Dec 11, 2014

Grand Teton National Park

After leaving Yellowstone, we squeezed in an entirely-too-short visit to Grand Teton National Park. The fall colors were beginning to show, it was a bright and beautiful day. 

"Since they are among the youngest mountains in North America and still actively growing, they have not had time to become heavily eroded; their jagged outline was sculpted by moving ice during the last glacial period."

We love Stephen

Fabulous visitor center - new in 2007

We received  a tip in Yellowstone - Jenny Lake is a must see. We are on the east side of the mountain range, where the peaks abruptly rise up from the earth, just west of Jackson Hole.





Sun sinking

Goodbye, mountains. We had to get back on the road to cover some ground on our way toward the Badlands. Our drive in the remaining sunlight was beautiful. Later that night, we rolled into a strange campground among the Wyoming oil fields.

Dec 8, 2014

Yellowstone part 3

Here is a quick summary of our last days in Yellowstone.
It is impossible to recount it all, a revisitation may be in order once I cover the rest of these travels.

Mammoth springs, travertine terraces



A video posted by Cori (@trailandcompass) on

"bobby sock" trees

A short hike to Harlequin lake - bear spray in hand

We met up with a friendly park ranger on the trail - we bonded over
our travels, and got to bird watch with her. Dream date! haha

Got this whole picnic area to ourselves for dinner one evening.
We were sitting on the edge of the Yellowstone caldera.

This was our view of the edge - LAVA - we are sitting inside of a super volcano.
 We like to spend time in, on, and around trees and geek out over geology.


Paintpots

We made a mad dash to see as much as possible in our last few hours at the park.
It was an unforgettable geyser-sunset-tour.



I'd like take a moment to plug the Ken Burns documentary NATIONAL PARKS: America's Best Idea.
It is on Netflix (originally aired on PBS). 

PLEASE at least have a listen to ranger Shelton Johnson speak about a single moment in Yellowstone - the first 2 minutes of this video. These moments are the reason we left home, these are the moments
John Muir calls "true freedom, a good practical sort of immortality."