Day Six: Transit through Yellowstone

Again the journey to Cody was a long day and by the time we were through with dinner, we didn't get to bed until probably 11:00.  I wanted to get up early again the next day and get going since it was our Yellowstone wildlife day and the best time to see the wildlife is early in the morning.  However, given the accumulation of long days I was sure I would suffer a mutiny if I had insisted on departing as early as possible.  So we slept in a little later and didn't get out of the hotel until about 8:00 am after a short breakfast.  

The people at Cody Cowboy Village were very helpful in guiding us a good way into Yellowstone.  We went over the incredible Beartooth Highway and into the northeast entrance of Yellowstone.  Our goal was the Lamar Valley and the wildlife that supposedly abounds there..."the Serengeti of America".  

Bison in Yellowstone are ubiquitous

On our trip through Yellowstone, we saw lots of wild life, but really only one of each.  Although bison abound, we were anxious to see them in their wild habitat.  So we stopped at the first sighting, not knowing just how ubiquitous they are through out the park.  And we stopped around the next bend, and the next and finally figured we did not have to stop each and every time we saw a bison.  We showed we had a learning curve, although probably not a steep one.   


We also came across a number of other animals we were excited to see in the wild, including a black bear cub, an elk, a handful of mule dear, and some prong horn antelope.  The odd thing is that we only saw generally one of each of these other animals (with the exception of the mule deer and the prong horns).  

Bear cub playing in the street

Yellowstone Elk

Granted, we were traveling on the beaten path through the park, but we saw the bear cub essentially in a road construction zone just bouncing along in between the rows of waiting cars in the traffic.  The elk were munching grass right along the road to Grant Village.   

Anyway, we worked our way down the east side of the park stopping to take in some of the geological sights as well in the Mud Volcano area of the park and the sights along the Yellowstone River.  

I personally thought the Yellowstone River and the overviews both north and south of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone were impressive and they gave both Twiggy and I a sense of vertigo at the various overlooks -- not to mention a heighten sense of awareness in keeping track of Campbell the ever adventurous and physically over-self-confident one.  

Twiggy and the kids at the bottom of Uncle Tom's trail

I was having problems breathing at the altitude and sent Twiggy and the kids down Uncle Tom's trail without me.  



And we worked our way down through Grand Teton National Park and onto Jackson, WY where we stayed the night.  

First impressions: Jackson -- little more upscale, surprisingly so given its location.  People dressed up more, so much so that I felt pretty underdressed at dinner as the other patrons poured in in their pastel Polo sweaters.   Prices were marked up accordingly -- like attaching either the word "wedding" or the word "marine" in front of any ordinary object (e.g. "cake" or "binoculars") -- I guess having the location of Jackson in the mountains means a commensurate premium.  

Grant and Campbell at a Yellowstone River Overlook