Days 26 - 32

De Rebus Naturae

Beginning of Day 26.

Hello all. We have not been eaten by a bear.

For clarity, I will divide the text by parks.

For brevity, I will only include the fun pictures (and not the million nature pictures taken), and keep the writing short,

Pictures/videos (except one) will be at the end.

Grand Teton

When Zarathustra was thirty years old, he left his home and the lake of his home, and went into the mountains.

We had a beautiful drive in.

We stopped and saw deer, bison, and a gorgeous view of the Tetons.

Fun fact, grand teton means “big teat” in French. See if you can see why.

We went to Jackson for dinner at a Mexican restaurant (we both got tacos, soft of course, and Bridget got a fun paloma-like drink called Elk Hunter).

We then went to Mormon Row to catch the sunset.

We made camp at Gros Ventre campground. See how small Bridget’s tent is compared to my palatial residence.

We also went on a short walk around the campground.

We awoke early (5am) and went to Schwabacher Landing to catch the sunrise. Gorgeous.

We then went back to camp and packed (we never stayed in the same campground lot for more than one day, although we stayed at the same campground for both Gros Ventre and Apgar).

We checked out of our first campground lot.

We then had breakfast in the Taggart Lake parking lot (bananas wrapped in tortilla with peanut-butter and granola, which will be our typical breakfast for a few days). We then hiked Taggart Lake and saw a moose and her cub (who were stalking us; we needed someone hiking the other way to tell us).

We had time to kill so we went to Jackson and got coffee at Cowboy Coffee. Bridget got a Huckleberry coffee (apparently tases very similar to blueberry coffee) and I got drip.

We also drove back and checked out the Gros Ventre river near our campsit, and then went to set up camp again at Gros Ventre (at a different lot).

After setting up, we ate, and headed out to Jenny’s Lake. We saw the Hidden Falls there (stunning views).

I then went to the Ranger talk that evening (learned about the White Bark Pine, its ecological significance and vulnerability); Bridget read Confederacy of Dunces (now on my reading list).

Then bed time.

Next morning, we packed again (a common theme for our park adventures) and headed out to Phelps Lake.

We were paranoid of bears (it was a very foliaged path).

We encountered a deer who guided us out of the wooded area.

We then came to the famous jumping rock. There were four guys already there jumping (and using a towel they had found there in the woods…).

After they left, Bridget primed herself for her jump (no way in Hades I would do this) and she did so with gusto.

We had lunch at a picnic area past Taggart Lake. We met a lady who said she was feeding a crow peanuts (weird and not allowed, but okay).

I also began to nosebleed (oops, too dry).

We then did the String Lake hike. Again, beautiful views. Got lost at the end when the trailhead popped out differently than where we started.

We then drove to Colter Bay, which was busy and active.

Bridget took a shower and then passed out. I hanged out at the village, bought lime, hot-and-spicy pork rinds, ate pizza and a sandwich at the restaurant, showered, and went to the ranger talk (flint-knapping; really articulate ranger). There were so may mosquitos around…

Slept, awoke, packed…

Yellowstone

There he enjoyed his spirit and solitude, and for ten years did not weary of it.

… and headed out to Yellowstone.

No hiking, but much driving and seeing the sights.

We went to Ole Faithful first. Great timing and faith in Ole Faithful granted us an amazing spectacle.

Then we went to Grane Prismatic Spring. Beautiful colors. Man was humming an ABBA song on our way down (Super Trouper, I think). We also saw many hats on the ground near the springs.

We stopped at Gibbon Falls (really cool overlook).

Also we saw Obsidian Cliffs (and saw a cool clearing nearby).

We made camp at Mammoth campground. We felt strange about it at first, since it was hot, unshaded, windy, and exposed to a barren mountain, but we warmed up to it (especially as it cooled and people started to arrive).

I also grabbed some abandoned folding chairs from the ranger station there. No ranger talks at Mammoth.

I broke one of my tent-poles, which made my tent as big as Bridget’s.

We then went back to Mammoth to see the springs, but a lady warned us to “Don’t walk! Drive! Drive!”

Apparently there was a scenic drive one could make up the Springs without having to climb the boardwalks.

We heeded her advice and double-backed to our car when it began to hail.

We then shifted plans and instead of the Springs, we decided to move on to Lamar Valley, where we could go see some animals.

It was raining throughout our drive (we got worried about our tents, but alea iacta est). Our journey was not in vain, and we managed to see three black bears (one very close), many herds of bison (a few very close), and deer. No grizzlies, no wolves, no coyotes unfortunately.

We came home to wet tents. Bridget made the smart move and slept in the car while I larped as a cold fish that night.

We awoke to a herd of deer (making noises). We did a brief scenic drive at the Hot Springs and then onwards to…

Glacier

But at last his heart changed,—and rising one morning with the rosy dawn, he went before the sun, and spake thus unto it … like thee must I GO DOWN, as men say, to whom I shall descend.

Glacier National Park.

We stopped in Bozeman first since it was Sunday.

We did a small resupply of utensils and food at Walmart. Then we went downtown.

Bridget went to Mass while I went to REI to find some pole-splints for my broken tent-pole (also grabbed a towel).

Then I went to a coffeeshop to get work done (very Sabbatical, I know).

