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03.09.2014 Day 12: Driving to Jackson Wyoming.
I have realised I haven't told you about our rental cars. We hired one in Jacksonville and they upgraded us. We LOVED it. A blue Ford Focus, titanium edition. It had more bells and whistles than I have ever experienced in a car. No key, push button start. A reversing mirror. Places to plug in and use while recharging, the GPS, my cell phone, ken's cell phone and play music on an extremely great sound system. It drove smooth and silent and was extremely comfortable. Then after flying to Denver we picked up our second car. This one wasn't so ritzy, but still has it's special points. It's a cream Buick Lacrosse. It doesn't have as good sound quality, but still is totally listenable to. It has the reversing mirror too (these are great) and something I like is that when you open the driver's door the seat automatically glides back to give you room to get out. I have such short legs I am usually jammed up to the steering wheel so my legs can reach the brake and accelerator.
We have enjoyed driving these American cars in America and we are determined to sell my dying old Nissan when we get back. Also now, ok, I have been a stick shift fanatic, but I am sold on automatics. The ease of driving is incomparable. I won't be buying a manual again.
I digress, back to the travels. Crunch time is near. We have to work out our timing to ensure we get to Seattle the day before we leave. We sit with maps and Google and check out routes and driving time.
We also want to spend time in Seattle to shop and finish things. There are so many things I have wanted to buy, and just haven't been able to find them. So Seattle is our last chance. We decided to arrive in Seattle by the morning of the 7th at the latest. We fly out the next day.
Today was a long trip and we didn't know what to expect, so imagine our surprise when we found ourselves in the desert. We took a route off the interstate which turned out to be so interesting. It went through the land that the early settlers rode trails in stagecoaches. Some of these stage coaches travelled 125 miles a day. They managed this by having staging posts where horses and riders were changed and then onwards. This desert was so massive, and there were hardly any vehicles on the road, we truly felt out in the middle of nowhere. We talked about if we tried to walk across this desert to the distant mountains, we would definitely die, then suddenly a tiny little town would pop up.
We stopped at one and bought sherbert ice in cones. I asked for the baby scoop, as I wasn't sure I would like lime sherbert, well........ take a look at what a 'baby scoop' is. (photo) Ken laughed at me for complaining about too much icecream in the middle of a desert. We also laughed at signage that said "ICE-CREAMS 75 MILES" Imagine a man crawling through the desert, "Water, water!" he rasps. Then he sees the sign. Saved... only another 75 miles to crawl. Pffft!!!
Ken said, " if he got there, he would probably find a little boarded up shack with a notice, saying closed"
Suddenly the scenery changed, it became greener, and more lush, and then we were driving through a stunningly beautiful little valley beside a crystal clear stream and forest and high stone hills beside us. Signs by the road told us to be careful around bears but today we didn't see any. We ended up in a little hotel in Jackson Wyoming at the gate to the Yellowstone National park. Tomorrow we drive through the middle of Yellowstone from the south to the north. Expect a lot of scenic pictures, cos we gotta show them to someone. We are going to be home soon. J
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