Goodbye Yellowstone, Hello Grand Tetons...and Home (Days 5 and 6)

June 10, 2011

Day 5 had us entering Yellowstone at about 7 am. We said our goodbyes to our Bald Eagle and made a few more stops to get some last minute pictures. There seemed to be alot more snow than the day before, but it was a sunny and beautiful day, although it was cold! (32-degrees).

It took us only a few hours to reach the Tetons. The wildlife wasn't as abundant as Yellowstone, but we did see some bison and elk. We'd hope to see a wolf or moose, but it wasn't to be this trip.

We stopped at the overlooks at Jackson Point and Signal Mountain Summit, took a few photos, and then continued on to the Visitor’s Center. In many of the photos I see of Grand Teton National Park there is an old wood barn. The ranger at the Visitor’s Center directed us to Antelope Flat Road.

On the way to the barn, we stopped several times to take pictures of the mountains. I think Robert was getting irritated, because I kept asking him to stop every five minutes, but he would always stop and wait in the car while I snapped away. He’s so patient.

When we reached the barn there were several photographers already set up with their telephoto lenses. Under one of the buildings, a coyote had made her den. Three coyote pups were sleeping in the grass, but I couldn’t really get any good photos. We watched the sleeping pups for a bit, but then it was back on the road.

Heading out of Grand Teton, we took some back roads to traverse new territory. Eventually we reached Interstate 80, which took us to the 15 towards home. However, we had one more destination stop to make...Cabelas in Lehi, Utah!

Total Mileage: 459.2 miles.

June 11, 2011

Day 6

We got a later start than usual, because Cabelas didn’t open until 8am and since we were shacking up in the Super 8 just down the street, it would take us only a few minutes to get there. No reason to get up early! During our honeymoon, we stopped at Cabelas in Mitchell, South Dakota, so on our way to Yellowstone we agreed to stop in Lehi on our way back.
All I wanted was an elk sandwich and Robert a coffee pot, but three hours later when we finally had the willpower to exit the store, our arms were full of bags. Fun times.

It was 93-degrees when we crossed into Nevada and another time change. Las Vegas was still dirty and we stopped only long enough to gas up and at about 4:40pm, Hello California! Another quick stop for fuel in Barstow and then HOME!

Total Mileage: 728.3 miles.

To see more of my photography from Yellowstone, visit my gallery. Comments are welcomed.