Day 4 of....4 and Boise

Where to begin....after some rethinking over my travel plans, I decided to take my trip through Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. I left the hotel around 7 or 8 and I headed down US Rt 212 to Yellowstone. While I was continuously looking at the map as I was driving (Not safe, yes, I know), I happened to notice that as 212 crosses the Absaroka Mountain Range in northern Wyoming, it goes through this saddle called Beartooth Pass. I was really excited about this because the highest elevation you achieve as you drive across the range was 10,947 feet. Well about 13 miles away, I came to a town called Red Lodge in Montana, which by the way was one of the coolest towns I've ever driven to and quite possibly a place I may want to live in for a few years, where I found out that Beartooth Pass was closed. Disappointed, I took a detour through Belfry, MT and got onto WY296 which happened to be the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. Having the spirit of adventure still in me, I decided to brave the two lane road despite not knowing whether or not it was open. No wonder they called it a scenic byway; it was about 15 miles into when I realized that this was what I have been dreaming of visiting for the past 5 or 10 years: the Rocky Mountains. This is another one of those experiences that words really can't describe. Towering white capped mountains, crisp air (with a hint of cow dung), and complete and utter silence. At one point (okay several points) I stopped my car to take pictures. One time I stopped my car, I accidentally turned my car off only to then realize how beautiful the land was when you don't have the background sound of cars or anything. As a matter of fact, the entire 10 minutes I was out there, I never saw a single car, truck, or even airplane. It was just me, my car, and the land before me. 296 went by way too fast as I found myself back on 212 on the other side of Beartooth Pass. Now the entire world surrounds me. For 360 degrees I could see nothing but rangeland in the vicinity, and snow-covered rocky mountains in the distance. Now, 212 strays back into Montana only to come back into Wyoming at the Northeast entrance into Yellowstone. When I was on 296, the temperature wasn't too bad: low 60s/high 50s. I decided to get gas in Cooke City, Montana a couple miles away from Yellowstone. About 2 miles before I got to Cooke City, it started to snow; not a whole lot, just flurries. By the time I got to Cooke City, the town was damn near white-out. I mean it snowed its ass off. My wipers were getting a workout clearing the snow off my windshield. One of the first things I noticed about Cooke City was when I walked into the gas station, there was a lot of snowmobile gear in side: Helmets, gloves, you name it. I walked back out, and I realized that a) there were a lot of Yamaha and Honda snowmobile dealerships around and b) the roads looked like shit which told me that this town receives a lot of snow throughout the year and the best means of travel around was tracked vehicles. As I was driving, I saw a tracked fire department vehicle which I had been kicking myself in the ass for not taking a picture of. Anyways, I finally made it to the entrance of Yellowstone with the snow still kicking. No sooner did I go through the booth did the snow stop and the clouds parted. God bless mountain weather. Now, my primary goal throughout my jaunt through Yellowstone was to snag a picture of a bear. Black, Grizzly, it didn't matter. I wanted a bear dammit. One of the first animals I noticed was a bison. Just one. As I drove further into the park, I started seeing whole heards of them. More than you can shake a stick at (I love that saying, by the way). Then we started seeing them walking on the sides of the road which was a little nerve racking because the last thing you want is a buffalo putting his horns in your fender. Another animal I saw that I thought was pretty cool were the pikas or marmots or whatever you want to call them. If the New York Rat had that distant country relative that everyone's embarassed of, the Pika would be it. These things were just as abundant as your average subway rat. What amazed me was how smart they were. I think I only saw one dead Pika throughout the entire drive through the park. At one point, a Pika ran out into the road, realized I was coming for it but instead of running and getting run over by a wheel, it hunkered down and let me pass right over it. That, my friends, was impressive. If you ever get the chance, do not pass up a drive through Yellowstone. It is one of the most beautiful parks to drive through. I thought the Chief Joseph Scenic Parkway was beautiful, Yellowstone definitely had me in awe. I had hoped to drive through Grand Tetons National Park but for some reason the traffic was at a stand still on the one road leading to the park. It got to the point where I had been in the park for about two hours and all I wanted to do was get to Boise. So I found the west exit, hit the highway and drove straight through Twin Falls, my original planned stop for the night, straight to Boise and moved in a night early. Right off the bat, my two roommates were as friendly as can be. After a few hours of moving in, I decided I need a few things from the local Walmart. So here it is, 1:30 in the morning, and this one guy approached me outside when I was loading my car and asked me where I got one of my fire department bags. After talking for a bit, he found out that I had just moved there to work as a firefighter. Man, he unloaded with everything there was to know and do in Boise. He told me about bars, BSU, football, restaurants, everything. Today, I hit the gas station and bought a map. No sooner did I walk out with the map in hand, this incredibly rough looking dude came up to me and asked me where I was trying to get to. I told him that I was just getting a map to get a lay of the land considering I had just moved there 18 hours before. That man was one of the friendliest persons I had ever met. I mean, I learned more about the main streets from him in 5 minutes than I would have in 30 reading the map. People, I'm not use to this. If you live in D.C. you know how unfriendly some people are. But here it is, strangers walking up to other strangers, being as friendly and as helpful as possible. And the best thing about it all is that no one cares what the color of your skin is. I am definitely not use to all of this. It's funny though because I'm still driving like I'm in D.C. and I feel like an asshole about it but I'll get use to it eventually. I stopped by my employers house and him and the rest of the crew were as friendly as can be. I spent a few hours there just getting advice, getting issued gear, and just talking in general. Before I knew it, I was invited to a barbecue tomorrow and future nights out at the bar. Between the people, the scenery, and the copious opportunities for outdoor activities, I think I'm going to like it here...