Traveling

Saturday
I drove to Las Vegas, to Fitzgerald’s downtown. The room was only $55, and worth less. I got there about 4pm, and it was boiling hot. It was over 110 going through Mojave. I was hoping to find $2craps and $3 blackjack, like the old cheap days, but everything was $5 limit or higher.

I lost $100 at craps while rolling the dice for ten minutes straight and should have made some money, but I hit nothing for me and everything for all the other players. They all said ‘Wait to roll!’ but I crapped out in the end with nada. I went to the $1/$2 no limit poker tables, played one hand stupid, lost $40 on that, should’ve seen the set, and lost a total of $55. Finally I busted through for $25 at blackjack, woohoo, and was in bed at 11 watching TV.

Sunday
Got up at 4:30, went to find coffee, and it was already 90+. Back to the Fitz and I waited around for the comp breakfast, and boogied at 7:30. Bruce Mundt did me a big favor and marked up all these maps of areas I was going through, and one Postit said check out the town of Mesquite, so I did on the way up. I should have stayed there, rooms (probably cleaner and nicer) for $26 with breakfast, and $2 craps and blackjack. 100 miles closer to my end point.

I was originally shooting for something around Salt Lake City, but didn’t see anything that floated my boat, so I had a note from Bruce about Afton, Wyoming being some great rockhounding, and a campground right there on the river. It’s starting to get dark, and when I find the campground it is closed for a waterworks project. The local cop says I could probably just pull over up the dirt road past the campground, but I have been watching car after car going up that dirt road, so I forego that.

I stop in at one motel that has 20 rooms and 2 cars, and offer them $40 for a room, but no, rooms are $70. Why are small businesses failing? No consideration of variable costs. I call ahead to Jackson Hole, and the Motel 6 is $150, and full. Ditto Motel 8. I drive through Jackson Hole with no plan. About 15 miles outside I spot the Wolf Meadow campground, pull in, and there is nobody there. $15. I set up camp under a 2/3 moon, very bright, and I am asleep by 12. I wake at 5:30, pretty dang cold, maybe 50, make the coffee and skedaddle.

Monday
I get to Jenny Lake Campground in the Grand Tetons at 7:30, and I get the very last campsite. All the camps in Grand Teton are first-come first-serve, but the books stated you had until about 10 at Jenny Lake. I had a real nice site, but it was all the way to the other end of the campground to get to the only bathroom, serving 46 sites.

I set up camp and went on a hike around Jenny Lake, a 7 mile loop on the map, except they didn’t mention the uncrossable stream and extra 1.5 mi. to the bridge around it and back. There is a shuttle that runs across the lake, so that people can make it to the Hidden Falls, so I took the extra mile hike to the falls and then took the shuttle across, rather than the extra 2.5 mile hike. Some times I make a smart decision.

Tuesday
I packed up and left Jenny Lake about 8 in the morning, knowing I had reservations at Bridge Bay in Yellowstone for 2 nights. They pick the site for you, so I could mosey. When I saw the turnoff to Signal Mountain, I had to go to see if I could get a call phone signal. Sure enough there was a cell tower up there, and awesome views of the Tetons and of the valley. I called Dana, took some pics, and hit the road. I should have had about a 1.5 hour drive, with traffic and traffic delays. Unfortunately, all systems failed. There were no signs to Bridger Bay until I was 2 miles away. I was using a fairly vague map. Mrs. Garmin was mystified by the whole deal, and never did find Bridger Bay, and took me the whole loop almost to the West entrance.

In addition, there is a lot of road construction going on, and long delays. I suppose they have a very limited time to get it all done. I found Bridger Bay 3.5 hours later. They had selected a site for me in full sun, and I had to pull out all stops to get a move to partial shade. That site was OK, on the edge of the woods, but the wind was howling like mad. 20 lb. rocks could not hold down the tablecloth. I managed to set up a tent, and then headed out exploring the area.

At the store I bought a $1.30 ice cream, but the bank denied my debit card, probably because I hadn’t used it in a long time, maybe only once. The store took Amex. I went to the Lake Hotel nearby, hoping for an ATM and wifi. No wifi, but they have an ATM. Nice hotel, and I sat in the lobby using their power on this old junky laptop, and then went to use the ATM. Without glasses on I mistook a slot for the card entry, and watched in horror as it dropped into the guts of the machine. It was after 6, and the accounting staff with the keys had left. I came back in the morning, and now I have some cash.

I made dinner and had a small fire. I bought a nice loaf of Rosemary/Basil bread at Costco before I left, and it was in a Ziploc freezer bag, which fell in the ice melt water, just as in Ashland. This time instead of tossing it, 1/3rd was salvageable right away, and the rest I tried to dry out. I tried the dashboard of my car with the sun baking in, and then the fire, and ate it last night toasted with some sausage. I didn’t get sick.

Wednesday
I headed north to terrain that Donald and I had covered last year. I was targeting the Petrified Tree (only one, not a forest), thinking I would make a picnic and hike off trail and maybe find some other cobbles or petrified wood. I headed out on this trail to Lost Lake, only 1.1 miles. It should have been called Horsefly lake. They were on to me, ate DEET for a snack, and were relentless.

