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In last weeks letter we had ended Day 4 in Gardner Montana. I didn't know this before, but the North and West entrance to Yellowstone National Park are actually in Montana and part of the park also lies in Idaho. As we awoke at 5:45am on Day 5 to get an early start on the day, I have to admit, my excitement level was high to experience the United States first National Park established in 1872, from the seat of a motorcycle. I felt like that 10 year old boy with my face pressed against the car window waiting to see my first wild animal. After a quick bite to eat at the breakfast buffet, we were on the bike and heading for the entrance of the park as the sun was beginning to rise over the mountain for our customary sign pictures. Our goal was to get an early start and try to catch some of the animals during their morning feeding. We made our way the first 5 miles into the park crossing the Wyoming state line as well as the little known 45th Parallel of Latitude which is the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole. As we came into Mammoth Hot Springs, we saw a small herd of Elk grazing on the lawn of the buildings in the area.

Man was I excited now. We had only ridden 5 miles and already we had scored a herd of Elk. I just knew that this was going to be our day and that we would see "Smokey the Bear" doing some forest fire training. I even thought "Bullwinkle the Moose" might make the trip from Frostbite Falls, Minnesota to get a look at the new yellow Road Glide. Apparently I had read just a little too much into the Yellowstone brochure and came away with the impression that there would be a Bear and a Moose around every corner and we would actually have to ride around them to make it through the park. That is what the pictures show. But that is NOT the case! The only animal we saw the rest of the day was a herd of Bison, aside from a deer here and there. Needless to say, I didn't come away with the massive portfolio of wild animal pictures that I had hoped for. By the end of the day, I would have even settled for a quick glimpse of "Rocky the Squirrel".

Without the abundance of animals, we turned our attention to the geological aspects of Yellowstone that we knew we could count on. The road around Yellowstone is in essence a figure 8. Since the East side was closed we made our way down the West side of the park and then cut across the middle to the East to get a look at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Falls. This is a beautiful geological creation complete with brilliant colored canyon walls and water falls. This is something that I would call a "must see" in the park. We then took the bottom part of the figure 8 and made our way around Yellowstone Lake and then back to the West side to the world famous Old Faithful Geyser. The thing about Old Faithful is that it is on a schedule and on this particular day, it was not on ours. We pulled up at about the time it shot its' last gallon of water out before going back to be being a benign steamer. It erupts approximately every 90 minutes. If you missed the last eruption, you will have to either buy the video or wait around another 90 minutes to see the next one.

We were a little bummed about missing the last eruption, because we would have rather been on the road on our way to Grand Tetons, but we said you can't ride all this way and not see Old Faithful with your own eyes, so we decided to kill 90 minutes and wait for the next 3 minute show. As we were getting closer to the time of the eruption the crowd started to swell as spurts of water and steam teased us before Old Faithful unleashed a 100 foot fountain of 200 degree water into the air. Having seen this when I was 10 years old, I noticed that it had really not changed much in the last 39 years. It might have to freshen up its act a little bit before I would invest another 90 minutes into waiting for an eruption. Maybe introduce some new water colors or something like that. After watching this 3 minute exhibition of steam being thrust from the ground I really couldn't decide if I was more impressed with the Faithfulness of Old Faithful or the fact that 2-3000 people waited around with cameras in hand to see it. And yes, I was one of them. But we came, we saw and we were now on our way to the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole.

A mere 6 miles from the boundary of Yellowstone is the Grand Teton National Park. The central feature of the park is the Teton Range, the youngest range in the Rocky Mountains, an active normal fault that lies on the 40 mile long mountain front. The range has eight peaks over 12,000 feet, including the Grand Teton at 13,770 feet. As you get your first glimpse of the majestic Tetons rearing high from the flats of Jackson Hole, with their exaggerated jagged edges reflecting off of Jackson Lake, you immediately know why they are called the "Grand Tetons". They exude an air of confidence and an almost surreal beauty like no other single mountain range that I have seen before.

Due to the overcast weather conditions we decided to continue on in to Jackson, WY for an earlier check-in to our lodging for the night. We stayed at a really nice little bed and breakfast called the Inn on the Creek. It is located on the creek where you are greeted by Canada Geese in the morning complete with food to feed them. We then took a ride around the town, walked the streets and then sit outside the Cowboy Bar to watch the bikes go by. Jackson is always a Summer time motorcyclist stop, but the week prior to Sturgis made it a motorcycle Mecca. Every motel in town had several motorcycles around it. After an awesome dinner at Nani's Italian restaurant and a stroll around town, we decided to retire for the night.

We awoke on Day 6 to sunshine and partly cloudy skies. Since we had enjoyed Jackson and the Tetons so much, we decided to extend our time in the area and take another ride through the park to get some good pictures and a better look at the mountains. So we took a leisurely ride 30 miles back along the Teton Range and to Jenny Lake. We then came back to Dornan's for lunch while enjoying the view of the Grand Teton Peak. As we were eating we were talking to another rider couple that had just finished a float trip down the Snake River and highly recommended it. The timing was right so we signed up and away we went for a 10 mile float down the Snake River in front of the Tetons. A great way to relax and take in the scenery.

We ended Day 6 with a self guided tour of Jackson, a stop at the Jackson Hole Harley Dealership for a T-Shirt and a giant hamburger at Billy's next to the Cadillac and Cowboy Bar. Jackson is a really neat place to spend some time. It has a definite old west feel with a lot of history and plenty of shops, galleries, antiques and things to see. Jackson is a place that I will definitely go back to spend some time. Judging by the price of real estate there, a few other people have the same opinion of the area.

If I were to sum up Days 5 and 6 it would go something like this. As with anything that we look forward to seeing or doing, sometimes the hype gets a little ahead of the end product. I was so worked up and excited to go through Yellowstone that by the time I got through reading the propaganda, I was expecting a bear to come up and eat out of my hand. Apparently I was expecting more of a "zoo" atmosphere than a "park" setting. Don't be misled about all of the wild animal interaction in Yellowstone. Consider yourself "lucky" if you see anything. If I were to break it down to enjoying it as a good ride, I would say that it is. Not one that I would go back especially to see, but one that I would enjoy riding through again. The Jackson Hole/Teton area was a lot more appealing to the senses for me. The Range and the lakes are beautiful and inspiring. The town of Jackson is easy going and relaxing with plenty of other activities to participate in. I will be sure to visit the Jackson Hole area again.

To view the photos from Day 5 Click Here.

To view the photos from Day 6 Click Here.