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We were at breakfast at 6.30am this mornng so we could get an early start to Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks. On the way we stopped at the airport to see about a replacement car. There was a different girl on and when we told her our story she immediately said we had the car in the wrong gear. She said it had to be in a lower gear so the car would slow without needing to brake. It would have been good if we had been told that initially. We accepted her explanation and headed off.
We arrived at the Grand Teton Visitor's Centre just before 8am. It was really cold but we only had to wait 5mins before they opened. We spoke to a staff member to get some information. She told us it would be about 5hrs of driving through to Cody and additional stopping time. We knew the drive would be about that but it was good to get additional directions.
It was a sunny day with blue sky which made the mountains look beautiful. Not long after we entered the park we saw some elk running in the field next to us. There was 1 male with the big antlers and 3 or 4 females. There wasn't anywhere to stop so unfortunately we didn't get a photo. We were sure we would see more but the only other animals we saw were chipmunks. They were so cute - just like squirrels but tiny.
Our first stop was Jenny Lake. We walked a short distance to the lake and then along a trail around a part of it. It was chilly but so pretty. There were warning signs to be Bear Aware and I was secretly hoping we would see one even though we didn't have any bear spray. We also did the scenic drive along part of the lake. The mountains were mainly covered in pine trees but ocassionally there would be a
different tree with the autumn colours. This scenery continued all along past Jackson Lake and then into Yellowstone.
Our first stop in Yellowstone was Old Faithful. As we were getting close the landscape started to change and we saw steam rising. This is a big thermal area covered in geysers. Old Faithful goes off most regularly. When we arrived we saw there were a lot of people gathered around watching and waiting. We had read on the sign that it usually spews steam and will emit spurts of water prior to erupting. We could see the spurts as we were walking down. We asked a lady when it was due and she said 11.33am or within 10mins on either side. We found a spot to watch which was in the sun to warm us up. Old Faithful didn't let us down and erupted about 11.45pm. It spewed water high into the air for a couple of minutes. It was quite a sight to see. The lady we were talking to suggested we walk around the boardwalk to see some of the other geysers and the colours. We did that and came across a couple of blue 'ponds' that were steaming and bubbling. One part of the rock was orange from the water the geyser spewed. While watching Old Faithful we couldn't smell anything as the wind was pushing the steam in the opposite direction. But, around the corner we could smell the sulpher strongly. It smelt like rotten eggs. We saw a bison walking around near some of the geysers further away. We went walking that way but didn't see it. This definitely wasn't bear country and there were no bear warning signs. The geysers continued right through the next 60+kms. We saw some more bison and stopped to take photos of a couple that were close to the road.
Our next stop was Canyon Village where we stopped for ice cream. It was nice sitting in the sun for a while. From Canyon we headed for the East Entrance where we would exit the park. The geyser landscape continued and we saw more bison-a mother and baby and then a whole herd. Near the exit the bear aware signs returned but this time it was Grizzlys which is exactly what I wanted to see. As we approached the exit we came up behind a bison walking along the road. It wandered over to the other side so we could get past. Why couldn't it have been a bear??????
The grizzly country continued outside the park and while we scanned every bit of countryside, we didn't see one. We even turned down a road to one of the camping grounds that had a bear sign. I can't imagine why people would choose to camp in a tent when there were bears around. The rules about food and cooking while camping are very strict.
After driving through the Shoshone Forest we entered the Buffalo Bill State Park. We went past Mary Bay which was very pretty and then the Buffalo Bill dam. The town of Cody was just past the dam and our hotel just on the outskirts. We checked in and then headed to Old Trail Town which is a collection of historic buildings and relics that have been reassembled here. We had seen the sign as we drove in to town but what we didn't realise was that it was next door to our hotel and we could have jumped over the fence. We had a big laugh about that! It was interesting seeing the old buildings and artefacts and reading the stories of Butch Cassidy and his gang. As we were leaving there, the lady told us about a gunfight re-enactment that happens every night in town next to the Irma Hotel. She also suggested we go into the Irma to see the cherrywood bar given to Buffalo Bill by Queen Victoria. The gun fight starts at 6pm and it was 6.10pm when we were leaving so we thought we would give it a miss but still drive into town. When we drove past, the gun fight was still on. We drove the length of the main street and came back and parked. The gun fight was still on but seemed to be winding up so we went into the Irma Hotel to look at the bar. It is also a restaurant so we stayed and had dinner. It was a very popular place to eat and we had a great meal. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Walmart and I got jeans and a jacket so I will be warm tomorrow. We head for Mt Rushmore tomorrow.
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