Blog Week 3 July 4th 2010
On July 3rd, in Teton Village, the local ski resort, there was a free concert by a local musician, and fireworks. We didn’t expect too much from the fireworks, but we were quite wrong. They put on a beautiful display for us, with the beauty of the Tetons behind us, and the sound of the explosions echoing off the mountains. It was truly memorable.
On the fourth, the city of Jackson puts on an annual concert called Music in the Hole. It was a huge gathering of young and old alike for four hours of music. Then we all moved across town to watch the fireworks at the other ski resort in town. Again, much more than we expected!!
Left Jackson Hole and headed for Yellowstone. We have waited all our lives for this visit. For some reason, neither Normie nor I have ever been. So this was our chance to mark this one off of our bucket lists. Drove all day, until we got to the first campground in Yellowstone. As you all know, we don’t make reservations. Why? Because we never know where we will be on what date. So reservations would only be cancelled or missed. Serendipity. Upon arrival, we noted the line of at least 20 people and rv’s waiting for check-in. oops. Normie got out to get into that line while I pulled the rv into the only available parking spot that I was sure to fit while waiting for her. I was blocking the road, so I began to park in that tight-fit spot. Apparently those who don’t know that I can park my trailer with very little clearance, have a tendency to panic while watching me move my rig. Well, this time it worked to our advantage! A lady from the office came running out in a panic to tell me that I was going to hit the Prevost bus that was four inches away! Pleeeeeze! I had four inches! She asked if we had a reservation, no. Oh, then you won’t get in here! Now you are blocking the driveway! Let me check Fishing Bridge Campground to see if I can get you in there. DON’T MOVE!!!, , , (pause 5 minutes) OK. Good news, we are holding a site for you there. Now you can back out and clear our driveway!! Serendipity. Come to find out that the entire park was full with either reservations or “first come, first served” campers.
Five full days of exploring Yellowstone were incredible. We saw pretty much everything. Old Faithful and surrounds. Buffalo galore. Bears. . . black and grizzly! Elk, deer, muskrat and more. Suffice it to say, we were totally satisfied with our visit. Too much to put into a blog, and would probably bore you to death. Unless we had been attacked by a bison. But alas, we were not. No moose to be had. We heard there were wolves, but did not see any either.
Leaving Yellowstone, we were stopped by a construction crew. We figured it was due to road construction. Partially right. The 20 minute delay was caused by a rogue buffalo blocking the road! He couldn’t go down into the river as there were concrete barriers from the construction. And he couldn’t go uphill because it was a rock face mountain. So they had to herd him out! We were the first vehicle in line, so we got a full view of this buffalo running down the narrow two-lane mountain road with a construction truck closely behind with lights flashing! I had my camera on video, leaning out of my window, until the bison made eye contact and basically gave me a look that said, “don’t mess with me, I am in no mood!” He came within a couple of feet of my window as he passed. Very cool.
On the way to Salmon, Idaho, we had some time to kill, so we took the scenic byway. We had seen signs telling about the Nez Perce Historic Byway. It was paved, so we thought, this should be nice. About 20 miles in, we joked about running out of road and ending up in dirt for a hundred miles. Well, about two minutes later. . . . Serendipity. Dirt road. For the next 30 miles, we were just like the Nez Perce Tribe, only rolling. They dragged their belongings behind them and walked. And we had nobody chasing us. They were being chased off of their own land by the American Cavalry. Chief Joseph was a peace loving chief, so he chose to flee and keep his tribe together. That wasn’t good enough for the new “owners” of the land, they wanted him corralled and put on a reservation, or dead. Okay, so we weren’t like them at all. However, we encountered a raging wind and rain storm that had me quite concerned that we would be blown over at any moment. It was truly a violent prairie wind and rain blowing across, not down. All I could picture was how I was going to roll my 35 ft. fifth wheel back onto its wheels when this was all over. Whew, we survived. Okay, too dramatic? Had to feel like we were Natives somehow, fighting Mother Nature for our very lives.
Arrived safely at Marc & Jan’s home in Elk Bend, Idaho. Civilization at last. Or is it?
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