My great trek across the U.S has begun. I left Saturday morning driving through the gorge, then across the upper portion of Idaho and on into Montana. The first day was pretty uneventful, probably the most exciting part was realizing that I wasn't in Oregon anymore and was going to have to pump my own gas. Well lets just say the first try ended with more gas on the ground then in the car, oopps! All I could think was that upon starting the car my puddle o' petrol was going to turn into a flaming puddle. Luckily this did not happen and it is safe for me to return to Idaho for future endeavors. Upon reaching the campsite in Missoula I was surprised with the realization that the campsite was as far from the woods as you could get. Lets put it this way our "campsite" was wedged right next to a set of wonderfully modern condos. Who doesn't love camping in the city!
The second day the drive took me through beautiful Montana to the tip of yellowstone. This time the campsite was a little more out in the woods. Spent the afternoon in the town of West Yellowstone. I got to see grizzly bears and wolves at the local wildlife preserve. In the evening there was some fretting that it might rain and the tent might prove pointless but fortunately the rain held off. Getting to sleep that night was a challenge though as Montana's idea of fireworks is a kin to letting of canons at a Civil War reenactment, I briefly wondered if we weren't actually under siege.
The third day was met with the opportunity to drive through Yellowstone national forest. It was gorgeous. Stopped at Old Faithful and had the fun the watching her go off. Who doesn't love the smell of sulfur in the morning! Walked around the geysers a bit and then continued on driving. by the time I arrived at the next camping spot the rain had finally caught up, so last night was spent sleeping in the car. The campsite that I was parked at frankly made me think of a cross between the movie Psycho and the movie Rocky Horror Picture show, needless to say other then sleeping in the (locked) car I survived the night.
Today was filled with driving through the enthralling state known as Wyoming. I can say two things about Wyoming, they have wonderful rolling hills and lots of road work. Aside from those two things they also have some interesting sightseeing options. I stopped at Crazy hoarse and of course Mt. Rushmore. The two monuments offer very different perspectives on American history as well as America in general. (More on those two monuments in a future post.) Currently I am at a cabin beside the highway, across the street from the reptile gardens just outside of Rapid City, Wyoming. At least no worries about the rain tonight. Tomorrow I will be driving on through to Minnesota where I will get to see the friend I traveled Spain with. It seems an apt time to visit seeing as how this time two years ago we were walking the roads of Spain.
I am enjoying getting to see America in a way I never have before.
As is said in Spain ,
Buen Camino
(Good Journey)
Amanda
