8/21 - 22 - "On the Road Again"

It goes without saying that every destination on our map has been extremely memorable and fun up to this point, but often times, driving there can be just as memorable. Sometimes the smallest things happen but you keep talking about them. Like during our drive from Grand Canyon to the Petrified Forest, when we shared a jug of water. While Trista was taking huge gulps from it, Adam remarked, " That's good water, isn't it?" She nodded, lowering the jug from her vision, as he pointed to the approaching sign showing the next town was Good Water. It was a deliberate setup and it couldn't have been more perfect. Her mouth was completely full and she barely got it all down. We're still laughing about that one.

We also really enjoyed seeing the Grand Canyon follow us down the 89 to an average crevice, where we stopped so Trista could purchase some authentic Native American jewelry off the side of the road.

After the Grand Canyon where Trista bought some handcrafted jewelry from the Navajos.

When we drove five miles an hour up Trail Ridge Road, it was a disaster, but very memorable still.

And when we reached the 80 westbound in Wyoming, the vast farmlands and rolling hills were very tranquil. We even stopped for gas near here and saw buffalo and elk burgers for sale.

Once the sun went down we were nervous about climbing the woodsy elevation again so we looked for cheap lodging in the three nearest towns just South of Yellowstone, because the park was booked solid. We decided to stop in Dubois, WY. It's the closest to the South Entrance - about an hour and a half away. We just slept in the car again at a lit turnout from 11pm to 7am (hard to do when you can't recline your seats).

In the morning we drove to an adorable little nook called Kathy's Koffee because they had free wifi. So we had some coffee and pastry and updated the blog for a few hours.

Kathy's Koffee in adorable Dubois, WY


Then we took off and drove North, straight up through Grand Teton National Park. This next 40 minutes or so was one of those driving moments to which we were referring before. The Grand Teton Mountain Range, with the enormous Jackson Lake at its feet, was one of the most visually astonishing things we've ever seen. Really, really gorgeous. We had to stop for pictures, even though nothing could do justice to seeing it in person. By the way, our cell phones are the only cameras we brought, so the quality isn't that great. Sorry.

Adam in front of the glorious Grand Teton Mountain Range.