Oregon Bound: pt.7

Yellowstone. The go-to, best-in-the-country park to see. The best place to go if you want an easy way to see the real wild, the great outdoors (short of maybe going to Alaska I suppose). We departed the next morning from Cody, Wyoming, waking up to a rather bland day with blanket cloud cover. Not exactly positive foreshadowing. Regardless, we began to trip to Yellowstone.

leaving "A Wyoming Inn", with Seamus parked under the marquis

on the way to Yellowstone... raindrops already litter the window 

By the time we actually got to Yellowstone, it was raining. I suppose at least the car was getting cleaned in the process (sort of). Upon entering the park, there was about a 35 mile drive or so to get to the stop sign where we would then start upon the main figure-eight-shaped loop. For those of you who don't already know, Yellowstone is freaking HUGE. Look it up on a map. Driving around the loop of the park in one direction can be over 100 miles. Therefore it seems that unless you're going to be spending a lot of time there, by car is the way to go. On the way in, immediately we were greeted by some furry friends:

Upon getting to the Lake Lodge, which was the village where we would be staying in a cabin, we found out that we were too early for check-in. We had wanted to be able to dump the bikes off the back of the car, both for security and convenience, but alas we pressed on with full cargo in tow. The lodge itself is a masterpiece, a mammoth log cabin, as I assume that's simply the best way to build things when you're out in the middle of nowhere. The Lake Lodge itself was where we also ate the majority of our meals while we were staying in the cabin... simply because it doesn't make sense to drive 60 miles to go get a meal each morning. Though, traveler beware, Yellowstone is expensive. A cabin for two people with two beds and a bathroom -- $200 a night. Each meal? Somewhere between $25 and $30 for two (which doesn't sound like a lot, but even for breakfast it was that expensive). Need gas while you're at the park? (and you will...) $4.20 a gallon. However, as my dad said, the experience is priceless. And so you open up your wallet for the opportunity to see some true magnificence.

We basically decided that today, we were going to do a half of the figure eight loop that ran inside the park. Given the inclement weather, we would save some of the more sun-necessitating things for the second day we were spending there.

With vistas aplenty to see and landmarks of all kinds, we set out into the park. We stopped at some hot springs, as Yellowstone contains tons of geothermal activity, and eventually made our way to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

steam arises from the depths as geothermal energy releases from the core

volcanic ground is very unstable... so the park has set up boardwalks to go around and see all the bubbling springs... though bring nose plugs because the sulphur smell is horrid!

mountains, plains and rivers... Yellowstone has it all

a random waterfall we stopped at before the canyon

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was, in my opinion, by far the coolest thing we saw in the park. Cavernous, with seemingly painted walls, there are some truly breathtaking views. The sun even poked out from behind the clouds for a moment. According to my dad, there is nothing quite like it when it truly is sunny outside.. but I suppose I'll have to take his word for it. Regardless, the pictures are, well, nothing short of picturesque.

For fear of becoming too picture heavy, here is where I'll stop for now. But more will be on the way tomorrow!

Pouring Rain .

Pouring rain, watch it start and stop;
sheets fall down, just a single raindrop.
Driving blind on a two lane highway,
hazard lights flashing so the cars can get by me.
Past pain alleviate, let stress deviate,
from the path it was on, cause the Weather Channel's wrong.
Sunshine, mostly, pull me in closely,
from dawn, 5:32 am; until nightfall, when I go to bed.
Driving down the local roads, under some stressful loads,
focusing on driving slow, 10 mph under the speed limit he goes
Mind draws a blank, what's the next line?
Searching through my mind but can't seem to find a rhyme
Escapee from the job, Guantanamo's oppression;
Steadfast like a heart that allows no digression
Drive safe, indicator lights flash, jump out the driver's side door in a mad dash
for the house and its safety, and the desire to escape the
exterior thundershower, relentless downpour,
at least we ain't got tornadoes knocking down our poor door.
Short little thing that I wrote down right here,
the rain's got me tired, need to sleep, it's true
pounding raindrops on my face, 'til I let loose.

In the Rain .

I'm quickly finding out that in Florida, much like in South Carolina, when it rains it pours! Last night we decided to make a date night and head out to Outback, one of our favorites. We started with a Bloomin' Onion (I've never had it before) and gosh I never knew what I was missing out on!

But more importantly, the weather has been pretty iffy lately. It'll be really sunny and nice, but then quickly turn sour when we want to do something; or it will be crappy in the forecast and so we don't want to risk getting caught in the rain.

There is something cool about the rain though. It's used a lot in songs, and lately one I've been listening to is See My Tears by Machine Gun Kelly: One line states, "You can't see my tears in the rain". Interesting thought, eh? The rain is so out of our control; the weather in general really is. It does what it wants -- with no regard for plans, special events, or date nights. At the same time though, rain can be really awesome: the sound of it against the windows at night, the pitter patter on the walk, the rapping against the roof of the car as you drive. Sometimes it's better to just embrace it, feel the drops on your face as you walk. Hell, once you're wet, you're wet! I don't run very much anymore, but the few times I do, I actually really enjoy running in the rain. First, you feel like a total badass, but more importantly it's just overwhelmingly refreshing.

Anyways, if a rainy day is headed your way sometime soon, don't be afraid to embrace it. And maybe this song will do wonders for you too:

Also I wanted to make it known -- for those readers out there who have always been deterred to leave a comment by the captchas, I took it off. Though in the past two days, I already have six or seven spam comments, and so I will moderate comments before they are posted. This is strictly to just avoid the spammers getting their nonsense on my page. So comment away! The lines are open.

Water Rising .

Of recent, the Clemson area has entered what we call, the "monsoon" season. This is the time when it rains pretty often, and when it rains, it pours endlessly all day. We're talking sheets of rain, gusts of wind, tornado watches, flooding, and all of those other fun things that come with crazy weather. However, there is a great benefit to all the rain and water. The lake in our backyard has risen considerably! As the winter progressed we became more worried about the fact that we might not have water left in our little corner of the lake when the warmer months arrived. But with all the rain recently, we will hopefully still have plenty of great times out on the boat, some opportunities to water ski and wakeboard, and all of that fun stuff. Here's to the rain! Cheers!

The Pouring Rain .

At home, when it pours, it rains for a short couple of hours and then it's done. In Clemson, when it pours, it pours all day. And then continues to pour for about three days thereafter. We haven't had monsoon weather like this past week since freshman year. Now I'm not usually one to complain about the weather, but when it pours all day, and you still get soaked even when you have an umbrella, those days just suck. I don't mind cold. I don't mind rain... unfortunately the combination of those two things in addition to wind make for some pretty awful weather. It makes for packed buses and long walks across campus with a sub-par umbrella. It makes for wet socks, wet pants, and discomfort all day. And all of that sucks.

But the important thing to remember? It could always be worse. If I complain about my shoes being wet, I could be without shoes. If I complain about wet pants and socks, I could be without any extra pairs of pants. If I complain about the cold, I could be without a home and without heat. If I complain about my umbrella, it's possible I could have none.

On the days that we perceive to suck, the ones that seems like they couldn't get any worse, the ones that we can't seem to believe are even happening, it's important to remember that we are so much better off than so many others. Rain, albeit pouring, is but an inconvenience. Wet is just a feeling, a minor temporary condition of the clothes you are wearing. How strange that we can indulge in the hot water and wonderful wet feeling of a shower, and yet being out in the rain is uncomfortable.

When the going gets tough, let us always remember that things could be worse. We could be in worse situations. And as long as we remember that, we will, over time, become a better person.