Scenic Parks Tour

Yes, I know, this post is somewhat overdue. While some hotels offer free WiFi, there are frequently limitations that have impeded getting this posted earlier. Interestingly, the cheaper more basic hotels generally give easier access! Also this trip is quite full-on timewise.

We're now well settled into the routine of travelling with the Trafalgar Tour group – 14 Australians, 36 Americans (from the eastern states) and 1 Kiwi. The weather has been excellent, and much milder than in Las Vegas (even a frost at Yellowstone), the guide and organisation of the tour first rate and the group quite friendly and harmonious.

Bryce Canyon

We have already seen an amazing variety of countryside. Huge sandstone cliffs and canyons at Zion Park, the strangely eroded 'hoodoos' in Bryce Canyon, the huge and impressive Grand Tetons and all the volcanic stuff, wildlife and colourful countryside in Yellowstone Park, the heavily eroded South Dakota Badlands where we were able to walk through a small part of the maze of small canyons and gullies. You can appreciate how very easy it would be to get lost in there!

           

                The Grands Teton across Jenny Lake

In the Badlands

Other highlights have been:

• Stayed in Salt Lake City and did a walk through or around the various Mormon places, including the Tabernacle, wherein the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice and perform. Built in late 1800s it has an arched ceiling and has amazing acoustics.
• A 10 mile raft trip down the Snake River near Jackson in Wyoming, watching the Grand Tetons appear as the morning clouds lifted. We also saw several bald eagles, and beaver-gnawed tree-trunks on the river banks.

• 

  Bison ambles past 'Old Faithful' geyser at Yellowstone NP

  Our first morning stop in Yellowstone was at the Old Faithful geyser. While waiting for its predicted 90 minutely eruption, we decided to walk a circuit along the boardwalk around the geyser area. When we were about half way round, a lone male bison came lumbering by! Untroubled by us, he passed by us about 6m away. I'm not sure what we would have done otherwise – you are supposed to stay on the boardwalk as the ground can be unstable due to the geothermal activity. Anyway, it made for a couple of good photos and a video clip. We saw several large herds of bison later that day as we travelled around Yellowstone.
• Lots of geothermal activity – geysers, mud pots, steaming cones, boiling pools etc. But Old Faithful's eruption was rather overshadowed for us by the bison encounter!
• Yellowstone Park was severely burnt out in 1988, and (the northern part) 2000. There are still huge numbers of dead trees standing, mainly among regrowth, 24 years later.
• The rather sombre feel of the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn ('Custer's last stand'), and gaining an appreciation of the history of the interaction between the Native Americans and the Anglo American settlers.

• 

  Mt Rushmore

  The huge carved faces of Mt Rushmore and the even more enormous but yet to be completed statue of Crazy Horse. (Native American warrior on horseback being carved in a South Dakota mountain since 1950ish, and only the warrior's face is totally complete.)
• Shopped at a 'Walmart' store in Gillette, Montana!
• Huge coal trains – 126 wagons with 4 locos – in Montana and Wyoming.
• Some really excellent meals.

It's hard to get used to the fact that for most of this trip we have been travelling at above 2000m above sea level. Thus very often higher than Australia's highest mountain! 

LOTS of (big) caravans/motorhomes/five wheelers (RVs), (and salesyards with hundreds in each), in this part of the US! Apparently they tend to mass the salesyards in counties which have the lowest sales taxes. We have apparently gone through a lot of such counties!

Anyway, must travel on.... more later!