Well, we made it. After having first heard about Yellowstone as a young kid, and seen photos of Old Faithful, I am finally here. And this completes the only planned destination on this journey, but the trip is far from over. It reminds me Sonntag's of my first road trip to the Arctic in Alaska. After we reach that goal, 5880 miles from our start, I turned the Defender around and, having planned only the outbound trip, the first thought that popped into my head was, now we have to get home. Fortunately, i have planned options, and, always, the inbound journeys are just as exciting, if not more challenging.
Our day started at 7 with heavy overcast dark clouds and a slight rain. We got on the road by 9:30, and a few hours later, the weather cleared out beautifully, complementing the scenery.
At a rest stop along the way, i emailed a former colleague from the Federal Reserve, John Mingo, to see if he was up for a quick lunch since i would be passing through his new hometown, but iI lost the internet before i heard back from him. Still don't have it and wont for several more days. I stayed at their marvelous home one night back in 2000 on my way to Alaska with Sonntag.
There are four entrances to Yellowstone, north, east, south and west. I opted for the farthest one, West Gate, since i still had time to make it by 3:30. The plan was to stay at a local KOA if the camps in Yellowstone were full, which they were last week.
As i got within one mile of the West Gate, my Garmin went crazy. It was sending me around in circles. Running out time, i shut it down and since there is a dearth of directional signs to Yellowstone, I made it to the Visitors Center exactly at 3:30 the old fashioned way, asking someone for directions.
The attendant at the Center was encouraging by telling me there were plenty of campsites open, and suggested i stay at Lewis Lake, about a two-hour drive into the park. But she failed to tell me that the potable water was shut off their last week. And when she told me there would be a gas station near old Faithful, which i had to pass, she failed to tell me i had to exit at Old Faithful to get to it, so i did not refill my water bottles or gas tank. So, tomorrow, i will have to backtrack a total of 50 miles (four gallons of gas) to refill them. Fortunately, i have four gallons of water and gas in jerry cans on my roof rack for emergencies.
The drive to Lewis Lake was absolutely splendid, passing geysers and stunning forest along the way. Just driving through this park has a cleansing effect on my mind.
Along the way, we spotted on huge bison grazing in a field of grass, but did not stop because of time - the sun was due to set at 7:30. Further up the road, a huge grizzly scurried across the highway about 100 feet ahead of us. I prayed that he did not get our license plate.
We made it to the camp precisely at 5:30, took site c-39, and set out with the usual evening chores, except for one more, making the Defender bear proof. I did not want a repeat of the lake Tahoe incident in 2014, which 13-year old Erde slept through, but i was hopeful Donner would not. Transferring everything from the Defender that might be attractive to a bear to the bear lockers took about an hour. Although rain is forecasr for tomorrow, i postponed setting up the tarp over the picnic table till tomorrow, as there is a science to doing that right, and the first time on a trip takes extra time
Satisfied that we were no attraction to a bear, I settled in for a pleasant dinner (Donner's second) just as dark fell at 7:30,and we were in the tent by 8:30, although Donner retired as soon as he was confident there would be no more dinner for him.
Needless to say, i brought the bear spray with me into the tent, although now that I know the temporary damage it causes, i will be reluctant to use it on a bear. Fortunately, there are two young women camped next to me in a tee-pee, and my hope is that their site is more attractive to marauding grizzlies. Grizzlies in Yellowstone are partial toward women, it seems.
On these trips, the most satisfying part of the day comes after all the day's driving is finished, and the day's evening chores completed, and then going into the tent to reflect on the day in my journal and on my blog. This particular day was more rewarding and satisfying than usual, having just completed 2700 miles of tenting with my dog in a magnificent driving machine over this beautiful land of ours. On the one hand, I don't imagine that there are many people who have done what I just did. On the other hand, I'm not too sure there are many people would want to do what I just did. As you might have read elsewhere on this blog, I have my reasons, about 39 of them. On top of that, I just get a lot of satisfaction out of setting a tough goal, and then trying to meet it. If i don't meet it, no big deal. The satisfaction cones from trying. A good friend of mine, Jake Stein, always asks me after my trips what value they provide for me. I am not too sure I know what the answer to that question is, although I am confident that it provides significant value to my life and changes my life in important ways. I have no doubt about that. I already sense that happening now after only 12 days.
Time to settle in and be on lookout for the Bears, and prepare for cold, rainy weather, snow if it gets where it is supposed to go soon.
Ed and Donner, from beautiful Yellowstone National Park.
PS...i seemed to have lost track of the day number, day of week and date. I think i have it back on track. I gained a day in the process. All the days seem the same to me.
Ed
