Yellowstone Day Three

Day three at Yellowstone was actually a day at Grand Tetons national park. Because of how much we had been walking the previous two days, several of our gang decided they wanted to stay at the lodge and get some rest, so it was left to Alan, Pedro and I to venture south to visit the Grand Tetons.

The drive was uneventful, with the usual stops to enjoy the scenery. Alan chose the route less traveled and we ended at some point in an one-lane dirt road, a very busy one-lane dirt road where we had to move to the side occasionally so other cars could go by.

We did run into the usual assortment of stopped cars, which in that part of the world means wildlife so we had to stop and look. This time it was a female moose and her baby, or as I am told, a moose cow and her calf. We had to crawl through the bushes in order to be able to see her, but that wasn't a problem. And with this sighting I had seen elks, bears, deer, moose and bison and felt I was only missing wolves to complete the set.

Eventually we got back in the car and drove on to Teton Village, a small ski town with an impressive mountain. It looked just like what I expect a Swiss village to look like, sunny and picturesque. Alan liked it to and decided that he and his family would stop there again when he travelled South with his family.

Well, there was a mountain and a a cable car so the next thing I knew we were on our way to the top which was still covered in snow. Up there it was cold and windy but that didn't stop us intrepid adventurers from exploring the summit, enjoying the precipitous vistas and wondering if anyone was crazy enough to actually sky down those cliffs.

Now, here we were close to the Wyoming-Idaho border and I was beginning to think we were the only Brazilians around but man, was I wrong. Not only did I run into two other groups of people speaking Portuguese, but the server at the summit restaurant was also Brazilian. He did make good waffles, though, and that plus hot chocolate is what we had for lunch.

After lunch we made our way back to the bottom, got in the car and started the trek back home. We made a few stops along the way, first to enjoy a scenic view of the Tetons from behind an old barn, and then to stop and take some pictures by the entrance signs to the parks. After all, we had to prove we had been there!

That evening we got together with everybody for one last dinner and said our goodbyes. Alan, Bel and Ian were staying in the park one more day, but Fernando and Gabriel were leaving early next morning on their drive back to North Dakota, and Pedro and I were flying back to Palo Alto. So back to our rooms for a good night's sleep. Next morning Pedro and I woke up at seven, took off by 10 am and, after a stop in Battle Mountain for refueling, were in Palo Alto by 4 pm.

Mischief done.