The Teton Extravagance and the Yellowstone Disappointment

After arriving in the Grand Teton National Park we took a night to plan what we were going to do for the time here. We arrived too late for a campsite so we stayed with Jacob's friend Scott. He suggested a good hike for us to do. After obtaining a permit the next morning we were on our way! We had decided to take two nights out in the Teton backcountry. Our plan was to traverse the paintbrush divide (this may be a part of the continental divide). The first day was very difficult as we hiked about 7 miles and ascended about 4000 vertical feet. We were awestruck the entire time with incredible views and some wildlife. After arriving at the upper paintbrush campsite for the first night we set up the tent and took a nap, both of us were breathing heavy after the slightest exertion. This camping area was picture perfect (just check it out below) and it was at about 9700 ft altitude. There was a glacier pool nearby for us to fill our water bottles. Beautiful, cold water! There was a marmot at the site that Jacob and I named "Stew". This was because we were cooking stew for dinner and he clearly wanted some. He also liked the smells around camp including the "pee spot". A while later we found out there were a lot of them and not just one so all of the marmots were now named Stew.

The second day of hiking was difficult in the morning as we were climbing over the paintbrush divide. We hiked through many patches of snow on the steep slopes and the ranger had recommended that we find walking sticks to help us out which we did and they came in very handy. The view at the top was amazing and Stew was with us all the way. Traveling down the slopes wasn't as demanding but it was hell on the knees and ankles! We travelled down to Solitude lake where we saw a red-tailed hawk that had just caught a fish and he was close enough to us that we could clearly make out the fish in its talons. We went further on to the second camping area called North Cascade. Once again we spotted stew at the campsite. We stayed next to a glacier runoff stream that was perfect for falling asleep next to. We went inside the tent at about 6:30pm after dinner to escape the mosquitos and played cards for a while then went to sleep before the sun was even down. We woke up pretty early and hiked out the third day. The total trip was about 18 miles. We did not see any moose or bears but Stew was there all the time.

Yellowstone -
We took a self-guided tour of Yellowstone the afternoon we returned from the backpacking trip. Jacob and I both determined right away that it was a big disappointment comparted to Teton. We saw some bubbling pools of water and steaming geysers. We saw some bison (no where near as many as at Badlands) and some deer. No bears and no moose. After arriving at the world famous Old Faithful we were thinking that this looks just like Disney World. The parking lot is huge and filled with cars and there are bench seats all around the geyser for the people to watch. There were probably close to 1000 people to watch. And Old Faithful was right on time, we got some pictures and left before the crowd could get to there cars. There was also a lot of construction on the roads in Yellowstone that wasted a lot of time.

By the way the license plate count is up to 48. We found Alaska but we are still missing Rhode Island and Mississippi.

A Grand Teton Entrance

We left the badlands this morning at 6am. There was an incredible sunrise and we didn’t even have to camp with the tent fly. The evening temperature was quite perfect for sleeping. After about 90 minutes worth of driving we arrived at Mt. Rushmore. There was a huge line to get into the park but we had great views of the mountain on the road prior to the entrance. To save money we stopped on that road took some great photos and video and then headed onto Crazy Horse where we did the same. Oh I almost forgot! On the way we stopped at Wall Drug where they have pretty much everything and anything for sale. In the back they have a giant jack rabbit (please see picture, a guaranteed laugh). There was also a T-rex in the back that attempted to scare children. Naturally it worked on both of us. After Wall drug we got to Mount Rushmore and then we finally made it to the Grand Tetons. In Wyoming we went through an incredible thunderstorm. It started to hail so hard that 2 or 3 inches ice were plated onto the pavement. Ryan and I both looked at each other in complete awe. They are indeed quite grand. Lots of camping and hiking tomorrow! We won’t have access to a computer for several days so the blog may be a bit quiet.

