Fare Thee Well, Wyoming

Tuesday, 8/10
This was to have been the day to pull out and move to Jackson Lake. I was grateful that the plans had changed so we could have a more leisurely day after that fast “side trip.” Today's plan was to either
1) spend the day seeing a part of the park on foot/via car, or
2) inflate the dinghy and paddle around in the relative safety/still water of the marina harbor, we have purchased a permit for it, after all, and it has never been out of the truck bed.

I was astonished to hear Sid say that there were only 2 things he had never seen in the park and wanted to. He later tried to correct my understanding of what he said, but he still basically said the same thing. In my mind, there are 2.2 million acres in the park so I don’t know that I could actually do all the hikes I would want to, paddle on rivers, etc. in a lifetime. 

After milling around until after noon, we finally decided to go to the Yellowstone Grand Canyon. Sid was sure he had seen the Lower Falls but not the Upper Falls. We discovered that it was actually the reverse. I persuaded him to also stop at a Mud Volcano area on the way to the Canyon.

Lower Falls selfie

More Lower Falls

Wildflowers

Wrong label: Actually Upper Falls!

Dragon's Mouth Hot Spring

Too many photos to post. My testimony is that no matter how many times you see these beauties, they are stunning. 

Our final night the elk really put on a show:

Bridge Bay Sunset final night

Really that close to the marina!

In the Harbor of Bridge Bay

Stunning

Elk Between Parking Lot and Marina

The phone does not do resplendent!

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20

Wednesday, 8/11
Today is pull-out day. The boat was fairly ready to go and getting it on the trailer was the easiest ever. We drove south out of the park and I’m pretty sure I hadn’t seen that part of the park since I was a kid. Grand Teton National Park is almost immediately south of Yellowstone and again, the mountains are stunning. We stopped at the marina where we were to have stayed, but these photos show why the reservations were cancelled. The West is definitely on fire and in a drought situation.

Colter Bay Marina 😕

Down at least 35 feet

We continued south toward I-80, which traverses Wyoming in the south. We drove through Jackson Hole, and though we could have used gas, Sid was sure that we could do better on price later on. Our destination this evening was Green River, WY so that the Flaming Gorge marina was a short drive. Between the Tetons and I-80 we stopped at a small town, Pinedale, for dinner. Again, Sid was sure that gas would be cheaper closer to the interstate, despite my objections. [shoulder shrug] Imagine his surprise as gas got increasingly more expensive. I guess he didn’t believe that I was current with news, so he was even more surprised a few days later when several places were out of gas! 😂

We stayed at a small, mom & pop motel in Green River. The owner was at the desk when we arrived a little after 9 pm.

He began extolling the virtues of Flaming Gorge, showing us all the great features on a

Chamber of Commerce type map.

We asked where he would like us to park since we were hauling a boat. He walked outside to take a look and said, “You have a sailboat! Well, THAT will be interesting.” 

My reply, “It has been so far!”