Day 6: Yellowstone to Grand Teton

65 miles.  

Shorter than the expected 115 miles because park rules required us to shuttle (by van) across the south entrance to the park through a canyon with no shoulder to the road. Thus everyone was packed and ready to ride at 7am, but the 12 of us that didn't have to be back at West Thumb until 10:30 had just a 20 miler following along Yellowstone Lake. We lolled about, watched the 3 buffalo in the lot in front of our cabins, got hot cocoa, whatever. Greg and I decided to figure out what was flowering along the roads so we bought ID cards and stopped to identify almost everything we saw. This was at great personal cost due to the mostquitos which were lying in wait as soon as we left the asphalt, hope you appreciate the research. Tom & Don on the other hand went to the other lodging along the Lake (the appropriately named The Lake Lodge) to find some leather couches in the lobby to sit/relax until it was time to ride to West Thumb. 

In Glacier National Park we saw Bear Grass and something like clumps of daisies, but when we turned into the Gallatin National Forrest we've seen all sort of shapes and colors of flowers. The whites include Yarrow, little pillows of phlox lying low to the ground, and Western Bistort stalks that stand high above the rest. There is a beige something which looks like a cross between Yarrow and Queen Anne's Lace, maybe some form of buckwheat? Not sure. Yellows are dominated in fields of Heartleaf Arnica, a simple yellow center with yellow petals, and it's fireworks-like cousin, Yellow Salfify. We even found a roadside patch of Yellow Colombine. In purples there were Sticky Geraniums in a range from pale pink to a true purple, the occasional Indian Paintbrush, and as we got closer to Jackson Hole, Asters with pink petals and a yellow center. The most common color was blue in the Harebells, Lupine, and Mountain Bluebell which all look the same but the leaves are the key to telling them apart. The scariest looking flower was Elk Thistle, a bristling of swords points and thorns, and the one we had to look up later was Scarlet Gilia (sp?), which looked like a colombine-type floer on a single tall stalk.

(Phlox)

After retracing our steps the 20 miles to West Thumb, the van ride out of the park and into Teton National Park, then things got amazing, the road and cut-offs to see the Teton Mountain range to our right (to the west) as we headed south to Jackson. Will let the pictures Tom posts do the talking, but another day like yesterday, maybe the best one they will have all summer.

Beautiful!     

Lunch was late and then just 15 miserable headwind miles into the city of Jackson by 3:30. Clark will be here soon to whisk Tom and I off to dinner, and almost as important, a washing machine!