Oregon Bound: pt.11

Our days in Yellowstone were finally done, though the wonderful views contained by this country's national parks was not quite finished yet, for connected to Yellowstone is another of Wyoming's treasures: Grand Teton National Park. To be perfectly honest, there is a lot less to see here than in Yellowstone, and unless you plan on parking the car and going on a long hike, you won't really get too up close and personal with the mountains. However, I've been told that these are the very mountains that "purple mountains majesty" was named after! A vast plain separates the road and the mountain range, but it seemed that in the spring, when all the snow melts and water flows abundantly down the slopes, this vast plain actually became a lake. Just like Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park offers a slew of pull offs to be able to see the mountains, and though you know you're always looking at the same collection of them, you end up taking a kajillion pictures because each view seems more picturesque than the last! The pictures pretty much speak for themselves here, so peruse away!

the parking lot of the visitor center

one of my favorite pictures i took -- would be worth printing out!

Funny story about the next picture, I actually wasn't in a car to take it. As we were driving along the road, I thought that this would be such a cool shot, given that the road looked like it was about to crash straight into the mountains. There wasn't much traffic along the road, but I decided that I was going to pull off and try to take a shot from the absolute middle of the road. Sure enough I found my break in the traffic, but there wasn't much time! I must have looked crazy running into the middle of the road to take a photo, but I love the result!

Upon leaving Grand Teton National Park we came upon Jackson, Wyoming, home of the famed ski slope Jackson Hole. I suppose it's named as such because the town seems to literally sit in a hole in the mountains. Despite its small size, I even knew of Jackson Hole because of the slopes open for skiing and they even have their own airport! I would imagine that there are a great many people that go directly from the airport to the slopes and the ski resorts and never actually visit the town itself. However, our stomachs were grumbling and we made a stop at the Shades Cafe in Jackson. Shades Cafe was actually a Foursquare find, as I had been using it to find out cool local places to eat with good ratings. The place was really nice, with a little veranda out on the side you could sit on, with notes of jazz seeping into your ears.

Leaving Jackson Hole was not quite as easy as rolling in. The US highway that takes you out climbs through a mountain pass, and it is a 10% grade. For those of you who don't know, 6% grade is usually enough to get a sign posted warning truckers of steep grades and the need to use low gears. The hill was so steep (and perhaps my engine so weak) that I literally had to drive 10 or 15 below the limit in third gear in order to make it up with a full car load. Once we got to the top, we pulled off to have a look. Sure enough, there was Jackson, nestled into the valley, the one flat spot amongst the mountains. It was quite a sight, and as per the usual, pictures simply do not do it justice.

you can barely make out the buildings, but they are down there if you look close!

 The next stop was Idaho and as we finally got back onto an interstate highway, we racked up the miles quickly and made good time. We even escaped a massive storm on the way! Boise was not a place where we really had planned to do much of anything, but rather just a stop along the way that was convenient and easy to find a hotel at. As the land flattened out again as we made our way out of the mountains, all I could think about was whether or not I was finally going to see some real Idaho potatoes... my dad and I made a game out of trying to guess which farm fields were potatoes.

massive storm clouds

Oregon Bound: pt.10

Picking right back up where we left off, the last image we saw was of a bison chilling out in a field in the sunlight. And that is where he stayed... until we left to move on. I get the feeling that bison don't exactly move much. Which would be why I think that they'd be a much better source to become the American burger. Seriously. Bison > Cows. And taste better. And honestly, look cooler too. Horns over udders, giants beards over whatever you want to call a cow's face. Anyways...

We continued our drive through Yellowstone. By this point, we had seen more or less the big things that we wanted to see. The cool thing is, there are often little hidden treasures just a hop skip and a jump off the beaten path -- if only you know where to look. Of course, you may also run into these things out of pure dumb luck as well, which is what happened in the case of the river. I decided that I wanted to stop at a random pull off (one of what had to be hundreds in the park) and I'm so glad I did. What we saw next was a neat little section of rapids where you could literally go out almost over the water as it cascaded down through the rocks.

eh, kinda cool... what happens if we walk a little further... 

looking down the river, where my dad found an outcropping of his own

RAPIDS || WATERFALLS || ROCKS AND STUFF!

