So Long, Yellowstone...

(Posting for Tuesday, June 17th)

This morning we said a bittersweet goodbye to Yellowstone. We had a great night at the Old Faithful Inn. Everyone was so tired after dinner, it didn’t take much for everyone to fall asleep. The sun coming through the curtains woke me early, so I slipped out of the room, grabbed a cup of coffee and spent an hour or so on the outside deck of the hotel watching all of the geysers and thermal features steam into the cool morning air. That has to be one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had…

Once everyone was showered and ready to roll, we strolled over to the Obsidian Dining Room at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge for a leisurely breakfast. The kids loved the breakfast buffet – I think Trey had 5 different plates when they finally cleared our table. After breakfast, we let the kids finish some postcard, did a little more shopping in the general store, then dropped our postcards at the Old Faithful post office before heading south.

We had a great day for driving – temps in the 60’s and 70’s, wonderfully sunny. We made our way out of Yellowstone and back through the Tetons, taking a quick break at Jackson Lake Lodge before heading on to Moose, WY. At Moose, we checked in for our float trip down the Snake River around 2pm. It was a great day to float the river, and our guide was excellent. Our guide has been leading trips down the Snake River for about 15 years, and his experience shows. At this time of year, the river has more water than any other time of the year, and the current moves swiftly. Our guide was able to take us down lots of side channels that are bone dry most other months of the year. Our trip lasted about 2 hours, and we had a number of wildlife sightings, including a couple of bald eagles and their nests (one was flying back and forth over the river fishing), an osprey nest with a young osprey inside, a moose and her calf drinking from the river, and lots of ducks, geese and birds. It was an absolutely amazing way to end our visit to Yellowstone and the Tetons. The kids really enjoyed the float trip – both were a little disappointed they didn’t get wet, so maybe a whitewater trip is in our family’s future…

After wrapping up the float trip, we stopped at the Moose visitor’s center to hit the bathroom, gather some snacks, and then headed on south to Utah. It took us forever to get through Jackson – rush hour, I suppose. Once through Jackson, we followed highway 89 south through southwestern Wyoming, then crossed through Idaho, and finally passed into Utah.

I was kind of disappointed in our brief trip through Idaho. When I think Idaho, I always think potatoes. I guess I envisioned a welcome center passing out French fries, potato chips and the like at the state line. We didn’t see a single potato during the 50 or so miles we drove through Idaho. We didn’t see many people either. The expression “My Own Private Idaho” has a whole new meaning now…

We had a scenic drive through northern Utah, following the Logan River through a national forest and into the town of Logan, UT. We grabbed some fast food in Logan, then convinced the kids to hang in there a bit longer and pressed on towards Odgen, UT to stop for the night.

We called ahead and found a Hampton Inn in Ogden with some rooms, but when we drove in to the hotel, we discovered that it was downtown (and didn’t have a pool…). We quickly located another Hampton in a northern suburb of Salt Lake City about 10 miles south of Ogden, so we pressed on and rolled in here around 10:30 or so. Everyone was wiped out, but glad to be here. After 2 weeks of staying in cabins and hotels in the parks, the Hampton feels like the Ritz Carlton. There was nothing to watch on TV, but we had to turn it on just to feel the familiar glow of the TV. It was very comforting, I must admit (pretty sad, I know). Our hotel is in the midst of a slew of commerce – Barnes & Noble, SuperTarget, etc., so we’ll take the opportunity to restock some items before heading on south tomorrow.

Next stop is Cedar City, UT, where we will be staying for 2 nights while we check out Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.

Lots of new pics on the web – links follow below. If you’re wondering about the “Le Bus” pictures you see, it’s kind of an inside joke. Shortly after we arrived in Yellowstone, we started seeing Le Bus almost everywhere we went. It became something of a game to catch Le Bus in the parking lot or on the road and snap a quick shot.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay14

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay15

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay16

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay17

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay18

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay19

http://picasaweb.google.com/MarionGrayCPA/YellowstoneDay20

Good night from the Grays!