|
|
Summer 2005
Christy is getting married! We had our whole vacation planned for another trip down the Oregon Coast with a quick dash into California to visit Ray's sister. But when the news came of Christy's wedding Ray went to work to change everything! Reservations, plans, even how we would travel. The wedding would be in Wyoming, a state we had never visited, home of Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Teatons and the back drop for cowboy movies.
|
July 8, 2005
Back row; Ray, Brett and Richard; Middle Row; Jeremiah and Kim: Front; Deb and the beautiful bride, Christy |
|
To Green River, Wyoming
A quiet Fourth of July Though we loved the time we spent with our children we were chomping at the bit to get on the road. We had a very long way to go to get to Green River on time for the wedding. Two full days of driving into country that we had never been to before. There would be a quick stop just south of Pendleton Oregon for the first night. The following day we would push across southern Idaho to spend the night at Lake Wolcott State Park in the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge before cutting through Utah and into Wyoming. I can sum that push up by telling you it was desert hot and the air conditioning in the truck quit just days before the trip. Yeish! Except for a stop at the Golden Spike National Monument in Utah, the trip from Idaho to Wyoming is a bit of a blur. The heat was oppressive. My first time in Utah and I wanted to see all of it, but the heat of July in Salt Lake City is all that I really remember clearly. I do not even remember crossing into Wyoming, but suddenly we were there.
|
|
Grand Teaton National Park
It is true; we have never been there before. The people we met at the wedding were really surprised that we had never been to the national park in their back yard. The promised us that we were going to love it. They were right. We left early from Green River and drove north for a whole day. We stopped for gas someplace that was a cowboy as they come. Back home we have redneck and hillbilly places, in Wyoming they really do have cowboys. What else would there be in that kind of setting? We stopped at the famous town of Jackson for groceries before continuing North to the Park. Much to my disappointment it began to rain, I was sure that this would be the background to the rest of our vacation (being from the Seattle area and all). So I do not know when the Teatons actually began to come into view because of the clouds. Suddenly, there they were! The rain was gone, the sky blued up and those gleaming mountains stood ahead of me. Later I realized that I was probably looking at the Gros Ventre range but they were beautiful none the less.
Sequim Lavender Festivel
Yellowstone Nationa Park
Ray had been to this park as a teen with his family. I had always heard my dad describe it as crowded, wall to wall people. Images I had seen on TV of long lines of motor homes on the road did nothing to enhance my image of the park. All I can say is what a beautiful, wild place. Whoever first thought to protect this place did a wonderful thing.
There are of course traffic jams. People do want to see the elk that lay next to the fields. But there are also wild places. Places that bring you back in time and give you an experience that no fenced in place could ever give. An of course there are those amazing geysers and mud pots.
Vegan.com
|
The Homestead Cabin in the Grand Teatons
Wildlife While in Green River we decided to go exploring. We found a dirt road that ran north and then east above the town of Green River and came out by the next town, Rock Springs. The road was called The Wild Horse Trail, but as far as we could tell there were no wild horses. We started late in the day and came out at night. What a beautiful ride. We saw our very first antelope with fawns. By evening every owl we had ever seen in our books seemed to pass through our headlights. The stars were out bright and clear after the sun put on a show setting on the cowboy horizon as beautiful as any I have ever seen at the ocean.
Grand Teatons At first glance there were only more antelope and an occasional mule deer. Once we began to explore we saw an entire heard of Buffalo near the fields of Gros Ventre. On Jenny Lake we spotted our very first White Pelicans.
Yellowstone I have always heard that Yellowstone is "a bucket of worms" Well, I saw no worms but everything else was there. Driving in from the south entrance we were greeted by a heard of buffalo. At different times we saw herds of cow elk with calves, smaller herds of bull elk with amazing racks, a moose and her calf trying desperately to get away from the crowds, thanks to our spotting scopes and the help of a sweet volunteer we saw a wolf and her cubs. While I was spying, a cub threw back his puppy head and with his baby voice howled to the ... sun. There was a black bear along the road. Off of a dirt road we found there was a grizzly grazing the wildflowers in a field. Near the fishing bridge there was a momma coyote trying to find lunch for her babies while a Russian man tried to get his son (about 8 years old) next to her for a photo. In Yellowstone Lake we could see the biggest brown trout we had ever laid eyes on. Then there were the birds. We did not expect to see too much because it was July but we still saw plenty. There were actual swans on Swan Lake. On a geyser boardwalk there were Mountain bluebirds. Ray saw his very first Western Tanager when we stopped for lunch one day.
Quote
The golden secret of courage is found in
the ungrieved presence of our Lord.
Amy Carmichael |
We Gave In
We did it. We bought a trailer to camp in. We love it!
This was taken by Ray on our first trip which was to Ft. Casey. The first night we noticed everyone was leaving... and quick! Turned out there was a tsunami warning. In California? We had the place to ourselves, us and this double rainbow. We spent the first night in our trailer hooked up to the truck, just in case. Chris hopped the ferry for home. How brave is that?
|
|
|
