Golden Eagle Inn Jackson

This morning I woke up a little bit to tired and smelling like a fireplace. Yesterday evening our fantastic neighbors had a campfire. After a day working on the electronics in our bus, setting up my new PS 3 Slim among other things, this was a welcomed break. We brought a couple of bottles of wine ...

... Lake where the Snake River is dammed to enjoy some more quiet reading time. After getting back to our campsite, Andrew received a voicemail from our real estate company in Portland, letting us know that the apartment we had secured had flooded and was uninhabitable. We scrambled through dinner and then headed back to Jackson to use the internet at the most fantastic honkey tonk pub we have ever seen (over a dozen elk heads ...

... gateway of Yellowstone called Mammoth Hot Springs. This provided us with amazing views and very windy roads. Here we did some paved and flat walks called the upper and lower terraces that brought us to highlights such as Minerva's Pool. After that we headed south to Norris campground, as all the northern and higher altitude campgrounds were closed due to snowfall. <br><br>After a very cold night in ...

gerade erst im 'grand teton national park' angekommen, liefen uns schon die ersten tiere über den weg. wir hatten also ziemlich viel glück gleich elche und zwei verschiedene adlerarten bestaunen zu können.<br><br>mit dem boot ging's über den see und von dort aus zu fuss zum 'inspiration point' einem aussichtspunkt gut 200m über dem see. der ausblick war ...

... the north part of the figure 8 loop, saw the big waterfalls, Yellowstone Grand Canyon, Mammoth Springs, and the Norris geyser basin. Of these I found the canyon and waterfalls the most interesting. Mammoth didn't seem to have a lot of activity going on. Several of the springs were dry. It was around sunset when I was a the Noris Geyser Basin. Saw a little bit of activity, and a whole lot of mosquitos. <br><br>The next day I went directly to Old Faithful and its ...

... and after a safety talk... we were off! Once on the river, it got really exciting. Because we all had a paddle it was easy to know when we were approaching a rapid; first the guide would shout "all forward", we would have to paddle, then the waves would get rockier and rockier until the nose of our raft was lifted up almost vertical and then fell down, the water splashing over the raft and soaking us, especially the 2 guys in front. We two were paddling ...

... waiting to see the Old Faithful geyser go off, which I found to be a bit dissappointing! But it was on time!<br><br>By the time I left Yellowstone it was nearly dark and I still had about an hours drive to Jackson and arrived there around 9pm. Next to Yellowstone is Grand Teton national park which I will check out more tomorrow. The first night in Jackson was a quiet one, I went to a nearby Mexican ...

... and transported about 25 minutes away to the Snake River. We were given flotation devices and left with our guide, Scott, who immediately established his authority, knowledge and expertice. He took us for a raft ride to be remembered. I had ever been in a river raft so it was all fabulous! As the sun set we all listened to Scott tell us story after story of the history and ...

... I kept our eyes peeled for stopped cars (which meant that someone had spotted an animal). Our first stop in Yellowstone was at Sylvan Lake picnic area for lunch.  As Bob battled with a bee over his sandwich, Sophie had a leisurely lunch in her spot at the back of the car.  We didn't spot any wildlife at Sylvan Lake.  Over the next few miles, we saw bison several times. One of them was even kind enough to pose for a picture and we also saw one ...

... and its role in certain economies. Capitalist that I am, I'm defending it, even though I hate the way it is abused etc... Prime example, Jackson, WY, the Gatlinburg of the west. Total Kitsch. But hey, if the yocals wanted to turn this town into a cheese ball carnival in search of a dollar, more power to 'em. I guess. Anyway, Mallory's not quite of the same mindset. Alright, I'm ranting. Enjoy the pics. More interesting stuff on the way!