Go West!

I'm headed back to YNP for another summer! Clarinda and Cari Ann rode along with me. We had a great time!

St. Louis Gateway Arch. We took the elevators to the top.

The view from the arch was amazing!!

The viewing area wasn't as big as I thought it would be...the ceiling wasn't very tall.

Busch Stadium, Home of the Cardinals, as seen from the arch!

The first night of the trip, we stayed in Clarinda, Iowa much to our Clarinda's delight!! It was a very nice, small town.

The Iowa countryside was beautiful, but the pics just don't show how pretty it really was. This is along Hwy 2 in Iowa, headed to Lincoln, Nebraska.

DAY 2: We travelled across Nebraska and stopped at the Great Platte River Road Archway Museum that is built over Interstate 80:

The museum pays tribute to the pioneers who travelled the Great Platte River Road to settle the West.

Cari Ann listening to the story of the 49ers. The headsets gave commentary and info as you walk along at your own speed.

Checking the speed of cars passing below us:

Nebraska:

Western Nebraska:

Cheyenne, Wyoming:

Windmills in Eastern Wyoming:

Just before we arrived in Laramie, it started snowing:

We spent the night in Laramie, WY. We had a nice surprise when we checked in at the hotel. Chad had pre-arranged for a gift basket to be waiting for us! It was stuffed full of snacks and goodies for the rest of the trip.

DAY 3: Eastern Wyoming along I-80.

Snow Breaks along I-80 in WY to reduce the drifting of snow onto the road:

At Rock Springs, we got off the interstate and took Hwy 191 North towards Jackson.

We made it to Jackson and then drove into Grand Teton National Park. The Tetons are breathtaking:

We saw two moose:

Then we saw 2 Grizzlies:

Clarinda and Cari Ann in front of the frozen Jackson Lake with the Tetons behind them.

Elk:

We stayed in Jackson at The Parkway Inn. It was very quaint and cute:

From Jackson, we headed northwest into Idaho. The scenery was beautiful!!! We saw a couple of trucks loaded down with potatoes.

As we got closer to West Yellowstone, MT and the west entrance of YNP, we came through a blizzard! This southern girl was nervous!

West Yellowstone, MT: The blizzard had dumped a foot of snow inside YNP, so they closed the roads. We had to take a 3 hour detour up to Bozeman and then through the North Entrance of the park.

Big Sky, MT. Beautiful! On Hwy 89, south of Livingston in Paradise Valley.

We FINALLY arrived in YNP. Clarinda and Cari Ann didn't get to see much because the snow had the roads in the park closed. We stayed a couple of nights in Gardiner, MT where Cari Ann got to swim. I'm so glad they came with me and had a girls road trip.

Mt. Washburn

Rebekah and I did our last hike together for the 2009 summer. :( It was Mt. Washburn, a peak I have wanted to climb since I did the Yellowstone in a Day tour at the beginning of the season. It was a beautiful day although cool...

There is a fire lookout tower at the top.

The lone ranger....
I made it!!!! 3 miles up, 3 miles down!!

Below is a picture of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (which looks tiny way up there) and Lake Yellowstone off in the distance. We could see off in the distance Grand Teton, 75 miles away!
These pictures and this blog DO NOT do the beauty justice. The view was amazing.
After we got back, I finished packing. Then a group of us went to The Raven in Gardiner for my farewell dinner. Below is a pic with Suzanne from Arkansas. She is one classy lady!

Me, Trish, Kim (roomie), Karen, Mary and Rebekah: Karen, Mary, Rebekah, Suzanne, Me, and Trish:

This and That

The internet is so slow here at Mammoth so I would go to Gardiner and use the internet here at High Country Trading and drink a mocha.
One evening this last week, a youth orchestra from Bozeman played in the Map Room:

The hallway of my dorm: (my room is right beside the fire extinguisher)

My room:I didn't like sitting in my room, so I would sit in the hallway beside the window to use my computer, read, talk, etc...
I had a good view of the General Store:

A few of my co-workers:

JJ from California: (love him - sat beside him everyday and listened to a lot of stories!)

Jenny from North Carolina on the left. Nancy from Florida on the right. They are so nice and friendly!

Potpourri

Sunday night, I drove out to Lamar Valley. Didn't see any wildlife, but I did see an amazing double rainbow:
Coming back from Gardiner, there were dozens of elk. So far, this is the biggest herd we've seen here this year. Elk were everywhere and so were the people!

This is an elk jam:

Monday night, I rode out to Lamar Valley again with Suzanne, Martha, and Kim. I saw a pack of coyotes and 4 wolves. There was also an amazing sunset:

This is THE official wolf guy in YNP. He is a celebrity to my little group of buds here, but he doesn't know it!! Rick was out in Lamar watching the wolves and telling everyone which one was the alpha male, the alpha female, etc.