Consider it a 3-day tape delay...

First, apologies go to my readers who have had to wait three days for a blog update. If you actually expected Yellowstone to have wireless, you’re crazy. I think I’d be disappointed if they had wireless here. They don’t have TVs in the rooms. And you should see our closet. Anyway, to ensure that you, my avid readers, get a quality travel update, I am writing while still in Yellowstone and will post as soon as I can.

Day 4: Cheyenne to Yellowstone
Since we had had such a long and dreary drive on day 3 and, since our drive would be only 8 hours, we decided to take a more leisurely pace across Wyoming. The slide show should really be broken down into two parts. The first would be the geology lesson. The second, snow. Seriously. Wyoming is absolutely beautiful. Very empty, very beautiful. Some of the most interesting geological features I’ve ever seen. So we set off from Cheyenne with the straight open road in front of us. Even on the interstate, we were almost alone. We could do 80 there though, so we didn’t mind all the nothing at that point. By the way, we’ve got a new slogan for a few of the states we’ve passed. Nebraska: “There’s more nothing where that came from.” Missouri: “You should see Nebraska.” Anyway, back to Wyoming. There is nothing out there. Cows, antelope, and fences. They have these snow fences that keep the snow from blowing onto the roads. There is a picture of them in the slide show, right before the pictures of the rocks. They get very strong winds out there, because there is nothing to block said winds. So they put fences up. At least some areas are making the best of the wind they’ve got. There were wind farms, with those big white windmills that are so cool. We stopped in one town whose name has slipped my mind (laramie?). It was the home of Wyoming University. The cowboys. We got t-shirts, so you'll have to see them. Quite funny. Mine has a ginormous cowboy on the front. We also saw the Sinclair oil refinery in Sinclair, WY. Once we turned off of the interstate, we were on hwy 287, which just made the interstate look busy. It is a bit unnerving to drive for miles without seeing any other cars (and you can see for miles, so you KNOW there aren’t any cars around). Makes you think you’re going the wrong way. We crossed the continental divide a total of 7 times during this trip. We took a lot of sign pictures, so you'll see those in the slide show. We had seen signs all the way that would tell you if the road was closed for snow and gates so they could actually keep you off of the roads if they needed to, so the report that it might snow on our second night in Yellowstone was a bit frightening. We decided that in Wyoming, they got snow all the time and knew how to deal with it. Brave Burka ladies soldiering on. Anyhoo, somewhere past Lander, WY we entered the Shoshone National Forest. I’ll just point out that for every beautiful picture we took, there is an even more beautiful picture to follow it. We get into the forest and are just cruising along toward the Tetons. You have to go through the Tetons to get to the south entrance to the park. So we come around the corner and there is snow everywhere. But it’s like 70-something out. We have short sleeves on and our windows down. And it’s warm. Thankfully, they were doing construction that stopped us long enough that we could stop the car and stretch our legs. So these woods are beautiful right? Yeah. Well then we get to the Tetons. Those things are absolutely amazing. Huge. Snowy. Just look at the pictures, alright? We took many many pictures. Some in color and some awesome B&Ws. We stopped in the park’s fancy lodge to rest for a moment, then we got on the road. After we stopped to take a picture of the MOOSE! Once leaving there, we headed onward to Yellowstone. Snow on both sides and a clear road. Still as warm as could be. By the way, I’ve decided to become a park ranger, but only if they let me wear the poofy pants that Mounties wear. And let me ride a moose. Anyway, we entered the park and took a lot of pictures. Especially of the frozen lake. Lake Yellowstone is covered in ice. There are melted parts right by the edge, but the thing is ginormous and completely frozen. Also, they scrape the snow out of the roads, so the sides are walls of snow. Please make sure to see the picture of me standing in front of the snow for effect. That pile is not from plows. It’s the same depth all the way into the woods for a little way. The Lake Yellowstone Hotel is yellow. Of course. Piles of snow from plowing are so high that if you aren’t on the correct row, you can’t find your car. Anyway, we ate dinner in the dining room there and it was delicious. No cell service, no tv, no internet. Ahhhh…
And in case you didn’t know...If you missed part of the slide show because you were reading the long description of Wyoming, a play button will appear at the end for you to start it over.



