On the road to Yellowstone

Saturday - 21 June 2003: West Yellowstone, Montana - Our plans for yesterday - golf and a sunset float down the Snake River - were cancelled due to a terrible thunder and lightning storm, followed by torrential downpours. So, we had a day of rest instead, our only endeavor was scoring the new Harry Potter book for our niece, Delaney.

We packed it up this morning and drove (the back way) to Yellowstone. It was a beautiful drive, yet a very scary drive as the pass went straight up from Jackson Hole to a height of 8,429 feet and then drops straight back down. The "down" is much more frightening than the "up"! Just over the pass, we took a left and entered Idaho. The views along the "back/west" side of The Tetons are very pretty, though personally I prefer the Tetons from the East. I can't imagine how wonderful it would be to have your coffee every morning overlooking that view. Even in the smallest of the small towns in America, I saw people clutching newly-purchased copies of the just-out-today Harry Potter book in their arms.

We continued on into Montana, where we are camped with my parents and my youngest brother, Steve - and his wife, Kris and their kids, Michael (15) and Delaney (8). The Harry Potter book has been delivered and both kids have started reading it. We had a nice dinner. I roasted a free-range chicken with fresh rosemary in my fancy oven, along with roast Yukon potatoes, sautéed snap peas and garlic bread. After dinner, everyone (except DT and I) drove into the park to look for wildlife. DT and I stayed here to watch the Lennox Lewis fight on HBO. It was just absolutely a very dramatic fight - with a very interesting ending. The cut over the challengers eye was quiet disgusting - DT couldn't even look at the TV. That guy is going to need a very good plastic surgeon. Luckily, it is in the eye brow area and hopefully the scar will be covered by his Eastern-European Uni-Brow. If they were going by the score card, instead of blood loss - Dr. Vitali Klitschko would have won.

So, we have NO CELL SERVICE (I just hate that!) here in the wilderness, but luckily the campground provides a modem line. I probably will be updating and fetching/answering my emails early in the morning... yawn... and typing my journal the night before. Expect a lot of photos - hopefully of wildlife. Since I have an actual phone line (and not my cellular modem) to work with, I will be able to send better/bigger photo files over for my faithful readers. If you do need to get in touch with us, leave a message at our house, send an email or - send an owl.

RV Park: Lionshead RV Park - eight miles from Yellowstone.