The Big Move: Day Three

Rexburg to Jackson

Today was a full day and that is probably why I'm so tired. Idaho, a slice of Montana and down into Wyoming.

We set a course straight to Yellowstone, somewhere I'd never been before. We went through the West entrance on the Montana side. Yellowstone is... incredible. It's hard to put into words but the best I can come up with it "peaceful".



That is, until you come to a point of interest. You drive in surrounded by tress and rivers and lakes and rocks and it is gorgeous. Perfect against the blue sky. Then you hit Old Faithful and it's like entering a town. It's crawling with people. Both aspects of the park have their charms.

I should be up front: I don't like people. I hate being around crowds. So National Parks at the height of the tourist season aren't exactly my kind of place.

But I can't be such a sourpuss, it was worth it. Old Faithful has become less reliable. Instead of every hour it's about 70-90 minutes. Aka "when it feels like it". So crowds and crowds of people gather around to just wait and stare at steam. For as powerful and destructive as humans are, it's pretty incredible to see steam hold people captivated. It begins to spout then stops and peeks out again in a geological striptease until finally it rockets into the sky. Or as the 5 year old in front of me said "It was being shy, then it came out".

"All the faithful at Old Faithful"

A geyser worth the wait

After Old Faithful we hit the road to Jackson Hole passing through the Grand Teton National Park. If Yellowstone was hard to put into words, the Tetons are beyond explanation. So here's one of like a million pictures I took:




When we got into Jackson I met a friend of mine, who is now a "local", at a bar. Hannah and I hadn't seen each other in two years. The last time I saw her we were leaving camp in Virginia. Now here we were having a beer as I passed through Wyoming. It's pretty incredible the places life takes you. I never thought I'd meet her here, after all, when I met her she was living in Michigan. I don't know the next time or place I'll see Hannah, but I know it won't be two years from now. It better be much shorter than that.


My mom and I had dinner in town. Jackson Hole is a little high-end. Put in a westcoast perspective its the Cannon Beach of the Tetons. Definitely different than the roadside hotels we've been in.
Jackson Hole, WY
Tomorrow is a long day. We're driving all the way across Wyoming and in to Rapid City, SD. That way we can wake up early on friday and see Mt. Rushmore.


Yellowstone... Jackson... Rushmore... I've left Canada far behind.