We made it back without being eaten by bears! But before today's adventure we'll fill you in on yesterday 6/22..
We had an early morning planning session and decided to head straight to Yellowstone and "do" the Tetons on the way back and to Idaho.
It's official! John is an "old duffer" - got his Golden Age pass which lets all of us and Tillie get in free to the national parks. Even got us a discount on camping (even though the ranger said if he didn't have a card he'd give him the discount anyway - guess the day's driving must have made him look his age!) A beautiful campsite, running water & a bathroom close by & free firewood for only $9. Of course the ranger did mention there was a grizzly sighting in our campground that morning...
Yellowstone is always beautiful. The trees are starting to grow again on the thousands of acres that were burned in '88. The wildflowers are incredible. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone spectacular. We've sighted elk, pelicans (honest), trout, a wolf, bison. Question - why do bison love to hang around the sulfur hot springs? a)the springs smell better than they do b) the acid deposits they roll in takes off their molting fur c) it gets rid of buffalo fleas d) it's cheaper than going to a spa in Saratoga.
Anyway, we've seen lots of volcanic activity, from bubbling gray mud to incredibly blue and stinky hot springs. After visiting LOTS of them we ended up at Monument Geyser Basin and walked down to see Steamboat Geyser. Patty had had enough fumes and geyser excitement for one day so opted to go back & sit in Tillie & continue work of her memoirs of a geyser. Those with a stronger German heritage walked on to see Portchop Geyser.


Today we started the morning at Old Faithful who faithfully performed right on schedule. We also saw the kids from Louisiana who were driving the other old VW we saw a couple of days ago. They had spent the night in the parking lot and had pushed their VW to the service garage that morning for a new fuel pump. Tillie's not the only one who acts up now and again.
Went on to see several more geysers before turning around and heading south through the Tetons which are Patty's favorite. We looked for the Jenny Lake Lodge which John had remembered as a youth but the rangers said the new, smaller lodge was the only one that had ever been there.???? Lots of stops for picture taking including Mary's first sighting of a moose.
Now we're in Jackson looking for a night on the town!