Day Seven: Let's Get Civilized

Before I discuss this day, I just have to tell you all that I am very, very excited about the new Doctor Who trailer that came out yesterday, and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life until the twenty-fifth. Re-watch the series, maybe?

Ahem.

So we finally bid goodbye to Wyoming and headed off for Park City. Approximately five minutes after packing up and leaving the campsite, we saw another moose. This time, however, we saw a good one, giant antlers and all. Everyone should always listen to me: I said that we'd see a good one on the way to Park City, and I was right!

Our drive through Wyoming passed through several small towns, all strung together. When I say small, I mean towns with populations of 300 or less. Minuscule. Tiny. Dinky. Etc.

We stopped for lunch at this little diner called Tootsie's (excellent sandwiches) before heading off again.

We went through Idaho and spent a great deal of time admiring Bear Lake. It's huge and incredibly blue and incredibly pretty. We stopped at a rest stop in Utah to admire it, and play with grasshoppers (they'd be out on the cement paths, and we'd run down the paths to make them jump back into the grass. Big fun).

By the time we got to Park City, it was raining, but who cares? We were finally at a shelter that wasn't made of nylon, and our beds weren't inflatable.

Okay, so I like to complain about camping. It's all good, because no matter what, I will love very few things as much as I love camping.

Anyway.

After a home-cooked dinner, showers, and the discovery of wi-fi (horray!), we all went to bed and reveled in civilization, because really, what's better than a memory foam bed after sleeping on a slowly deflating air mattress for a week?

Nothing, that's what.

Day Six: Teton and Disney

We had to leave Yellowstone, eventually, I guess.

Le sigh.

We drove down through the Grand Teton Park, and let me tell you, that is probably the prettiest place I'd ever seen. I am fully convinced that it's photoshopped, or that Disney is somehow behind it. Unfortunately, I only have one picture (my camera decided that that was a fabulous time to die), but hopefully I'll get Casey's soon. Just know that it's stunning. You've got these really craggy old mountains, grey and dusted with snow (in July. Really, Wyoming?), wildflowers, lush greenery, stunning lakes, and butterflies everywhere. It's almost too pretty to be real, and it smells faintly like the colour green.

We made it to our campsite near Jackson, WY, and set up the tent in record time. In the rain. Like bosses. Eventually, though, we headed out into the wild that is Jackson Hole. It's actually this cute little tourist-trap town. We got some ice cream and wandered around, looking at all the hokey little things. Moose stuff everywhere, which was particularly difficult to stomach.

See, when we went on our unsuccessful moose hunt, we decided that we were using the word too much, and thus jinxing it. If anyone said it, they had to put in a quarter, sort of like a swear jar. A swear jar that never got cashed. For the record, Casey won.

Anyway.

We had dinner in Teton Village, at this great restaurant called the Mangy Moose Reindeer. It's pretty good, but the best part is definitely the atmosphere. Everywhere is just crammed with things. There are flags and movie posters all over the ceiling, moose reindeer heads on the walls, and an airplane hanging over the restaurant. It's actually pretty cool.

On the way back, though, we saw a moose! It was a female, and she was just hanging out in a marshy area, grazing and looking completely bored by the dozens of people taking a picture.

It was beautiful, though, because we could say the word moose again. You never realize just how much you love the word moose until you can't say it...

Day Two: Oh, Idaho!

It goes on.

We left the hotel bright and early and drove through Idaho. I met up with an old friend from high school, which was really nice. I haven't seen him since graduation, basically. Anyway, after the socialization, we left. Casey and I played our roles (tourists) wonderfully and bought cheesy things from a gas station. We also took the time to take pictures. Oh, yeah.

After a small roadblock (literally) in Montana, though, we finally made it to Yellowstone! Within the first mile of the park, we saw some elk grazing. Being tourists, we stopped and took pictures before continuing to our campsite. Basically, in one day, though, we went through the rest of Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. That effectively knocks several states off my to-do list.

We got the tent up in less than ten minutes (Casey and I were both Girl Scouts, once upon a time) and went to this place, the Lake Lodge (I think) for dinner. There, I discovered that I'm basically going to be addicted to huckleberry stuff for the rest of my life.

Also, we saw a bison.

Also, I bought a bison. His name is Jerry.

Also, I counted this day as a success.