Better in Jackson Hole

30 July 2011

On the road at 7AM riding from Cody, Wyoming, into Yellowstone National Park. The ride into the park was spectacular. The temperature kept dropping and bottomed out in the low 50'sF.

The official forecast for the next two days is “sunny and delightful” so I decide to try camping for the first time. Up until now, I have been in places where it was too hot to camp, I wouldn't have been able to sleep. It is hard to find lodging in the park or in Jackson for under $200 a night (my tent site cost me $6), plus I wanted to be in the park in the morning to get a jump on exploring the park. There are two options for campers in Yellowstone: reserved spots through Xantera or first come first served in the Park Service sites. My first night was in a Park Service site on the way to Jackson Hole. I got the tent set up then rode through more spectacular scenery in Grand Teton National Park and into Jackson. Spent an hour or two wandering around the cool art filled town of Jackson, had a good lunch and rode back through the Tetons to Yellowstone and my tent.

Of interest in the campsite is the bear temptation management. You can be fined for leaving any food unattended at any time and for having food in your tent overnight. There are latch-able steel boxes in each area for us to put food items in over night.

Of course the “delightful” weather turned into showers. There is no covered space in this campground so I was stuck in my little tent that is not quite big enough to sit up in. It was almost time for sleep anyway so I got some extra rest and got some reading done.

My favorite music album of 2009 was “Rattlin Bones” by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, one of the songs has a line that says “life's gonna be better in Jackson Hole”. It was stuck in my head all day.

Americana for the day: beware of bears

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/T.Micheal.Young/USA201102