Badlands

Driving through South Dakota was a most impressive site. The speed limit is 75 so you can go pretty fast but that is because there isn’t much except huge fields and straight roads. There are signs for Wall Drug Store starting in Iowa and there is a sign at least every couple miles. “Free Ice Water” and “Coffee – 5 cents” are just a couple of the things advertised… I can’t forget the T-rex or the six-foot tall jackrabbit. South Dakotah has become one of Jacob and my own favorite states to drive through… very beautiful. Once we got to the Badlands National Park and saw the badlands we were amazed. It was a strange and awesome landscape. We entered the park and drove the park road that winds through the badlands. Then we took a dirt road to the Sage Creek Campground which was advertised as a primitive camping area where there is no water and bison are likely to roam through the campsite. After driving about 12 miles down the dirt road we hadn’t seen a single bison anywhere and Jacob said “I’m thinking we won’t see any bison.” Then we turned a corner and I was surprised to see a bison standing on the side of the road. We took some pictures thinking that might be the only one we see. Then we went on to the campsite. When we arrived we were amazed to see that there was a whole herd grazing next to the campsite. We were so excited we parked the car and jumped out to get a closer look. Then the bison started moving closer to the cars and tents and walked right through the camping area! The picture you see includes Jacob's car and our tent. At the time we were on a hike on the ridge above the camp site.

Then we wanted to go on a hike. We put on our hiking boots and headed out into the backcountry. We were following a “buffalo trail” and came upon another buffalo who didn’t want to move so we went around him in a very wide berth.On another note, there were quite literally thousands of grasshoppers. As you walked almost anywhere, you would get pelted by them. In some cases it looked as if the ground was moving. Anyways, we kept moving down the trail. We were coming up to another herd of bison and were watching them watch us. After a couple minutes we saw why. There was a baby lying down in the grass and it took a while for us to figure out what it was. The bison were watching us because they thought we were getting too close to their baby! They started getting agitated and moving closer to us even though were probably a couple hundred feet away from them. That was enough to scare us and we high-tailed it out of there. As we hadn’t gotten very far from the campsite we decided to try to hike through a different area that didn’t have any agitated bison. We decided to hike up to the top of a ridge and were amazed that there were so many buffalo trails everywhere, even on the steepest of slopes. From the top we saw a huge herd of bison we wanted to go look at. They were back in the direction we had just run from but by now the agitated herd had moved on (through the campsite just like the others). We turned around and headed back that way and walked through a field with prairie dogs and their holes. They were keeping watch and chirping when we got too close for their comfort. Then they would pop down into their hole and another would start chirping. We hiked to the top of another ridge and had a good view of the huge herd we had seen earlier. They are so noisy you can hear them for miles. On the way back we found a fossil next to a dried up creek. Jacob got a picture; unfortunately there was a sign back at the campsite that said we could not remove fossils from the park. It looked like a clam’s shell, about 10 inches wide. Then we headed back to the camp for dinner. Then we played “Mad Libs” and went to bed before it was even dark. Another early rise tomorrow morning!

Because driving through IOWA deserves its own blog post….

Driving through western Illinois and Iowa was quite the experience. We saw many things including President Ulysses S. Grant’s home in Galena, IL. Just outside of Galena we saw a hilarious advertisement for a local store. The store name was “Poopsies” and just above the directions was the saying “Where the hell did you find that?” haha We also entered into a town by the name of Lena. Lena is a great town with large signs saying, “Welcome to Lena,” and “Visit Lena ” (we followed the sign but couldn’t find you Lena, where were you? Haha (for non-family readers, Lena is Ryan’s wife). There really isn’t too much to western Illinois and Iowa. There are rolling hills and incredible views. As Ryan and I came over one of the ridges we could see for miles. My favorite quote of the evening was “Wow Ryan, look at that view.” Without hesitation Ryan responded, “Whoa, man that’s a lot of corn!” We then attempted to name all of the foods and products that are made out of corn….After about four hours of driving we reached our break point, Dyersville, IA. I have to credit Meredith Cooney with mentioning this to me my freshman year of college, but Dyersville, IA is the home of the Field of Dreams. Yes, the actual farm and field where Kevin Kosner filmed his movie. We drove along the exact road that you see at the end with all of the cars lining up to visit the farm (guaranteed all of those cars were the locals). As you approach the farm you see the small white house and then just to the left is the field. We arrived at the farm around 8pm as the sun was setting. It was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful sites I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing. However, we arrived only to see closed gates and their hours of operation, but that wasn’t going to stop us! We quickly hopped the gate and got onto the field. Appropriately, they leave a few gloves and baseballs on the field at all times, in case shoeless Joe wants to play catch. I got behind the plate, and viewed the field from the catcher’s position. I miss baseball, but just like Archie Graham it’s my turn to be a doctor. After being on the infield, it was time to get out into the outfield. Ryan and I each took turns walking into the corn. It’s actually a pretty eerie experience, especially at dusk. An interesting note, while the infield is a 90ft diamond, the outfield is very short-maybe 275. As we left the field Ryan said the following, “Dyersville, these people are in “Dyer” need of something to do.” Yahaha After that it was 4 ½ hours to Sioux City, IA where we spent the night along the Missouri (or the Mizzzurrruhh as Ryan calls it) River. Thanks for the hotel mom!

