On the way out of West Yellowstone, Montana, we got a better look at some of the local sights. As might be expected, just about everything is Yellowstone-themed in one way or another.
And people out west certainly do love their espresso.
Soon we were back into Yellowstone, where we saw many of their famous steaming piles.
But none were more exciting than the most reliably steaming pile, Old Faithful. Nothing captures the American imagination like a big upwards surge of fluid. Or, in the words of a small girl I overheard, "Are you excited to see the jumping water?" Many people were, since by the time we got there, it was standing room only.
There was much waiting, quite a bit of steaming, a few small splashes upward, and then things turned loose.
And soon the show was over.
With that done, we continued our journey south. Leaving the land of steaming things, we caught sight of some beautiful non-steaming things, like waterfalls and streams.
Directly south of Yellowstone is Grand Teton National Park. We stopped near the entrance for a sandwich bar buffet lunch at the lodge, which featured a nifty charcoal bear, which could not be touched. I suppose this substituted for the real bears that we didn't see on our trip.
We got hit with some rain, a rare occurrence in our trip so far. The people on the radio were talking about high winds, lightning, floods, and possible tornadoes. A road out of Jackson that we might have taken, but didn't, was buried in a mudslide. In the end it wasn't that bad, but it was rainy and foggy enough to obscure views. During breaks, we did catch views of the Grand Teton range behind the lake.
As the rain slowed and we emerged from the Grand Teton, we entered Jackson, Wyoming.
It's a small town, but a rather nice one, and I'd hazard a guess that a lot of it centers around skiing. As a matter of fact, while we were listening to the radio, they were advertising jobs with "health and ski benefits."
We hung a right and were on our way to Idaho. It took us through the Targhee National Forest, called the "Land of Many Uses." Hills and plains, forests and farms, Idaho certainly seems to have it all.
Doesn't seem to have quite so much in the way of people though.
On the plus side, we got to spend some time listening to "Idaho's only real rock station" (whose frequency and call letters escape me now), which describes itself as "more in demand than scotch tape in a leprosy colony." We also had to make a quick stop so I could use the men's room, but I wasn't there long enough to get any shoe taps. Sorry, I didn't want to do that joke, but it seemed obligatory.
We got out of Idaho quick and into Utah, and before long it got dark and there wasn't much to see. We'll be starting our day in Utah tomorrow, so I'll hopefully be able to show you some of that state then. 'Till tomorrow.
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