San Francisco Souveniers

For a little respite from camping & driving, we've been hiding out in the hills between San Francisco and the ocean at Marin Headlands Hostel in Golden Gate National Recreation Area for a couple days. It was our first hostel experience & we were quite impressed!

The hostel is an old army house with high ceilings, a huge kitchen, bunk beds & a massive living room space, all the fog one would expect near San Francisco & really cool people passing through.

The hostel tucked away in trees and fog.

Betsy making the most AMAZING pancakes ever ... they have chocolate chips in 'em.

Part of the reason the hostel was so great: environmental ethic!

We decided 2 days would be sufficient in the area. One day for the city and one (today - as soon as we leave the library in Sausalito where there's free interweb) for hiking around the park, seeing the ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge from underneath and camping on the point.

Day 1 - we took the ferry to the city which awarded great pics of the cityscape & the Golden Gate Bridge. In San Francisco, we hit some of the major hot spots: Market Street, Golden Gate Park, the trolly, Haight-Ashbury ... Enjoy!

Lots of recreation in the bay :)

Apparently it's tough to get any view of the Golden Gate Bridge - especially in the morning, but we were treated to this view from the ferry.
Redwoods in Golden Gate Park ... SO big!

Riding the trolley the right way - hanging off the side!

From the trolley down California Ave.

Riding the trolley ...

This is Madeline. Madeline is a tattoo artist. We hung out with her in Haight-Ashbury for a couple hours & had a grand ole' time!

Leaving San Francisco (single tear) ...

Ouchy! Wonder what's under those bandages ...?


To end our evening, the moon made a special appearance over the city from Sausalito. How beautiful!

Tomorrow we're off to Sequoia/Kings Canyon & then to Yosemite and Death Valley. Stay tuned!

Jackpot

Jackson was the first town we drove through in Nevada ... how hysterically appropriate!

Last night we stayed at a campsite in a state that screams dry and desolate! The exits off the highway lead to roads that turn into dirt within yards of their immediate destination and as far as the eye can see is dirt, tumbleweed, more dirt, mountains, some sagebrush and more dirt. Our campsite, though, was surprisingly nice, settled in between dirt hills alongside a rather pretty reservoir in Rye State Park.

dirt, tumbleweed, more dirt, mountains, some sagebrush and more dirt

dirt, tumbleweed, more dirt, mountains, some sagebrush and more dirt

a caution: people hoola-hooping sign? really?

In a few hours we'll be in California on our way to San Francisco for a couple days ... stay tuned!

And by the way ... this wireless was not free or stolen. Reno forced us to break down and pay T-Mobile ... at least there was coffee involved!

The Grandest of Tetons

The rumors are true I believe - the Grand Tetons are named for ... well, you know. Although we would argue that is NOT what they look like, and if they do, they'd be REALLY uncomfortable & hard to support.

Anyway, we spent two nights in Grand Teton National Park - the first at a campsite in the southern region and the second at Jenny Lake campground right in the heart of the Tetons. While the highlight for both of us was most assuredly paddling in the shadows of the mountains, we did some hiking and lounging in the park and shopping in nearby Jackson, WY. A nice reprieve from it all, Sunday morning we attended an Episcopal service at the Chapel of the Transfiguration.

As always, here are some pics!



In case anyone was wondering what we're eating ... most days for breakfast we eat oatmeal or hash browns on the camp stove; lunch is usually pita or tortilla with hummus, peanut butter or honey (or combinations) & dinner ranges from pasta to rice & beans or falafel to pizza in a hotel when we're that lucky! And our favorite snack is Snickers bars. Our second day in the Tetons we treated ourselves to a more filling lunch: rice & beans with cheese all wrapped up in tortillas. Mmm Mmm Good!

The Tetons from inside the Chapel of the Transfiguration.

From outside the Chapel of the Transfiguration.

Yellowstone in a Whirl Wind

Beth and I spent about 3 days in and around Yellowstone and the Tetons. We did the figure 8 driving tour of Yellowstone in one jam packed day! I think we might have driven for over 9 to 10 hours, trying to see as much as we could!!

We saw bears, bison, elk, deer, and pelicans. We tried to hit all the major hot spots of Yellowstone, including Yellowstone falls and its Grand Canyon, Mammoth Hot Springs and countless other springs and geysers in the park, Yellowstone Lake, and many other nameless spots of awesome beauty and amazement.

The pictures below show some of what we saw in our whirl wind tour!!

A nice tourist took our picture at the southern entrance to Yellowstone!

Up close and personal with a Bison. Don't worry, we used a zoom!

A random hot spring!

An ever constant gushing geyser!

View from across Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone Falls
At Yellowstone Falls (it's been a couple days since the luxury of a shower!)
The leftovers of an old hot spring
Mammoth Hot Springs

Tree Obsession

One of the things I (Beth) have been most excited to see 'out west' are the trees. And while we aren't in Sequoia National Park yet, there have been some notables ...

Left: trees (trying) to grow (kinda) out of the sulfur madness that is in Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs. Right: Lodgepole Pines in Yellowstone
... aren't they cool!?!

