Today we said farewell to Yellowstone. We drove all the way from the north entrance and exited out the south, re-visited some of the pools and geysers, and saw Old Faithful erupt once again. We’ll be back though. We both really want to see the thermal areas in the summer, when steam isn’t blocking the view of all the magnificent colors. When we exited Yellowstone, we almost immediately entered Grand Teton National Park, and we were not prepared for how awesome it was. We were expecting a scenic drive, but we didn’t know it was going to be this cool. The Teton range is a mountain range of the Rockies, with peaks ranging between 12,500 to almost 14,000 ft. With beautiful Jackson Lake in the foreground, the view of the Tetons far exceeded our expectations.
We continued the drive south and eventually stopped for dinner in Afton, Wyoming. Entering this town, we were welcomed by a gigantic gateway made entirely of elk antlers. Front and center on the top of this masterpiece stand 2 elk bull, in a competitive stance with their antlers entangled. It’s a pretty impressive structure, especially for such a small town. Clearly, the pride of this town is based on hunting. Less impressive was the dinner that followed. Oh, I ordered a plate of gravy?? I could have sworn I ordered the veal…
After the less than satisfying meal, we set forth to drive further south. Oh wait… U-turn. Excuse me, disgusting restaurant? I seem to have left without my phone, aka my life. Ok. NOW we set forth to drive further south. We’re not fans of driving in the dark and we try to avoid it when we can. We especially do not like driving in the dark in unfamiliar roads through mountains and national forests in the pitch black with zero street lights and signs that worn you of “loose stock”. It’s kind of stressful. We drove like this for almost 1 hour to a KOA in the middle of a forest in Idaho. We were the ONLY campers here on this evening. I believe this is the first time we were a lone vehicle parked at a KOA. But it was super cheap, the owners were very friendly, and the bathrooms were spotless. AND, best of all, no bears to worry about. Thank god. It was a cold night, but we have each other to keep warm… and a gigantic down blanket that we would probably die without.
-Jillian
Next stop: Salt Lake City, Utah.