Bear Country

Day 14

We slept in the next morning. This is a first for the trip, we're usually up with the dawn, but we need some rest. We had planned to show Sean some of Salt Lake, but we just need to press on if we're going to have any time in Yellowstone. MarKay doesn't think we can make it to the Tetons tonight, but I think we can do it.

Northern Utah is very impressive. We travelled up the Rockies through Logan. A rushing mountain stream followed the road an threatened to wash it out if the water rose much higher. MarKay got excited as we started to see green pastures nestled in the mountain valleys. She's a sucker for a green valley in the mountains. Soon we came out or the mountains overlooking Bear Lake. The Lake is very large and the sort of light aqua blue you see in Caribbean postcards. The area seems to be famous for its raspberries. Tourist season hasn't started there yet, but we stopped to admire the view and sample raspberry ice cream and shakes.

We pressed north to the Idaho side of the lake. We stopped at the Oregon Trail museum and stretched out legs. It was late afternoon, but the young lady at the museum spent her last quarter hour showing Sean exhibits and telling him stories. We grabbed a Wyoming map there and headed into my Dad's home state.

This part of Wyoming is very different from the area I've visited my whole life. It's green and framed by the foothills of the Rockies, with rougher, snow capped peaks in the distance. The scenery is fit for a postcard. MarKAy and I passed the drive fantasizing about owning property here.



North of this we found a KOA campground. It was $38 + 8 per person just to camp here--more than our 4 star Salt lake hotel cost us (thanks, William Shatner!) It's difficult to dream about owning land somewhere that you can't afford to camp. The lady there told us there was primitive camping closer to the Tetons, so off we went.

As we passed trough Jackson, we called Ben to try and Priceline us a deal for the night. That trick doesn't work in high demand tourist areas, though. We pressed on into the Grand Teton National Park and found the campground we had been directed to. After getting our tent set up (the smaller, cozier one) we talked to some of our neighbors and learned that a grizzly had been seen on the property that morning.

We're on the edge of the campground. In a camp full of RVs, we're the soft, chewy treat. As we head to bed, I'm reminded of the Farside cartoon with the polar bears munching on the igloo...