After Mass, we parked and went down to eat breakfast.

Bridget has a burrito and I had the Grizzly Killer (big country fried steak + 3 eggs, the latter very Jacob-like).

We went to Jazz City bookstore and spent way too much time there, Bridget got The Thanatos Syndrome.

We then drove on to St. Mary’s in Glacier (no one at the booths).

Nice and warm there (not as crazy as Mammoth).

We dried out our tents and tarp and went to the ranger talk (on fish and watersheds; apparently Glacier is the crown of the continent because it a hydrological apex for the continent and sits on a continental divide).

I showered (very nice feeling, although the shower kept stopping since it was a push button one).

I also finally tossed out my 365 water bottle from Chicago :(. Very sad.

We went to visitor center, and made our way down the Going-to-the-Sun road (very scenic).

Made many random stops, saw water falls, tunnels, deer, snow (a bit dirty snow), among other spectacles.

We made a mini-hike up Lunch Creek falls, while Bridget wore Birkenstocks (an old couple seeing her was impressed).

We made it to Apgar (other end of the road), set up camp, checked-in with the ranger, and checked out the campground.

We went to Apgar village, where Bridget got huckleberry ice cream (and I searched for internet or service to email ASU for job interview scheduling…)

Lo and behold, there was WiFi at the visitor center, so I could schedule it. Thank you, US Federal Government.

We then had a hour rest break before we tried to hike (more on that soon). We saw deer near our tents.

I nosebled again (other nostril, in case you wanted specifics).

We tried to go hike at Avalanche Lake, but there was no parking (plus, Bridget was exhausted and I was lightheaded so it worked out).

I went to ranger talk (it was a Native America Speaks program, so we had a Blackfoot tribesman talk to us about local plants their utility, and also how to make twine from Dogbane), while Bridget read more and went to shower.

At the ranger talk, I met a lovely couple, Jed and Payton, who invited me to dinner. I being Asian brought them some cans of chili beans to thank them for their hospitality. Wonderful people, love them so much. Wish I got their contact info but that’s my anxiety and stupidity for you.

She is a math major which was a bonding moment for us (we both took introduction to analysis this past semester) and he graduated from BYU (who beat ASU in football this past season).

They are Mormon and we talked about religion a bit. I’ll spare you the details, but as a hint, I was on the floor pushing a rock with a stick.

Super fun conversation, but I didn’t want to take up too much of their time.

I said my goodbyes, met up with Bridget and we went to stargaze.

I swore I saw a poster announcing stargazing at the visitor center parking lot with NPS astronomers, but they were not there.

I downloaded the classic SkyView lite app and we identified the dippers.

We walked back in the dark (first and only time) and were bear-paranoid. I told Bridget my scary story (ask me about it, and I will share).

Sleep, wake.

This day was shuttle day, meaning we did not need to drive and could take a free public bus instead (we got lucky and the shuttle service began on July 1st, which was this day).

The wait was long, though, but we were chilling at first. We got to see people of different background around us (Aussies, Koreans, Amish, etc.).

Our first shuttle bad a very bad sound while driving. The driver called it in but was told to try to make one run and see what happened. We kept on towards Avalanche when a burnt smell began to emerge.

We made it to Avalanche (where we needed to go) and when I looked back at the shuttle, there was smoke coming from the engine. Oof.

We did the Trail of the Cedars which connected to the Avalanche Lake trail. Lots of kids and babies on this hike.

Bridget ate her granola bar at the lake.

We then took a shuttle to Logan Pass to connect to St. Mary’s Falls. The driver was being trained by an older woman (a decade of driving on the road), and the older woman was tour-guiding for us, telling us stories and cool photo opportunities for sights and animals. We got to see goats.

There was a guy in the back of the shuttle who came from northern Virginia, went to Chicago, caught a train to Glacier, and was headed to Seattle afterwards (which was weird, because our paths were similar). He was also headed to St. Mary’s Falls.

At Logan Pass, we got cold water (delicious), but had to contend with the bees (more on contention later).

St. Mary’s Falls hike had an eerie feeling, because the terrain was rocky, the weather hot, and the trees dead (“villain-territory” we called it).

We did not hike far, only to the first fall. We saw a squirrel jumping on kids who were feeding it, and kids being encouraged (not in a bad way) by their dad to jump into the waters. We saw our friend from the shuttle there again.

We hiked back (hot temperature), waited for the shuttle, and saw a backpacker there, trail name “Quasi”.

We went to Logan pass for our transfer bus. We waited for three shuttles and when the next one came, we were accused by two ladies (who came and sat down after us) that we cut in line. Bridget tried to defend our position and honor, but we let them board and took the next shuttle (a few minutes after).

We were tired, hungry, and outraged at the injustice done upon us.

When we got back to camp, Bridget got dinner from the car while I bolted to the village restaurant to eat. I got two bison burgers, came back, and Bridget and I debriefed on our collective outrage of what had happened with the two ladies (we did not talk about it at all on the way back). Having been fed and rested, we were calmed.

Slept, woke, and we were off to Seattle (Renton to be specific, where I am writing now).

Mostly music on this trip.

There was a store at the 76 which was blasting classical music.

Also RV fire.

Got here safe and sound, delighted to sleep on beds, showers, and can get warm food at any time.

End of Day 32.