Back on the grid

July 2
Walked the Streets in Cody, stopping at the local fly shop to find out the area hot fishing spots, and Wayne's boot shop to actually buy a pair of boots! Headed out of town and up through Shoshone Canyon towards Yellowstone park. We have a campsite reserved for 3 nights. The north fork of the Shoshone River cuts through this high desert canyon. Beautiful scenic drive.

We were extremely (to put it mildly) disappointed in the campsite we were supposed to pitch our tent at. No shade, lumpy, and massive humanity in what resembled a grass field. As it was coming into a holiday weekend we sat and considered our options. We took a chance and decided to opt out of our reservation and head back down the canyon to one of the National Forest campgrounds we saw on the way up to the park. Ended up at Clearwater CG right on the river. This is grizzly bear country and it's posted everywhere. You've got to wear bear spray on your person at all times and never hike out alone. Jack got bearanoid and freaked out when the wind caught the brown tent tarp and blew it behind him, catching him off guard. He thought it was a bear! Attack of the big, brown tarp! Then we noticed brown fur rubbings on the trees around our site which made it even more creepy. Come to find out, bison winter over in this campground and they rub the trees. That was a relief to find out.

July 3
Hot today. 91 degrees and barely any wind. Fished in the morning. Jack landed a rainbow. Susan landed nothing.

July 4
Back out on the river in the morning. There is a resident bald eagle across the river from our campsite that seemed like a pretty good indication of a choice fishing spot. Maggie has grown impatient with always having to be on a leash but we can't take a chance that she'd run off after a bear. We take her fishing which we knew would be a challenge.

July 5
Thunderstorm rolled through last night and it was still raining this morning. Having to break camp in the rain when everything is wet and muddy is the pits. I want a hot shower and a dry bed! And rice every night for dinner with canned vegetables is getting old. Time to move on.

We threw everything in the car and headed out to Yellowstone to drive through the park. Yellowstone is the largest and first national park in the world. It set a precedent for other countries to set aside their natural treasures for future generations. One sad side note: the massive fires they have had over the years have left hundreds of acres of dead, burned timber. It's devastating and the regrowth is slow in coming. I don't remember a lot of this park when my family came here when I was a kid so it was like a new adventure for me. The volcanic activity is amazing. Didn't see any bears but hundreds of bison roaming open range, elk on the side of the road, and deer. Even had traffic stop when a herd of bison crossed the road.

When you exit Yellowstone on the south, you almost immediately enter into Grand Tetons National Park. Talk about extreme eye candy. We drove down along Jackson Lake but didn't make it down to Jackson today. We were on a mission. Hot showers and a bed. Taking a side trip to Dubois about 50 miles east. And Internet and phone signals! We'll drive back to Grand Teton tomorrow. There's a campground along the way, Falls CG near Brooks Lake that looked promising. Fishing right on Brooks Creek. We'll probably set up camp there for a few days and tour the area around Jackson Hole. Can't wait.

Just came back from having dinner at the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois. Great place. I don't know who's snoring louder...Maggie or Jack. Must be all the fresh mountain air? Gotta love it.