our site. We had a very nice evening with them - we helped them celebrate their national day by toasting marshmallows over the fire - a very american tradition. We exchanged contact info and hoped to visit each other someday.

Victor, Idaho

Teton Valley RV resort (the place we stayed while visiting the Yellowstone/Tetons parks) is in a small town called Victor, in Idaho.
We made fun of the fact that there was just one street and that was Main St. The place looked dead, until Thursday evening. As we drove back from Yellowstone, around 4:30 pm, we saw the whole one mile of main street packed with cars and people milling around. Apparently, every thursday, in the summer months, Victor plays host to an outdoor concert, which visitors from as far away as Jackson (22 miles to be precise) attend. Needless to say, we could hear the music till late into the night - much to John's disgust.
Victor had another surprise in store for us. The day before we were to leave the place, I developed a one day "flu" (for want of a better term). I had the chills, the aches, and ran a temperature. I sent John off to Victor Market (a small what appeared to be a hole in the wall place) for some yogurt. He came back with two bags of "stuff" and so thrilled with his discovery. The place was stocked with gourmet groceries. Serves us right for being so snooty and for not checkint it out earlier in our visit.

Driggs is a town about 8 miles north of Victor, and on the road to Yellowstone western entrance. It has a population of 1100, and 3 Thai restaurants!! We could not believe that. Had lunch at one of them and the food was very good. Seemed quite popular with the locals too. Driggs also has a Broulins, a fairly good sized grocery store, along the lines of Harris Teeter in North Carolina.

So, all in all, we were pleasantly surprised with Victor and Driggs.

The Grand Tetons

It is truly grand! We drove around the scenic loop and stopped at all the overlooks; took a multitude of photos and still could not get enough of it.

Disappointingly, we did not see any wildlife on this day.
We met a couple from New Hampshire, who had seen (the previous day) a grizzly swimming the lake, a black bear, some elk and lots of bison; all on the same day. Some folks have all the luck!!!

I take that back. We saw lots and lots of Bisons. In one group, a male bison (Arthur) suddenly shot across from one side of the road to the other, mindless of the traffic. I think he was upset that George was getting too close to Alice. Sure enough, he challenged George and staked his claim on Alice.

A very upset Arthur

Arthur challenging George

This is the Chapel of the Transfiguration - an active church with a very active congregation. Behind the pulpit is a window through which the congregation can see a stunning view of the Tetons.

In spite of not seeing all the wildlife we had hoped to see, we had a wonderful day, that ended with a very nice (and expensive) dinner at the Jackson lodge. We were seated by the window and had a spectacular view of the Tetons and the lake as a thunderstorm gathered over the horizon.

The previous day, I had bought a book (in Jackson, Wyoming) on Carl Roter and his Rendevouz Murals. These murals depict the gathering (commonly referred to as the "big Rendevouz") of the fur traders in the mid 1800s.
This is a very fascinating story. In the early 50s John D. Rockefeller sponsored a competition to create a set of murals for the Jackson Lake lodge. Roter won the competition to create the murals and these 10 works are now displayed in the (fittingly so called) mural room which is the large dining room in the lodge. It was such a thrill to be able to see these murals in person. It is unfortunate that there are no other works of Roter on display anywhere else (at least according to the literature on his work). I am so glad I got the book.

These two last photos seem to behave like conjoined twins. I can't seem to separate them. On the left is a view of Jenny Lake. On the right is a photo that needs no explanation. Except that we had crossed the Divide twice before, and each time, we could not stop to get a picture. So here it is now.

Yellowstone 2

6:00 am in the morning; driving north to the Western entrance to Yellowstone; sunrise over the Tetons and some lucky folks in a hot air balloon.

Views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

You'd think this was a winter scene!

John walking along the boardwalk skirting the geysers

I could have spit at this guy (that's how close he was); but then he may not have appreciated that.

What a nice ending to the long day! We were able to pull over to the side, and the ranger allowed us to cross the road, and get to within 15 yds of this beautiful female Elk.

Yellowstone

We stayed for 8 days at the Teton Valley RV Resort in Victor, Idaho. This was the closest (to Yellowstone and Tetons) that we could get for that length of time. In retrospect, we would have been better off splitting those 8 days between 2 different sites closer to YS and the Tetons. The drive from our campsite to into either place was close to 3 hours and we were quite exhausted at the end of each day that we visited these two places.
The first two days, we went through the western entrance to the park, traversing 3 states (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming) to do so. The first day we did the lower loop that included "Old Faithful". The second day, we did the upper loop. We would drive for quite a while without seeing any wild life. Then, around a bend we would spot a traffic jam - a sure sign of wild life near by.
So get ready for some pics.