It was well worth the careful walk out onto the rocks. And it is here where a humorous anecdote arises. I had chosen this spot, the one where all of these photos were taken from. In the second photo, looking down the river, was my dad (somewhere). I don't think he's visible in that photo, but he ended up somewhere down there, next to a few other folks who had walked a little further down the road. They saw me, as I was perched right above the water, and the guy said to my dad, "Hey, look at that guy out there in the pink shirt." Sure enough, that was me. My dad replied, "I see him; that's my son!" I'm sure I made you proud, Dad. He eventually came out for a look of his own.

there i am, being artsy above the river (pic courtesy of dad)

We then diverged from the main road, and ended upon a road that took us right alongside a huge gorge. The pictures don't really do it justice. The roads in Yellowstone, more or less, follow the river, and it just so happens this often yields some of the most picturesque photos. These were no different, and after parking the car in generously sized pull off  that thankfully was not on the side of the gorge, we walked across the road to take a gander.

gorge! 

capturing the bend

 We headed to one more potentially interesting location that I'm pretty sure was named the Painted Pots. There are several spots like this, where the exhausted steam sort of combines with muddy areas and creates awesome colors. Apparently though, these are a lot more interesting in the spring when there is more water to sort of hold the structures that are created by geothermal activity together. It's always cool to see the geothermal activity, but this one didn't impress us too much. Always nice to get out of the car though, and this one spot included a nice little walk through the woods from the car. Note in the second picture that the trees look quite young. Forest fires are not only common, but necessary. It helps prune back old growth and allow for new growth to come in. You can sort of tell the age of the surrounding forest from the height of the trees! Pretty cool.

painted pots? artists pots? who knows

a perfect day

 We then headed back to the geyser basin we had barely been able to catch before dusk hit the night before, and it was well worth the trip back. It was totally different seeing it during the day rather than at dusk. One thing that always amazed me is that you walk across all this geothermal activity on these dinky little boardwalks. There are warnings galore about not setting foot on the ground and how everything is unstable and you never know what's going to happen. Kinda makes me antsy that I'm basically walking across wooden planks on top of all this nonsense. But, that's just what they do! Also I'm aware that the picture of me is pretty washed out. But it's kinda like I'm molding into a part of the landscape, no?

geyser basins galore

that trademark pink shirt again

liked the sky in this one

perhaps too many pictures of geysers now...

 The highlight of the second day in Yellowstone happened on our way back to the cabin for our last night there. We had seen about all we wanted to see, and were chewing up the pavement en route to the Lake Lodge and our place of residence for the past two days. It's often common for traffic to back up in places where something exciting is happening, and sometimes that is when someone sees a wild animal. Out of nowhere we came to a dead halt, and had no idea what the deal was. After a long day of driving, a traffic jam was the last thing I wanted. Instead we got a real treat. As I poked my head out the window, I saw was all the hubbub was about: a herd of bison, lazily trotting down the road. Big ones, small ones, calfs, and more! Seeing them walk right by your car window (I wasn't about to get out of the car now) really gives you an idea of how huge these guys are!

we can use the roads too, you know

what you looking at

 After some priceless pictures, we got ready to end the night with dinner and good night's sleep, feeling totally fulfilled at all we had seen in the park. It's one of the most beautiful places in the country hands down, and going there is something that everyone should do in their lifetime. If you haven't been, GO. More to come!

a herd of bison in the valley

Oregon Bound: pt.9

The second day at Yellowstone started with much promise, as the sun decided it was going to cooperate that day. As it turned out, this would be one of the best days that we had on the trip, and I'm glad that we had it at Yellowstone. We had saved many of the major things we wanted to see for this day, since we had hoped the weather would be better. After some breakfast with a great view from the Lake Lodge, we headed to Old Faithful.

the view from the parking lot of the Lake Lodge, where we ate meals

It would be safe to say that Old Faithful is easily one of the most popular destinations in Yellowstone, and it's easy to see why. See water squirt hundreds of feet into the air? For sure! It's the most famous and easily recognizable geyser in the park. That said, I actually found it less than impressive for all the hype. I've included a photo of what it looks like normally (the first one) and then some shots as the geyser started going off:

at rest

1

2

3

4

As it turns out, you just don't realize how actually big it is. My dad opted to stand far behind the crowds, and here is the view from where he was:

That kinda puts it in perspective eh? So note to any future visitors of Old Faithful: the best view is actually farther away. There is a much bigger wow factor back there! I was sitting somewhere right around where that guy with the umbrella was. Also, another tip: If it's raining, wait in your car until you see crowds of people returning to their cars. Give it about ten minutes, and then mosey on out there. The geyser only goes off every 13-20 minutes or something like that! Ask the rangers and they'll give you an estimated time of when the next shoot will be.

