Creepytown

July 7

After another freeezing night in Yellowstone (no snow or ice this time!) we all awoke extremely happy to see that the sun was shining and Sir Snores-a-lot had left. We packed up camp as quickly as we could with our frozen fingers, jumping right into action in anticipation of the long car ride ahead. Breakfast would be bagels and fruit en route today. Just as we were finishing loading the car, a Subaru (yeah Sube!!) from Oregon pulled up behind us to snag our site. We ended up talking to the two girls inside it for a while and they gave us a few good tips for the second half of our journey, including a UFO museum in NM and Whole Foods breakfast grazing in Austin.

When we finally left the campsite, we headed south toward Old Faithful. Unfortunately there was a long stretch of road between us and that famous geyser that had been turned into one way thanks to good ole construction. After a 15-20 minute delay in the nice, warm sun (it decided to come to Yellowstone the day we leave), we were well on our way.

Old Faithful was easily the most touristy area of the park that we had seen and they were even building a new, larger Visitor Information Center to be opened in time for peak season (mid/late July). After we parked, we asked a ranger when the geyser was expected to go off next and she replied, “the next predicted eruption is at 12:06, give or take 10 minutes.” We all agreed that we liked how she specifically used the word “predicted” to anticipate the geyser’s next blow. Nature is just so darn uncertain. When it got close to time for the blast, everyone huddled close to the edge of the boardwalk that was made a safe distance away from the spray zone. 12:06 came… and went… and as we all sat, cameras poised, steeped with anticipation, Old Faithful finally blew. (C was convinced she just had a little stage fright.) For the biggest geyser in the park, we appreciated that Old Faithful’s “earth farts” were not of the smelly sort. When the show was finally over, we all trudged back to the car, not looking forward to the long car ride ahead of us.

Within 45 minutes of exiting Yellowstone, we came upon Grand Teton National Park, filled with some incredibly dramatic views. Teton’s mountains rise directly out of the ground from the flat meadows and lake below, providing a mesmerizing landscape. Surrounded by preserved land, B put on her scouting eyes and scanned the area for moose, the only animal on her checklist that she had not seen yet. Unfortunately, the closest she came to the big antlered beast was a “moose xing” sign on the side of the road.

Our next state was Idaho, known – as their license plates proudly proclaim – for their “Famous Potatoes.” Knowing this, we of course had to stop at their potato museum, but due to prior delays we found ourselves standing outside locked doors, next to the World’s Largest Baked Potato. Feeling teased by all that potato falsity, we trudged off to find ourselves some real Idaho potatoes. We ended up at Idaho Joe’s, a local favorite with homemade fries and pie! We all got the special burger, fries & pie deal and ate as of we hadn’t seen food in days. After becoming members of the Clean Plate Club, we loosened our belt buckles, took a last sip of water and climbed into the car for the last leg of our journey.

This was our first sunset on the road and our first bit of night driving to come but we always look forward to anything new. The sunset was beautiful and K got some great photos of it (money shots!) out the passenger side window. Of course, the beauty of the sunset was diminished a bit when K rolled down the window to take the photo only to realize that we were surrounded by smelly Dairy Farms. (“Katy, why?!”) When the sun finally set and the sky got dark, we got to the border of what would end up being our least favorite state (thus far at least). We know, we know, we didn’t even go to Reno, but driving down 80 through Nevada was not our brightest idea. One of the cool things about the state was that the second we crossed the state line we immediately saw neon. It was something none of us expected after miles of country and ranches.

Since we had been running late that day we called ahead to make a reservation at a site in Wells, NV. After entering the state we called to tell them what time we would be getting in. Since we were arriving so late, the manager told us that when we arrived to go to “the brown motor home with tigers on the back and talk to the night watchman Ed” who would set us up with our site. We began to get a little wary of the overnight place we had selected but continued on knowing that we needed to rest. When we got to Wells, we arrived to discover that it was primarily an RV park and while they may have allowed tents, it would have meant basically sleeping in a parking lot with no bathrooms or water, right off of the freeway. We circled the lot a few times and finally found the brown motor home with tigers on the back. Not wanting to meet Ed, K called the manager – from the parking lot – to tell him we were having “car trouble” so that we would be spared staying the night in creepy town. We stopped by a McDonald’s/gas station to refuel and figure out what to do. C saw a deformed cockroach. K went in to use the bathroom and discovered a casino inside the McDonald’s. B realized that she was better off in the car.

We eventually decided to drive a little further to stay in a motel and went an hour more on Route 80 to Elko to stay at a Days Inn. Exhausted from a long day of lots of driving, sightseeing, and creepiness, we collapsed into bed with dreams of hot showers and the continental breakfast to come tomorrow morning.

Mileage to date: 3,284

Yellow car count:

C – 87

B – 100

K – 98

Highs and Lows:

Group high – Burgers, Fries & Pie

Group low – Creepytown

C high – Boysenberry pie

C low – Cockroach, having to relive this day through bloggin

B high – Grand Teton National Park

B low – Eating so much at Idaho Joe’s

K high – Group consensus to leave Creepytown

K low – Creepytown, the fact that the Potato Museum was closed