Day 5: Yellowstone!
So, today we woke up and it was raining. And cold. So we went over to the dining room for breakfast and requested a table by the giant picture windows. As we ate, the rain turned into snow. A lot of snow. That was sticking. And wasn’t stopping. It’s May, right? I’ve decided that the best place to be when it snows is inside with a cup of anything warm. We talked to a few employees and determined that it was safe to set out on the roads. Just don’t scare the bison with your car. So we set out and went on a loop around the park. We drove the loop and stopped whenever we saw fit. There are a lot of pictures. There was a wolf. Wait, the wolf was the day before. There was a grizzly bear, a bison, another two bison, and an elk. So look at the animal pictures. We saw some falls. Really serious water here. The snow melting (I guess it’s melting somewhere, right?) has brought the rivers higher. Oh, and it’s still snowing. We stopped at one of the geyser basins and wandered on the boardwalks. The colors and smells of the hot springs are so fascinating. The ugliness of this place is astounding. I have suffered greatly. (joking!) We stopped in and out of various places. Lots and lots of pictures of snow. You’ll probably hate snow by the time the slide show is over. Eventually, we worked our way over to Old Faithful. Of course. At this point, the snow is very heavy. We decided to see the geyser (which we got there just in time to see) and then discuss whether we would risk staying there for dinner like we had planned. Geyser…very cool. I wish the pictures better showed how huge and cool it was. Sadly, the haziness of snowy weather prevented good pictures. Go look up a picture online or something. It was cool. After that, we went inside the Inn and had coffee and hot cocoa while we poked around in the shop, then settled onto a sofa that is apparently from 1904 and watched the people. The whole place is very cozy. No, we didn’t try to drop Uncle David’s name there. We thought it might do more harm than good. We hung around and warmed up, then we went on a tour of the inn that was very cool. We now know all about the history of the inn and the park. We attempted a walk around the geyser that was rather cold and snowy. It was nice when the nearby hot springs put off smoke right at you. Even if the smoke smelled of sulfur, it was warm. Did I mention it was still snowing? We evaluated the roads and determined it was safe to stay there for dinner, so we ate an early dinner that was delicious. I highly suggest roasted red pepper and roasted gouda soup. That was only part of it, but it was such a yummy soup and so good for warming up my tummy. We returned across very snowy mountains to our own hotel and passed a snow plow on the way. Getting out in the morning may be interesting. They seem to be able to handle snow around here though…
An added note after looking through pictures: you'll see a lake in yesterday's pictures. Completely covered in ice. You'll see the same lake in today's pictures. Can't see across it for all the snow. Also, completely covered in snow and ice. I am completely astounded that a body of water as large as Lake Yellowstone could be frozen.



Day 6: Yellowstone to Richland
Technically, we aren't in Richland. We are staying at a hotel in Kennewick. Look it up on google maps. They're practically the same place. So...
We got up this morning to find that it had stopped snowing. Not that it made a difference, because there was still snow everywhere. On the bright side of things, Yellowstone really knows how to deal with snow on the roads. Anyway, we packed and had breakfast in the dining room (to let the roads thaw) and got on the road in a leisurely manner. We failed to realize that it would take us a full two hours to get out of the park. It was such a long drive that we had to take a bathroom break at Old Faithful. Anyway, it started snowing/raining as soon as we got out of West Yellowstone and headed north in Montana. Winding roads, in the snow and the rain, for 9 hours. Then there was the rest of the trip. Montana would have been beautiful but for the snow and the deficient rest area system. I have never had to go to the bathroom so badly so many times in one week. It was so strange that they would not put many rest areas out. They even put in rest areas with no restrooms. And some of them were closed for the winter. And there aren't any trees to go behind out where we were. We also learned about "chain-up" areas. They mean that you should probably be worried. See, out here, you can go up a hill and the weather be rainy and there be no snow on the ground but, as soon as you clear the hill (and by hill i mean rather large mountain. like really really really large.), there will be snow. Then you come down the hill and there's a chain removal area. So, when you see those signs...worry. Idaho was rather scenic. There is a very pretty lake that we drove past for a while. Mom remembers it as very steep, tall, foggy, and snowy. All true. We listened to "This American Life" to pass the time today. Rather interesting. I used to hate that show. We got into Washington and noticed that Spokane (being the second largest city in the state) is a lot wealthier than the towns we've been seeing the last few days. Then we left that city and crossed the empty part of the state. There are tumbleweeds pushed up against the fences, but rich farms that you can tell are very forced (lots of irrigation). We passed a few vineyards on the way into the Tri-Cities area (Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco). This is a rich wine country. In fact, I've just read that it is only second in the country to Sonoma. We crossed the Columbia River (really really really big). Anyway, It's been a long day. It took us 11.5 hours to get here. Thank goodness we crossed into another time zone. I'm tired, so I'm going to bed.