Chrissybz's travel blogs:
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Jackson Hole
Entry 14 of 42 | show all | print this entry |
June 11:
Up again, check the oil and go go go. :0) Drove from Helena, MT to Jackson, WY. Passed through Idaho. Beautiful Scenery even though it was cold and stormy.
Today's Lesson: sometimes relying on your GPS can put you in some sticky situations. Literally. I decided on a whim to take a scenic bypass in Idaho. At the other end it told me to get on a certain road. I did. Came to an intersection, the road I was on was paved, the cross road was paved, the road it was pointing me to was gravel.(4100 Rd E, Idaho. Look it up) Gravel? No problem right?
ONWARD!
So I'm driving on this gravel road, and it begins to narrow. Before I know it I'm driving on a dirt(may as well say mud after all the rain) with a barbed wire fence on one side and a freshly plowed potato field on the other side. With about a foot of clearance for the tires. Obviously I can't turn around. The mud is sucking at my tires and I KNOW if I stop, I'm just totally screwed. So, I forge onward into unknown territory. Keep in mind that the whole time, the GPS is telling me I'm not only on a ROAD it's the RIGHT road.
I haven't seen a house or car in miles. Not even a tractor. Just endles rolling hills of black dirt and little baby tater tots sprouting bright and green. I crest a hill, and look over a precipice. And a PRIVATE PROPERTY NO TRESSPASSING sign. Shit. Now I'm going to get shot. I prepare my winningest smile and stupid woman look to help me win over the enraged farmer I'm sure I'm about to encounter, and start down the steep, narrow, slope. Halfway down the hill the road turns to gravel and rocks. Things are looking up. An rickety old wooden bridge crossing a river. I hold my breath and head across. (I don't know what holding my breath did, but nothing bad happened, so it worked) Gravel again on the other side, and I'm heading up.
The road's getting better. Soon the GPS is telling me I'm coming to a town and to turn left. I reach the intersection which is just the crossing of two gravel roads and it announces I'm in the center of town. I am? Really? I'm in the center of Drummond? Pop. 2? Maybe? Soon I'm back on the paved road and all's well that ends well.
To Wyoming! The rest of the day's driving was really nice. Still endless fields of tater totlets but safely viewed from solid paved road they're much prettier.
Then I cross into Wyoming and I have ONE more mountain pass to cross before I get to Jackson. Almost as soon as I begin the climb the snow starts to fall. I was driving pretty much just under the snow line all day long. I climb, and climb, and climb. I reach a brake check and pull off to think about things. The wind is HOWLING, the snow is whipping across the road in gusts and the road is coated in a slick coating of icy, snowy, slush with ice chunks.I watch two minivans go and decide I can too. I put the car in low, the hazards on, and creep off at the old lady speed of 15 mph. If any of you behind me are in a hurry, LIVE WITH IT!!
I make the longest 5 miles ever down with no problems and arrive in Jackson. Find a hotel, and wait in line behind some... GUY ranting because the price wasn't what he was told in Casper. Look buddy, can you move over so the rest of us standing in line can check in before all the hotel rooms are gone except for the $585 rooms. Jackson is full. The film festival just ended 3 days ago and all the would be campers are putting their tents in their cars and looking for warm rooms. And here I am.
Latest Comments (1)
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Hey Girlie! (reply)
Jun 14, 2008 00:12 EST by shaina611
Sounds like everything's going great, and I'm glad you managed to avoid any enraged farmers, real or imagined ;)
*hugs*
I'll still be in Ohio if/when you pass through, so if you want to meet for lunch or something just let me know! I'm officially not moving until about July 1.
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