Out West Trip: Day 28 (Jackson, WY to Red Lodge, MT)

Today’s Highlights: Watching Old Faithful erupt. Seeing bears, bison and elk. Marveling over springs, geysers, terraces and more. Beds with sheets and indoor plumbing.

We woke early and packed up. From the Kamping Kabin, we went into town to grab bagels and coffee to go, then made our way to Grand Teton National Park. After a brief visit to the visitor’s center, we continued north through the park and on into Yellowstone. Since we will be driving back through Yellowstone on the way back to pick up Evie in Jackson, we decided to take the west side through the park. We stopped at a few overlooks and marveled at the amount of snow still left on the ground. We joined the crowds at Old Faithful and waited for her to erupt. Soon enough, she did. Both girls, but especially Camille, got a real kick out of it! We continued north, stopping at a few prismatic springs. The girls enjoyed the “steam bath” that they were treated to. While driving, we saw lots of bison and elk. Chloe spotted a West Virginia plate at long last.

grand teton np - 18 jun 2011

old faithful - 18 jun 2011

Our final stop was in Mammoth Hot Springs to see the “Terraces” — these formations are small versions of Pamukkale, but we were not allowed to walk in them. As we headed out of Yellowstone, we spotted bears off in the distance a couple of times, which was pretty neat! At the northeast exit to Yellowstone, we saw the sign “Beartooth Highway Closed”. Ugh. We kept going (through the freezing rain and past the snowmobilers) hoping that we would find a way to Red Lodge. When we got to the split just before Beartooth Pass again the sign said that the gate was down. So we headed on the “detour” and over Dead Indian Pass instead. While on 120, Rob was pulled over by a Wyoming Hwy Patrolman. He let us off with a warning; Rob insists he wasn’t going *that* much over the speed limit of 65.

prismatic spring - 18 jun 2011

terraces - 18 jun 2011

We got to Red Lodge, found my friend’s house, and then went out for groceries. We pulled into the lot at 8:03; the tore closed at 8pm. We found the convenience store up the street and bought a random assortment of food to make for dinner. We watched a movie and fell asleep in beds. Real beds. With sheets and everything!

Trip Stats:
Roadside Attractions: None. (Total: 23)
States: Wyoming. Montana. (Total: 14 – GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, UT, CO, CA, NV, WY, ID, MT)
State Plates Spotted: West Virginia (Total: 51 – includes DC)
Miles: Miles 330 (6768)
Gallons of gas bought: 14.4 (Total: 387.2)
Poptops Spotted: 1 (Total: 39)
National Park Stamps: Grand Teton NP. Yellowstone NP. (Total: 14)
Miles walked: 2 (Total: 65)
Dollars saved with NP pass: 25 (Total: 195)
Continental Divide Crossings: 3 (Total: 6)
Time Zone Changes: None. (Total: 9 – EDT, CDT, MST, MDT, CDT, MDT, MST, PDT, MST, PDT, MST, MDT)
Security checkpoints: WY Hwy Patrol. (Total: Border. Petrified Forest. Agriculture. Dam Security. WY Hwy Patrol.)