On the Road Again

Sunday, July 10th: Left Aurora at 9:00 this morning--Joe and Cindy were off to church and we to Grand Tetons National Park (GTNP) in Wyoming. Though 80W seems to melt into the horizon, Wyoming is covered with hills and ridges, hundreds of miles of livestock fence, wind barricades, and a slightly pink-tinted type of asphalt. I can't even begin to comprehend what pioneers thought when they saw the landscape begin to rise and roughen--and what courage it must have taken to keep going. The odometer kept spinning and time kept ticking away. We estimated 500 miles/7 hours. The reason we aren't sure about mileage/time between destinations is that Jenna and I chose to not calculate them so we wouldn't be always checking the atlas and the clock...but now, we are always checking because we have no idea at all.

9 and 1/2 hours and 600 miles later, we arrived in GTNP. By some dumb stroke of luck, we actually found Lily's dorm, hidden behind one of the service stations. Big hugs and some waiting around, then off to the Colter Bay campsite. Lily's friend Stephani let us camp for FREE for three days. Never hurts to ask--for all those times I was embarassed because you asked for something free, Thanks, Dad! Set the tent up in 15 minutes--another thanks to my Dad who set the tent up in our living room in case I had forgotten how to do it. Headed to Leeks, a pizza and beer joint right on Jackson Lake (Pesto pizza with tomato and artichoke...mmmm). Tried another local brew (Snake River Lager), got free firewood from Lily's work (Tent Village), iced down our Molson, and went to a picnic area near the lake. Campsite quiet hours start at 10 and the picnic area is fairly secluded.

Once the fire was going, people started trickling out of the woods on foot, on bikes with headlamps, carrying coolers and campfire essentials: acoustic guitar, smore supplies, bug spray, flashlights, and various debatable substances. In less than an hour, most of the (fun) employees who stay at the Colter Bay dorms were hanging out. A final thanks to my Dad, who gave me a million-candle power spotlight. The park kids were laughing at me, calling the spotlight "hippie mace," but the laughter stopped when they needed to get home in the enveloping darkness of the Tetons. Sleep that night was futile, as we had pitched the tent on an uneven patch of grass, with our heads downhill and we didn't have enough warm stuff. I forgetting that camping when you're a kid is WAY different than camping as an adult, during a tight road trip. I guess I should have taken the foam pads my Dad offered...