July 14, 2002 – Gardiner, MT to Jackson, WY
We slept in fairly late at the hotel in Gardiner, then headed south along the western side of the northern loop in Yellowstone. Our original plans wouldn’t have taken us this way, but now we would travel all of the roads in Yellowstone except the road from the Fishing Bridge to the East Entrance.
As we traveled south Delaney was complaining of a stomachache. We stopped at Sheepeater Cliff, primarily because there was a bathroom. Once again, an unplanned stop turned into a cool experience. The cliff was formed from basaltic lava which formed columnar joints as it cooled. These natural columns were fascinating to see, plus there were two yellow-bellied marmots scampering around on the rocks. As we watched one of them climbed to the top and played “King of the Cliff”.
Thankfully, Delaney’s stomachache soon passed. We kept traveling south and stopped at the Artist Paint Pots. The trail to the paint pots was about a half-mile each way, but fortunately there were some good hills to challenge Aaron. The boy just did not like to walk on flat ground (which was a real challenge growing up in Florida). The pots were well worth the walk. There were so many naturally occurring colors due to a combination of minerals and bacteria. There was also an interesting sulfur pot with very white sulfur all around.
After the Paint Pots we continued around to Old Faithful. We thought we said goodbyes to the Inn and the Geyser Basin a few days before, but here we were back again already, but this time just for lunch. We ate at the grill in the General Store and sat at the counter. We were served by a college age kid from Melbourne, Florida. Who knew that in thirteen years Delaney would be the college age kid from Bradenton, Florida serving tourists ice cream and lunch? Maybe she did – she is a planner…
After a second round of goodbyes to Old Faithful, we continued south towards Jackson. When you come north out of Jackson into Grand Teton National Park the Teton range sneaks up on you. The peaks are obscured by a smaller mountain. As you come around the edge of that smaller mountain the peaks are right there. They suddenly stand before you like guardians over the valley with awesome beauty and magnificence that will take your breath away. As you travel down from the north the experience is different. While you are still in Yellowstone you can see the peaks off in the distance from many places along the road. They come into full view, dominating the sky by the time you reach Jackson Lake Lodge. They have the same awesome beauty, but it comes into view gradually instead of all at once. Regardless of the direction, it was great to be in the shadow of those mountains once again.
We drove on into Jackson and got checked in at the Painted Buffalo Inn – right across the street from the place we stayed our first few nights in Jackson. But this place had a pool! The kids swam for a little while, then we went to dinner. We ate at a Mexican restaurant and discovered the kids like cheese quesadilla, then did a little shopping around Jackson.
As it was getting on toward dusk we went out in search of moose. We stopped at a swamp along Moose-Wilson Road. No moose, but a man said he saw some about five minutes north on the road that was closest to the Tetons. We went that way and saw some elk, but no moose. We suspected the man had seen elk too.
We continued north on that road all the way to its junction with Highway 89. As we headed south on 89 back to Jackson we saw a bunch of stopped cars and sure enough, Bullwinkle! I was so happy that Chrissy got to see a male moose. He was very close to the road when we stopped, then came even closer. He was really enjoying clumps of white flowers, which we called “moose flowers” for the rest of the trip (and still call them that today). Another great day, finished off with the colors of the sunset behind the Teton Range.
Where Are We Going Now? 