I finished my lunch quickly and kept going to see the end of this small lake. I came to a sign that said ‘Lodge, .6 miles.’ This started out descending pretty quickly, but my brain was not working, and I kept going down. About ½ way down I realized I was never going to make it back up. I was a week past the last chemo, i.e. nadir, and not feeling great. So I kept going, thinking I will rest at the lodge, have a coffee, and see if there is a shuttle. As I descend I am thinking this is far more than .6 miles, and at the end the sign says ‘Lost Lake .8 miles.’ So it is getting worse, and the sign guy can’t count, so who knows?

There is no shuttle, and the guy at the desk says my option is to hike back. I get a Starbucks in a bottle, and go to sit on one of the rockers on the patio, thinking somehow I will bum a ride. There are no rockers available, but just then 2 couples come out of the lodge, and I ask them ‘You wouldn’t be going to the Petrified Tree, would you?’ Miraculously, they are, and after I relate my tale of woe, they agree to give me a ride. The wives stay behind and shop some more, and Jim and Steve from Indianapolis save my sorry butt. We go look at the tree and they agree the wives wouldn’t be very interested anyhow. Thank you Jim and Steve.

I mosey down to Mount Washburn, where you may see grizzlies and other wildlife in the valley to the side. What I don’t learn until I get there at 4pm, is that there is a 1400’ ascent, and you need 4-5 hours to do it. I surrender after 500’, and realize any respectable grizzly won’t come out until 6 or so anyway. As I get back in the car, I hear thunder and see lightning, and then the rain starts as I drive away. This ends within twenty minutes. I take my time heading back, knowing the road construction ends at 5.

The thing in Yellowstone is that people will stop in the road and make traffic jams to look at bison, elk, or a brown spot on a hill ½ mile away. You have to go with it, and expect people to walk in front of you, and pull out right in front of you, and do stupid things. I am trying to quit swearing because I realized it was raising my anger levels, so this is a good challenge. I smile and look at the brown speck in the distance, and take my time. What is my hurry?

It turns out that when I get back to my camp and start pulling out all the makings for grilled cheese/turkey and salad, that storm has moved south and is charging at me. Everything goes back in the car, and it starts raining. So here I am back in the Lake Lodge, where I just finished a salad with pistachios and strawberries, and sliders of antelope, bison and elk, all farm raised.

These probably lost a lot of flavor as burgers and would have been better as small steaks. The antelope and bison were indistinguishable, and the elk was good, maybe cooked better, not well done. It may still be raining out, so I am typing this travelogue hoping it is done and the tent remained waterproof.

Thursday
The rain was not done, but the tent remained dry. Today became maintenance day. I made my coffee at 6am, had some cereal, toweled off the tent, and then packed up the tent and Astroturf wet. I skedaddled to Grant Campground, hoping for a good site for my 5-day stay. I had stopped there 3 days ago on my way to Bridge Bay, and pleaded for a nice site. The way Xanterra reserves site is by how early you reserve if you request a certain site. They then look at how many nights, how big a site, and how many people. Sp while Bridge Bay kind of sucked, the F loop was awesome with nice sites and views of the lake.

They did me right here at Grant, and I have a great site on the edge of the woods, a big site where I can put the tent away from the generators of the people next door. They were still in their RV at 11am with the generator going. I set up lines to dry the tent, and tore the car apart and reorganized it. I also scrounged up all the wet wood left behind, and have a big pile drying in the sun. I am now at the Laundromat, where I threw in a load and then took a much-needed shower. I am typing this while the clothes dry.

I never want to do laundry while on a vacation, but things happen. I went to Mike’s Shoes before I left, hoping to find something sturdier than my trainers, and lighter than my Ecco boots. Eccos are always nice, but $200. I found this nice pair of Ecco hikers on the clearance shelf, ½ off $125, then another 25% off. $45! Now the shoes of choice. The only problem is I only have 4 pairs of socks that work with them, and they were running around the car and tent in the night. So, I am doing laundry. Maintenance day. I need to get back to my site, make a salad for lunch, put up the tent, and then head out to see if I can spot some bears.

I see in the newspaper that a man was killed in a campground just NE of Yellowstone, and 2 others were attacked. Scary. No food storage issues involved either.

Friday
It was 40 degrees when I woke at 6, so I just made coffee and headed for the Grant restaurant. I ordered the buffet, sat at a window table with the sun beating on my back, and had a huge breakfast. Used all the facilities, and then headed to the Old Faithful area. The hiking around there is pretty simple, and I saw Old Faithful pretty quickly, and then waited for Grand Geyser for 2 hours, but it was worth it. Saw Riverside Geyser, and then at the end of the hike Old Faithful went again. Almost unfortunate, as this put me in a big stream of people heading out. It took me a half hour to get ice for my cooler, and then get here to Old Faithful Snow Lodge, the only wifi access in the park. I am going to post this now, and go see some further geysers.

I am feeling quite weak, in nadir from last week's chemo, and n o steroids today. I trudged along and it is now almost 7pm, and I got here at 9am. Oh well, I am not in a hurry. Pics will have to follow later as I have no cables.