Saturday, June 29, 2013

Day 11: Salt Lake City, UT to Yellowstone, WY 428 miles

BEARS! & Happy Birthday Dad
We said good bye to Jim before we left.  Jim has been ‘on’ this whole trip.  Taking conference calls on the road, getting email and texts throughout.  He has been able to integrate work and vacation very well.  He will be rejoining us after Yellowstone.
My folks travel with Meg’s family.  Meg (driving) sent me a photo of all 5 of here passengers asleep. 
When I was 14, I went on a cross country trip with my school.  There were 10 of us and 1 chaperone.  My two favorite locations were: Wilsonville, NE (population 103) & Grand Tetons.  I wanted to test if my recollection was accurate; It was.  The Tetons reminded me of Glacier National but with a different feel.  We did a huge grocery shop before we arrived at the parks.  The Tetons are just south Yellowstone.  There are two lakes: Lake Jenny and Lake Leigh. These lakes are separated by String Lake.  Jen whipped up a delicious meal of grilled chicken with a vinaigrette and salad.
The kids took off to explore the surrounding area.  A mule deer  came into our area to see what we were up to.  Liam decided to explore the surrounding area.  He returned a few minutes later and declared that he saw a bear.  I was suspect.  The main road 200 yards away and the area was populated.  Liam stood by his story and as a supportive father, my instinct was to not squash his story, but it did not pass the fuzzy eye-ball test.  5 minutes later a hiker approached me and said a mama bear and her cub were 100 yards away and going away from us, but we should be alert.  I turned to Liam and he gave me a coy smile.  I gave him a fist bump and returned to the grill.  Less than 5 minutes later mama and her cub waddled into the picnic area.  We scrambled to get the kids to the truck and move the food away.  The bears were 20 yards away and were focused on a tree stump.  The bear attacked the stump with her huge claws and disturbed the ants and termites.  After a snack, they moved on.  What a sight to see!

Our Yellowstone arrival was by 9:45 and it was still light.  We filled the rooms and got ready to sleep on a super day under a super moon.

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