After a yummy breakfast cooked by Larry Yung, proprietor of the great Alpine Lodge, I headed up over Beartooth Pass. I’ve ridden the pass about five times on my bike and driven over it in a car several times, but this is the first time I went over it by myself. I didn’t stop to take many pictures, but here are a couple. It’s an impressive pass and fun to ride on a bike.
I went through Cooke City and on to the northeast entrance to Yellowstone. There wasn’t a single car there. None! I drove right up, handed over my senior park pass, and was on my way. I doubt that will ever happen again. 🙂
I also didn’t stop to take many pictures in Yellowstone. I took the eastern loop around the park, avoiding the tourist stuff, and then drove directly into the Grand Teton National Park.
I stopped to stretch my legs and decided to take a look at iOverlander. I had decided, prior to my trip, to go to a dispersed site outside Jackson. But it was quite a way off the road, and I was kind of tired of driving. So I decided to go to an iOverlander spot that overlooks the Tetons. Again, it was a dirt road, and parts of it were dodgy. But it was only about six miles up to the spot I picked. I was all alone there and it was so quiet and dark. I sat on my cot and looked out the window at the blackness and thought it was a fitting spot to spend the last night of my trip. There were signs warning about bears, but the only wildlife I saw was a chipmunk.
The drive home was long and tiring (isn’t the last leg of a trip always that way?). I wanted to go south on smaller state highways instead of going out to Casper and taking the interstate all the way. Maybe I should have done the latter. I was trusting my instincts on which way to go (south) but they didn’t serve me well at one point, and I ended up going 30 miles out of the way. The only good thing about that is that I had breakfast at the little town where I had to turn around and retrace my path. Ugh. But I made it home safe and sound. The van was absolutely covered in bugs, dirt, and mud, and I prayed to Joe Pesci on the way home to give me a good hard rain to wash it off a bit. He came through! When I turned off onto 287 at Laramie, I drove into a downpour that lasted for about 30 miles. Thank you, Joe! Just as George Carlin promised, he comes through for me about half the time.
I drove 3700 miles on this trip and covered five states and one Canadian province. It was a good trip, and I look forward to many more in my trusty Sienna.
Chile Girl's Adventures 