Covering two days in this entry:

July 21 (Monday)

Aaron and I traveled from Lander and Dubois, WY to Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park.

We loaded up quickly from the Pronghorn Monday morning, left Lander, and made it to Dubois, where Aaron took a conference call with his research team in a neat park while I did laundry. We grabbed Mexican food, then had an enjoyable ride into the Teton region.

Midway through Monday’s ride, Aaron got fatigued with the transport side of things. He was invigorated by his research team meeting but pretty much over the whole motorcycle journey.

We entered the park and realized we faced over an hour of slow-speed crawling to reach Canyon Campground. Mostly uneventful but tedious—riding behind dawdling vehicles. We stopped for a Coke at Grant Campground and got briefly rained on while waiting. Then came the reunion at Canyon Campground with Tina, Emily, and Leah.

Tina had arrived about an hour before us with both girls in the car.

We gathered for dinner—rotisserie chicken, corn, and gourmet mashed potatoes that Tina had picked up. After eating, we hiked to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the brink of the Lower Falls.

We toured the girls’ dorm and met a couple of their friends, Logan and Gavin.

July 22 (Tuesday)

Writing this around 9:30 Tuesday morning. I’m seated at the picnic table at our campsite, Loop D site 72. We’ve had breakfast—oatmeal and coffee—and cleaned everything up. It’s about 9:30 on Tuesday morning

Aaron and the girls are hanging out at the dorm, waiting to gather their group for a Mount Washburn hike. Tina and I have organized camp. We’re shooing off a raven we named “Roy” who stole two tuna packets from our bear box. We’re now about to head to the visitor center where Tina will research things to do.

We spent our first night here and slept well. I think we were exhausted after the hike to Lower Falls at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

---

Now it’s Tuesday night, around 9 p.m. The girls, Aaron, and friends went hiking up Mount Washburn. They left around 10 this morning and have been gone all day. Tina’s starting to worry about what might have happened. The words “bears” and “twisted ankles” have been mentioned. They’re on an adventure.

Tina and I went to Cascade Lake—a lovely hike not far from Canyon that the girls recommended. Amazing how when you get a couple hundred feet off the road, the sometimes crowded park becomes your own space. The newcomers to this part of the US are adjusting to thin air and steep grades.

Aaron, Emily and Leah soon return to camp—physically exhausted but exhilarated by the sights and conversations of the day.

Stats

• Highlight : Reunion!

Map