MILE 1411

Day 3. There was something about the layout of Missoula MT that made it just as confusing to get out of as it was to get in: Major high speed four-lane intersections without stoplights....The interstate running through town in two different places, one westbound, one eastbound...and us with no map. We finally escaped and interstated it across the continental divide to Livingston, where we headed south and into Yellowstone.
New Mantra: "Things are different here." Struggling with concept, "Headwaters of Missouri," which expands into entire continental divide thing.
Wound up with a beautiful campsite at Norris for two nights. Norris is a perfect camp site except road closure making access to Old Faithful arduous. And a slight change of wind direction brings the elegant sulfuric fumes into our camp in the early morning hours of our final night. Our neighbor, Zeke, promising to catch and cook us trout the next night....oops, catch and release only.. The campground hosts giving us information on how we, too, could become campground hosts....there's a whole other sub-culture out there moving among us..

Day 4. The cold day started with a walk through the Norris Geysers.



























After breakfast, it was on to the Canyon Area. Amazing landscape.

We saw waterfalls





























We saw critters....
























and we saw thermal pools,





























some stinkier than others (just like our fellow campers.)

Then back to Canyon Village for an expensive and Disneyland-like dining experience. Back to tent for a rousing game of 20 questions. Brian cheats, and wins. My black jacket COULD become famous with a little more self-promotion.

Day 5 Morning on the road to Old Faithful to catch the 10:44 service. The worshipful gather. An inelegant sacrament of bad coffee and faux Egg McMuffin suffices.
































Next hit the road north to catch a short trail to the Morning Glory Pool where we stumble across another Bison. Well, across the creek kinda stumble.














Back on the road and the steep descent down to Cody. Dropping 2,ooo ft. in what seemed liked five or six miles, all in a line behind a 25 mph RV pulling a trailer. Most of us would've done just fine coasting down in a low gear, but this guy's speed required everyone to be braking constantly. The strong smell of burning breaks was disconcerting, especially with the smoke from the truck in front of us. We were able to pass him, then realized it may not have been the best idea.
Arrived in Cody in time for a few raindrops, just enough to get the windshield clean. Time for prime rib at the Irma hotel, then the solace of a cheap but remarkably comfortable motel room.