Day 32: Will This Trip Ever End?

That makes me sound unhappy and bored and exhausted, doesn’t it?

It wasn’t my best morning. I was punchy and cranky and tired. I snapped at Earl, she snapped back. It was the snippiest we’ve been the entire trip.

I had hoped to get down to Grand Teton National Park while we were at Yellowstone. I was crabby from the realization that we simply cannot do it all. It was a two hour trek down to the west entrance of Yellowstone from Bozeman, then who knew how long across the park, then maybe, just maybe, we could make it as far as Cody, MT, for the night. Gah. The Tetons were out.

I wanted more time. I wanted things to be closer together. I wanted roads to stop being under construction. I wanted my child to get up and put her clothes on and brush her teeth and help me pack up just once.

There was an older couple loading their car in the middle of both lanes under the hotel’s awning, and it was pouring rain. I needed to rearrange the car again because when you take things from the bottom out, things from the top collapse into the gaps and suddenly nothing fits.

I loaded in the rain, Earl whining the entire time because what was taking me so long? The road down to Yellowstone was cloudy and foggy and dreary, and the hopes I still held were quickly sagging. I wanted to cry.

It was not a great start.

Things have a way of looking up, though, even when we’re looking down.

We took a few minutes at McDonalds in West Yellowstone, MT, to regroup—or perhaps group—and come up with some iota of a plan.

Waterfalls it was, because waterfalls make everything better.

Airborne small wildlife doesn’t hurt either.

When we walked to the furthest overlook at Gibbon Falls, we did so in step, our arms around each other and apologizing for the suckiness of the day so far. Forgiveness makes things prettier.

By the time we walked back toward the car, the chipmunk was even happy to see our improved dispositions and posed in celebration.

The sun finally came out, too, which helped tremendously.

Yellowstone is essentially a huge volcano, and I’d read that there were a couple of spots where you could make out some of the rim of the caldera.

It’s there somewhere. I think I see it, then I don’t. It’s not the cliffs—that’s the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I think it’s the treeline just this side of it.

We stopped at the Canyon Village Visitor Center to learn more about the volcanic history of the area and to pick up some rain jackets because, hi, it was raining. Again.

You know bears are a real issue when there is a Bear Spray Rental station.

Not that that means you’ll see any bears while you’re at Yellowstone. If you’re us, you’re more likely to see rain and brake lights.

It wasn’t that late, but the day was wearing thin on us already. I insisted on driving the rim of The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to see the falls on the Yellowstone River. Earl took up coloring in the car and didn’t want to get out.

I didn’t blame her. Rain and all.

Even with the clouds, the colors and textures of the canyon were incredible.

I convinced Earl to get out of the car long enough to snap a shot with the Buddy Bison she’d snagged in the Visitor Center. We wish we’d had Buddy earlier in the trip because Buddy would have been so many cool places with us!

That’s the face of a thrilled child, isn’t it?

Don’t let her fool you. She did have some fun. Especially when the sun came out again.

It’s always fun to be embarrassed by your mother singing the opening chant to The Lion King at top volume!

I just wished it would pick a weather pattern already. Do I dress for cold and rain? Or sun and warm? Make up your mind, Yellowstone!

Our last waterfall was the upper falls of the Yellowstone, which was beautiful despite the, you guessed it, RAIN!

The weather must have been making the animals antsy, too, because as we made our way toward the East Entrance of the park, they were out in full force. There were many close encounters of the bison kind.

As we headed out, the skies cleared, and Yellowstone and her elk cows bid us a fond farewell.

But not before I took in some views of Yellowstone Lake.

Earl stayed in the car while I snapped pictures. At one point, I thought I’d have to battle a raven to get back behind the wheel.

He must have sat there and stared at the door for a solid minute. Perhaps he wanted a quick way out of the crazy weather as thunder was rumbling again.

The east side of the park had the freshest wildfire damage of any we’d seen, and the most widespread. Bare trees were everywhere, giving it a surreal and eerie feeling.

At my last photo stop, we not only got a great shot, but we saw a pica, too!

With that, we were finally out of the park I never thought we’d escape. Not that I didn’t enjoy Yellowstone thoroughly, I was just still in a bit of a leftover mood.

The scenery didn’t stop, though, as we made our way through Shoshone National Forest toward Cody.