Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Day 6: Billings,MT to Pocatello, ID

Bully good day, but a loooong one. Started out at 7:30 am from Billings and ended at 1 AM in Pocatello or Palookaville, as Eric kept calling it....and that's all I;m going to say about that! (we are dropping off the Commander at SLC airport today, so should be returning to our more normal pace!!)

Yellowstone Park was great and not as crowded as we thought it would be. Saw the upper and lower falls over the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from the South side. Also spotted an osprey and nest with a baby. awesome.

the bison were out in force. Seems like the largest alpha males like to position themselves in the middle of the road to challenge rental cars and suvs. We took many pictures of the spot(s) where Beth had her "buffalo epiphany" in 1996--which became a fabulous college essay.

Old Faithful still performing on schedule and yes, this is still a "stinky place". Gary thought the sulfur was clearing up his sinuses.

had an excellent dinner at Colter Bay in the Grand Tetons.
early day on Tuesday (is there any other kind?!) to get to airport.

Quote of the day: "coming in hot.." (car shrieking to a stop)
mileage: one million, half in the dark. haha

5 comments:

  1. I actually thought his horse was named commander, silly me. We had a school in Butte MT. I congratulate the car. Just think what the car must be thinking, if it could talk.

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  2. Trip sounds amazing and right on schedule. What finely tuned plans and Toyota engine...It took me until today to figure out how to post a comment - and you rode a horse in the peaceful Valley! Impressive.

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  3. A couple tips for the UT and NV parts of your trip. If you can, be out in the middle of nowhere in UT before Great Basin national park or after it. Those places have less lights and towns than almost any place in the country and you will never see so many stars.

    In Great Basin if you are going there, you can see the bristlecone pines up there that are some of the oldest living things in the world.

    After Great Basin, if you are on highway 50 I think you will pass through Eureka, NV. Go into the opera house there. It's open all day and is free, it will only take 10 min. Eureka county has more $ per capita than any place in the union because of the gold mines there and the lack of many people. Most of the buildings are restored because of that and beautiful, including the opera house.

    have fun!

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  4. Did a cross country trip with my parents when I was 19 years old. Hectic and wonderful. Really envy you while I am lying back on a chaise and drinking a Sangria! Oh well, just kidding! I really do envy all of you and hope you are having a great time.

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  5. Epiphany with a Buffalo! That was a great essay, if I do say so myself! Being surrounded on all sides by hundreds of bison....definitely in the top 10 moments of family vacations.....

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