Adjusted Adventure in an Accord
As we all know, all good things come to an end - even with big epic trips between two countries as this one has been. It is not lost on me that this part of the journey, the last leg with Linda, will finish with Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park on our way to Linda's home in Berthoud, Colorado.
Our CDA quaint B&B, the Greenbriar Inn on Wallace St., was built in 1904 and is on the National Historic Registry. Due to a shortage of employees as everywhere else, no meals were served. Instead, Mike, the host, directed us to the Rustic Restaurant on Sherman St. (city center) for our breakfast. The sumptuous breakfast was an excellent start to our morning with the long drive to Yellowstone.
Maybe I've mentioned previously that Linda and I are tea drinkers. We've never had a cup of coffee. We both like our hot tea in the morning and iced tea as well throughout the day if thirsty (in summer). What we've noticed in the PNW is that maybe due to the weather or other factors we don't know about, it's gosh darn tough to find freshly brewed iced tea (we prefer unsweetened). Not one road stop, gas station, or convenience store we entered had the tea canisters I'm used to seeing/buying on the East Coast- including iced tea found in a bottle. Our last pit stop before reaching Yellowstone had tea! Yay!
Once we got to our hotel (we decided not to camp this time), we checked in and headed to the Park. It was 7:45 pm (the Park is open 24 hours a day) when we passed through the gates. Linda and I decided to spend an hour tooling around looking for wildlife (Linda saw one chipmunk - I was driving - and we both saw a few ducks).
The Check-in Guy suggested that we get to the Park at 5:00 am, and he also suggested eateries in the area. We liked his idea about arriving super early at the Park (though not the one he also told us about not going to the Park once we checked in). Our alarms are set for the suggested time, as we are less than five minutes from the entrance gate.
Regarding bear sitings, Check-in-Guy said, "Everyone should protect themselves by wearing bells and carrying pepper spray. He added, "Grizzly bear dung has bells in it and smells like pepper spray."
We are batting close to zero in seeing anything like bear, moose, eagle, coyote, or fox. We may be guaranteed to see the Old Faithful Geyser in the early morning!
Good night, y'all. I've got to see something new in Yellowstone Nat’l Park!
bSolielle
Terri
Photos below; Breakfast; Linda in Missoula Costco for provisions, the last gas station before heading into Yellowstone, Bear precautions for the trails in Yellowstone, and sunset in the first National Park!