Around Old Faithful there are other geysers along with volcanic activity, and also a lodge (which was probably one of the prettiest ones in the park). One of the highlights of the afternoon, though, was when a bison decided to wander right into the middle of all of this infrastructure. That patch of grass must have been awful good for it to walk right in amongst everything! Naturally, rangers immediately caught sight of it and made sure people stayed clear.

other activity around Old Faithful

the lodge 

blue lake or bottomless steam puddle?

bison chillin "I do what I want"

We cruised around a bit more, moving past more geothermal activity. Fact is, there's a lot of that stuff in Yellowstone and you can really find it everywhere. Unfortunately, this means that after you've seen so much it starts to wear off a little bit... but that didn't stop us from taking pictures of course! There is still always something new to see and appreciate.

a little steam here...

... and a little steam there...

and a little steam over hereeeee.

Some of the greatest sights were just the clouds, hovering over the plains like a fluffy blanket while the sun broke through. Out here, there are no lights, no telephone poles, no neon signs, no advertisements or billboards. It is nature in its purest form, and damn, is it beautiful. We found this little road off the main drag around the park and decided to pull off for a photo. With the river flowing through, it was a prime opportunity for a picture, and even had a few bison chilling nearby.

sleeping it up

The day is still far from over, but I think that's probably as good a place as any to take a break. More to come tomorrow!!

Oregon Bound: pt.8

Hey Blog World, it has been quite a long time! Since my trip out to Oregon I have made it through the first term of grad school at UO. Needless to say... it kept me pretty damn busy. That means that I didn't really have time to blog... and it would probably be safe to say that I didn't really have time to blink either! Anyways, here I am on Christmas break and finally getting back to blogging. So without further ado, the journey continues...

We pick back up in Yellowstone Park, probably the greatest national park in the entirety of this country. Around every corner lay a new exciting view, around every bend lay a new vista.

As I think I may have mentioned before, Yellowstone truly has it all: the mountains, the valleys, the forests, the plains. Even on a cloudy day, it's beautiful.

Dad with camera at the ready... sporting that America jacket

At one point we saw a small dirt road in passing along the main road, and I seem to remember it had Blackhawk somewhere in the name. I looked at my Dad and said, "Wanna try it?" There was a sign that warned that certain vehicles shouldn't traverse this terrain. But shit, this was the reason I got a truck with four wheel drive, right? We went for it. Unlike the main paved roads, this one was dirt, with more potholes from erosion that you could count. But the views that you got were pretty cool. We may have hit a lot of bumps and blown a lot of gas, but shit, when you're driving across the country, why not? Check it out:

out here, you're truly on your own... no traffic, no cars, just silence and nature

the infamous one-way dirt road

 On our way across the country, we had been trying to hit as many states as we could on the way, and since Yellowstone's borders spill over into Montana, naturally we had to go out the northern exit to check it out. We found a huge gate there that my Dad had seen once before when he traveled west after his college days had ended, and this was by far the coolest entrance to the park. The Xterra parked off the road on the right side was our chariot for the journey!

Upon reentering the park, the daylight was beginning to get sparse and we didn't have much time left. However, as we passed back through the gates to Yellowstone, passing through the main headquarters, there was one more thing yet to see before daylight ran out: Mammoth Hot Springs. The pictures here truly do not do it justice, as it is the largest hot springs in the country. Normally, there are many vibrant colors all around the springs, but since there was less water during this time (it was fall instead of spring) the effect was lessened, and also the sun was absent more or less, contributing to a (slightly) less spectacular sight. From the top of the hot springs, you can see down the valley into the depths of Montana, mountain ranges flanking both sides, the town of Gardiner, MT, basically the gateway "city" to the park.

the view from the top -- you can see the buildings of headquarters of the park in the distance

you can see some colors, but normally this is much more colorful and active because of the melted snow in the spring!

yours truly standing on one of the boardwalks around mammoth hot springs

On the way back to our cabin we stopped on a whim to see a geyser basin before we ran out of sunlight. It was so spectacular that we decided that we would definitely come back here the next day. It's so amazing that Yellowstone contains such geothermally active areas, and this is one of the biggest! Steam, constantly exploding out of the earth, with a roar and a putrid stench. Ah yes, the sights of Yellowstone. More to come!

dad admiring the geyser basin