Yellowstone Adventure - Day 21

  Well the last day off before going onto late shift was pretty interesting. I got up early again because I knew it would take me some time to exit the park and get into the Teton range. After a great breakfast I picked up my picnic lunch and headed south. It took me about an hour and a half to get to Jackson lake with only one stop along the way. I stopped by Duck lake to see if any bears were sitting in the meadow, but none were up at that time. Reaching Jackson lake I decided to take an inner road that would bring me closer to the Teton range than the highway that runs along the Snake river. It was a good decision because my first stop was Jenny lake and dam. I walked across the dam and took some great pictures of Jenny lake with the mountains backing it. The overflow of the lake through the dam was running very fast. Heading down south from the lake the road moved closer to the mountains and provided many opportunities for stopping for pictures. Which I did. Standing there looking up at the mountains I was amazed how small I felt compared to them. Moving down south more I exited the Teton park and caught up with the highway to Jackson aka Jackson Hole. Some around here want the town to be referred to as just Jackson but since the airport I passed is called Jackson Hole airport, I will still call the town Jackson Hole. I am such a rebel. I managed to find a street parking place in town, which is pretty near impossible at the height of the tourist season. I exited my car and decided to walk around this historic town. The first thing I noticed was if there were ten shops in a row. There would be 3 realtor offices, 3 art shops, 2 diamond and gold jewelry shops, 1 leather and fur shop and one shop I designate "Something I was interested in." This pattern repeated over each block with the exception of an occasional place to eat. The restaurants were kind enough to post their menu outside so that I could see I could not afford to eat there. After walking several blocks up town I decided that this town cost a lot of money and catered to a lot more wealthy people than me. It was a nice town to look at as it showed history and a personality but as for parting with any of my hard earned dollars, no. I found my car and proceeded to head up to Jackson pass which connects Wyoming to Idaho. The drive up started to increase in altitude as I think I climbed two thousand feet in a short while. It was a very steep road and several trucks had a hard time making it to the top of the pass. 
  I made it to the top around noon and decided to have my lunch at a pullout facing down the hill. The view was unbelievable as I faced not only down the hill but could see Jackson Hole and the mountains beyond. While I ate several people stopped and commented that a picnic at that spot was a pretty good idea. I told them Jackson could have its high priced meals. A PB&J sandwich with this view was worth much more.  
  After lunch I headed over the pass and descended at a ten degree grade into Idaho. One thing I can say about the two side of the Tetons is this. They are not even close to resembling each other. The Wyoming side has the Snake river and dry climate with a great view of the mountains and lakes. The Idaho side has gentle hills ascending into the mountains with fertile farm land all around. Another difference is the people. Jackson Hole has its wealthy types and Idaho has its down to earth types. The small towns I drove through in Idaho reminded me of rural Indiana. The spring planting is done and the start of crops shooting up is happening.  The drive was pleasant and the town's I stopped at were very nice. I drove north through Idaho and headed toward West Yellowstone Montana. 
  I arrived in West Yellowstone around two thirty and proceeded to my favorite WiFi connection so I could upload some videos.  West Yellowstone was fairly calm as most of the tourists were in the park. I am sure that in a few hours the town would be crawling with tourists. I stopped off at the local cinema to see when a movie I wanted to see would come out and then I headed back to the dorm.
  On the drive back into the park I was thinking about the three states I passed through today and how each was different and yet all connected by national parks. It was a pretty neat drive. Almost to my dorm a car decided to pass on the other side and thanks to prayers by my family I managed to pull off the road before getting hit head on. The speed limit of 35 and 45 in most of the park causes people to sometimes do some stupid things. Thankfully I made it back to the dorm and dinner. 
  Tomorrow I begin five days of late shift work so I would imagine my blog will regale you with good tourist stories. I am still waiting for the tourist to ask me "What time do you turn Old Faithful on in the morning?" Don't laugh as that has been asked before according to a co-worker of mine.  Take care and pray for those you love and for those you are supposed to love.