Like Ponderosa Pines in the Black Hills, Lodgepole Pines are super prevalent in Wyoming. They have really thick bark like the Ponderosas and can handle small fires meant to keep brush under control so larger fires don't start. The bottom of these Lodgepole Pines at Devil's Tower are blackened from protective, managed fires.

It took almost the entire walk around Devil's Tower (a little over a mile) before we saw anything other than pines. These Bur Oaks only grow to 25 or 30 feet & are called Scrub Oak in Texas. (Any Texan want to confirm this?) Being an easterner at heart, I've been missing deciduous trees, so it was refreshing to see some!

In Yellowstone, large forest fires tear through the area every 30 years or so, but there are more regularly lightening started, smaller fires that burn only an acre or 2 at a time. These fires make the landscape look totally different! It's a little creepy at first, but there are so many, most folks probably stop noticing the damage.

This shot is taken across the road from Yellowstone Lake. The gnarley wood tangled with wildflowers is a stark contrast from the more stately pines.

Because there isn't as much forest management in National Parks, some of the forest floors (burned & not) are covered with downed trees that look like match sticks or Pick Up Sticks. In National Forest lands and places like Custer State Park in South Dakota, this "debris" would be picked up & burned to limit the effects of fires.

Besides the great view of the Tetons in the background, this photo shows the line between burned & not burned from a canoe in Jenny Lake. While it was probably something as simple as the wind that blew to the right, it seems crazy that there is such a distinction.

So that's all for now from the tree-hugging nerd in me! Just wait until we get to California ...

Bears...

On the 22nd, Beth and I entered into bear country and not just bear country but Grizzly Bear country. For those of you who don't know, I (Betsy) am deathly afraid of bears, any bears. I have learned to live with Black Bears in Minnesota and Virginia but I vowed long ago that I would never camp in Grizzly Bear country. The thought almost makes me sick. Well, when we planned this trip I knew we were talking about spending time in Grizzly country but somehow I just ignored the thought that we might actually sleep in a tent in such a scary place. Grizzly bears are not very populous anywhere and so I thought that my fear that a bear would come and eat me in my tent was probably (remember, probably) a bit irrational. Of course rationality doesn't help to calm a fear. Having been to Yellowstone and the Tetons before and having never seen a bear in either park, I was hopeful that Beth and I could spend a couple of days seeing all the warning signs about food storage and hiking safety but never really see a bear. Well, as you can see from the pictures below, we not only saw one bear but quite a few. We have pictures of 4 bears but I think the actual count for the day was 6. We are unsure of how many were Grizzlies and how many were Black Bears. Needless to say, it was scary to see the bears so close yet in processing it with Beth later, I realized actually giving sight to my fear has helped me to better understand and control my terror!! Although I love Yellowstone and the Tetons, I am excited about getting away from the Grizzlies and having only to worry about the Black Bears from now on!


This is the first Grizzly Bear Beth and I have ever seen in the wild!! He or she was grubbing around in the dirt!

The brown spot behind me is the same Grizzly. You can see how far or maybe how close the bear is to us. It helped to see the bear ignoring me and the other gazillion people who were watching it. Maybe it doesn't really want to eat me after all.

We saw these bears by Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone. We think they are Black Bears even though they are brown!

This is not a great picture but it was taken as the sun was disappearing behind the Tetons. This bear, probably a Black Bear even though it was brown, was rooting around for food. We saw it shortly after we entered the Tetons from the North.

Consequently, we spent two nights camping in the Tetons. The Tetons are known for having Grizzlies and Black Bears. I tried sleeping in the tent the first night but gave up after 2 and a half hours of sleeplessness and slept that night and the next in the car! Who knew the car could ever be so darn comfortable!

An afterthought - While shopping in Jackson, Wyoming we saw a shirt that was very appropriate for me. It said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself. (and bears)"

The Adventures of Ernie!!

Here are some pictures of Ernie the Jackalope's adventures out west! Since he has joined our journey in Wall, South Dakota he has been a great companion with his antlers to protect us and his fluffy, bunny personality to make us smile!

Ernie enjoyed Devil's Tower!


Ernie was busy in Yellowstone trying to see all the cool sites in one day!


Ernie made a friend in Jackson, Wyoming! Ernie and Bubba the Grizzly Bear had a fun time exploring Grand Teton National Park!!

Oh Wyoming

Turns out, Wyoming is HUGE ... & HOT. Without a drive-up A&W in the middle of Nothingness, Wyoming* it would have been killer! After we crossed the Bighorn Mts, the temps got to 100F & it was 6 in the evening.

Redeeming about Wyoming: Devil's tower, Beth's first glimpse at 13,000+ ft peaks, A&W & (we'll see today) Yellowstone & Grand Teton.

Here's some pics:


Scott A-W - you mentioned horizons, but really ... I had NO idea! This pic is sketchily stitched together, but gives the gist of how insane it is to watch a storm pass to your left without getting a drop of rain.

Devil's tower
A more traditional view of Devil's Tower

Early view of Bighorn Mountains
Ha!

*Nothingness, Wyoming is not a real place

FYI - if we don't write in a couple days, we're not dead (hopefully) but away from places to steal internet from :)