Day 43 - Across the Continental Divide

It was tough to come up with a title for today as we saw some great scenery at Grand Teton National Park, passed the 10,000 mile mark for the trip and having crossed the Continental Divide we like all the rivers on this side of the mountains are travelling to the Atlantic.  Not having a three sided coin to flip I tried all three in the line but decided that the trip does take a decided turn east from here so the Continental Divide seems like the best summation overall.  We had an exciting day so lets drop the conversation on the title and get to the meat of the day.

After three nights camping and especially after the cold in West Yellowstone we enjoyed staying in a motel where 3am bathroom trips do not involve putting on shoes and zipping and unzipping the tent and then the tent fly both going out and coming back.  While we were well rested the car was a long way from a charger so we had to feed Hobson some electricity so we went down the road to Jackson, WY best known for being the site of the great Jackson Hole skiing areas.  It is a cute little tourist town where we took pictures and had a great breakfast.  Michelle did some shopping while Larry wandered through town and then having extended our range into a pretty safe zone we took off for the park of the day, Grand Teton.

Michelle and Einstein again. This is something Larry should take notice of.

All four corners of the Jackson Town Green have these gates made of shed elk horns the Boy Scouts collect.

Larry had remembered this park as the most beautiful one that he saw on a cross country trip the LoPresti family took in 1968 so was bound to be disappointed that his memory was better than the actual park.  But that is not what happened.  The mountains in the park are still amazingly beautiful all these years later.  Larry had changed his mind in the ensuing decades about damming rivers so Jackson Lake which was formed by damming the Snake River, while pretty by any standard, seemed somehow wrong.

We also spent a lot of time meeting interesting strangers.  The first was a guy, from Massachusetts it turns out, in biking garb from some long California ride.  Though interesting for several reasons by himself, the most amazing thing is that not that he did ride cross-country but he and his sister did it along a route their grandfather biked in the 1920's!  I cannot imagine riding that far, with gear, on what had to be a single speed bike as gear changing had not yet been invented.  Not only that he made his travelling money while on the trip and claimed that he sent $85 home while doing it.  He though his grandkids were nuts to do it without making money on it.

We also had dinner with an older couple Jim and Sue from Ohio/Florida as there was only one table available.  It turns out they were big soccer fans his having coached soccer for 50 years.  They are Columbus Crew season ticket holders so we had a lively discussion about soccer.  They actually worked in Florida until they retired and then bought a house up north to be snowbirds but having bought the houses in the opposite direction from most folks.

Regular Features

Statistics Corner

States involved:  We once again crossed borders of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming with impunity. 

Charging

Jackson, WY – The welcome center in town has a charger which we used and there are several others in town.  Not a supercharger but it got us the extra miles we needed to have fun in Grand Teton

Church of the Day – This Catholic Church is in the park.  It is in a really cool setting and is made entirely of logs including log flying buttresses.

Coolest car of the Day – A little touristy and not really a car but how often do you see a stagecoach?

Song of the Day  - The Sound of Music - Julie Andrews - The scenery reminds one of that movie.

Coolest Thing of the Day – Larry – The Tetons are to his mind the most beautiful that he is ever seen.

Coolest Thing of the Day - Michelle – Jenny Lake