Chi-town: Does anyone actually like the south side?

After passing out at 10:30pm last night, Ryan and I woke up fairly early to start the day in Chicago. Our plan was to take the train down to the Chicago loop and then take the “El” to the north side to enjoy a cubs game. Downtown was incredible. We walked into the Sears tower and saw all of the Olympic flags hanging in preparation for the 2016 summer Olympics. In addition, Ryan and I both looked straight up and realized the Sears tower is indeed ginormous! Similar to my 5th grade field trip to the Twin towers, the line to go to the top was incredibly long so we opted not to do that. Instead we headed further into town and saw the Chicago Trade Center. This building was Wayne Tower in Batman Begins (see pictures below). We then walked to a small park where Picasso’s steel horse was. There was a steep iron base at the foot of the sculpture, perfect for sliding down! Ryan did choose to go with the more conservative method of sliding but none-the-less we both slid in style! (see pictures) After the horse, we continued on to Millennium Park. This is probably one of the cleanest and most entertaining public parks in America. In the middle of this park is a giant polished stainless steel bean! It has all sorts of convex and concave surfaces creating funny and wacky distortions of your reflection. Ryan looked the goofiest. After the park we headed to Wrigleyville for the Cubs game. Unfortunately, scalpers did not have three tickets or tickets that were reasonably priced so we ended up not getting into Wrigley. Instead we went to one of Sutton’s favorite Chicago pizza joints. Ryan and I can honestly say that for $5.00 we got one of the largest slices of pizza in America. It was truly Man vs. Food worthy. Once the game had finished up, we headed back to Highland Park where Sutton lives. He then took us to Michael Jordan’s house. Mr. Jordan has a massive “23” on the gate to his property! As we walked up to the gate, I had Jim Jones “BALLLLIN!” in my head so I convinced Ryan to throw up the jump shot with me as we took the picture. Now its back on the road tonight for Sioux City, IA. Driving tonight will give us an easier day to the Badlands National Park, where I will ride my bison!

First Night

Well, we arrived in Chicago at about 4:15pm Friday night (Good timing on our part) then it took us an hour and a half to drive through the city and arrive at the house where we were staying. We had pizza for lunch at Mackenzie's and pizza was on the menu for dinner at Sutton's. They were very accommodating and we ordered subs instead, thanks for that! After dinner we took a tour of the neighborhood which includes a house that was in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". It was Cameron's house in the movie, the one where the Ferrari was parked and they ended up kicking it and it fell into the ravine behind the house. Then we went to the beach on Lake Michigan and skipped rocks like pros. Check out the pictures! We went to a bar for a couple beers and went to bed early (since we had already been awake for nineteen hours, twelve of which was driving).


We have already seen 28 state license plates. We were so excited when a mustang sped past us with a Hawaii license plate. Jacob said "Dude, if we can get Hawaii we have a chance to see all 50!"

Opening Day

Hello Hello (followed by the Warner wave hello-Ryan)! So far the travels have been smooth going. We started at 4:50am in thick fog but made great time to Vermilion, OH. In our short-lived 6 hours of driving we have already completed mad-libs, part of a book on tape and of course shared plenty of laughs. We even discussed Ryan's "air-conditioned house" (inside joke for the family). In addition, Ryan and I will be recording all of the different license plates we see. So far we have 10. Anyways, Vermilion is a small boating community with beautiful harbors and interesting stores. In fact, there is a store that sells only clothing made from alpaca wool....We made it to Mackenzie's house where we ate lunch (Thanks!) and caught up with the Williams. They made a fair number of attempts to convince Ryan and I to stay the night in Cleveland. Apparently "CLEVELAND ROCKS!"-Drew Carey.

Needless to say, we did not give in and are on our way to Chicago to meet up with Sutton. Ryan is now driving and is having some difficulty coping with the GPS navigation system....Ryan speaks to the GPS-"Hold on, I have to wait for the light." haha More to Come later!

PS. It's starting to get really flat