Freedom Reigns

 Well, lots to cover in this blog update....  

We rolled into Estes Park around 4:30 and contacted Garrett from Couchsurfing who offered to put us up for the night prior to the trip if things didn't work out with staying with my Uncle Jim and Aunt Billy.  Jim and Billy arrived home that evening from a 2 week trip to Canada, so we didn't want to bother them, since I'm sure they were tired from traveling all day and had lots of cleaning up to do....

We spent a few hours at a coffee shop waiting for Garrett to get out of work (he's a park ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park).  He picked us up, and we went to his girlfriend's house just outside of downtown Estes Park.  We were able to sample some delicious Elk burgers!  It is the first time in my life I've had elk....

 Our view from Garrett's girlfriend's living room where we Couchsurfed.  It was amazing to sleep on two plush, luscious leather couches!

We went to Jim and Billy's early in the morning soon after waking up.  After some time talking, we decided to go for a hike for the day.  They weren't able to come along, as they had much to take care of after being gone for two weeks, but suggested a great, short hike for us to do.  We were still pretty sore from Quandary Peak!

Some stylish dudes accompanied us on our bus trip up the mountain.

 Another radical American.

 These furry little fellas were everywhere.  Very curious.

 Part of the trail on our way up to Mills Lake.  Asssspennnnnnssssss

 A great waterfall along the route.

Taking in the beautiful scenery.

 More of the hiking trail scenery.....

Lower end of Mills Lake was packed full of logs.

Mills Lake!

Do NOT feed the wildlife.

Stop it!

Eric storming down the mountain.  We were so insanely fast due to our amazing acclimation to altitude, that we were passing everyone!

 My goodness we're going to get in trouble.....

Eric performs a tactical maneuver to cross the creek successfully.

Inside Jim and Billy's house.  BEAUTIFUL!

So we went on to tackle the world's highest continuously paved road.  While we were repacking the Envoy Convoy, we both commented on how squashy the tires looked.  Jim lent us a pressure gauge for a few moments, and we discovered ALL of the tires were low....one was even about 20 pounds under pressure.  We headed into Estes Park and found FREE AIR....amazing.  Such a rare thing these days.

The Envoy roared with new life with properly inflated tires.  We have also put new wiper blades on it, and are going to adjust the headlights, which shine much too high.  Grandma will have a brand new vehicle by the time we get home.....

Great view of Longs Peak, the most climbed 14er in Colorado.

Checking out the paint crews here in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I wasn't too impressed.....

View of the road and switchbacks we climbed on our way to 12,000+ feet.

Our whip.

More sections of the road follow....

 We've reached the top!  Driving up a mountain is so much easier than hiking up one.....

Wouldn't want to go over the edge of THIS road....

Volcanic Cliffs with a glacial lake below.

My cousin Travis' house inside the Rocky Mountain National Park.

Leaving Rocky Mountain National Park and heading up to the Grand Tetons.  The road was absolutely desolate.  We passed a car every 10 minutes or so, and a farm every 20 miles.  

Probably one of the more beautiful roads I've ever driven on in my life.

Bathroom break.

BEAUTIFUL Walden, Colorado.

There is so much happening in this picture.  Please take some time to study it in all its glory.

The front yard of the previously captured trailer.

Again, study the photo for a few moments.  Take it all in.  Enjoy it.

Here is a shot of the snow fence that lined MILES of road.  It was a good 10 or 15 feet tall.  I bet it was super fun and exciting to build it....

We saw this beautiful refinery and just HAD to stop for a photo and gas.

Beautiful Wyoming!

Gorgeous sunset.

We stopped along the road to take in the beautiful sunset.

We lit off a Thunder King as the dot on the exclamation point of an All-American day.  Two bald eagles, beautiful trailer parks, amazing sunset, gorgeous roads, friendly people.  After we departed from viewing the sunset, soon after we both yelled out a profanity as a MONSTER bird was captured in our headlights as we traveled down the road at 70 MPH.  It was an owl feasting upon roadkill in the middle of the lane.  It was one of the biggest birds I've seen...it's wingspan took up most of our lane.

First view of the Grand Tetons after spending the night in the Envoy once again.


We slept inside the park...when we woke up, we drove out, pulled a U-turn, and entered again, thinking we could get some friendly advice from the welcoming park rangers about where to go, and what to see.


"Here you go, enjoy your time here."
"Thanks!  Do you have any suggestions about where we should go, or what we should see."
"No, not really" *and she turned away to ignore us*


THANKS A LOT!

Grand Tetons in their morning glory.  They were much more amazing than we planned on them being, and spent most a day here instead of just "driving through."

The sky.

More Tetons.  Well, actually the same ones....but more angles.

A buffalo!

Huge mule deer mere feet from the road.  Should have brought the 'ought six.

A Mormon-built barn off the beaten path.  

 Probably the sweetest bike we've seen this trip.  Matching helmets AND cup holder.

Toyota built some amazing machines back in the day.  I can imagine ripping up a mountain in this beast.

 The water was SOOOO clear.

Destruction from 1988's wildfires.  They spread all the way up into Yellowstone.  A friendly park ranger told us the fire was just enough to burn off the needles of all the trees, without actually consuming the branches or trunks.  But without needles, the trees still died, and still stand to this day.

River flowing into Jenny Lake.

Trying to capture how clear the water is.  Hard to do.

More dead trees still standing after 22 years of death.

Eric conquering another path.

Jenny Lake!

I'll just leave this here.  You're welcome for the censoring.  We hadn't showered in a while, so we decided to go swimming.

Another Toyota work of art.

Last views of the Tetons before heading to Yellowstone.

Evidence of the fire even in Yellowstone.  Must have been a MASSIVE fire.

Probably the greatest warning sign I've ever seen. 

Take notice of the neglectful father, Bruce, walking away from his children.  Little Billy has gone exploring and left the path to check out the geysers from a closer perspective.  He has fallen through the thin crust of Yellowstone's thermal region, and is in the process of being scalded to death.  Notice the look of pain, disbelief, and shock on his face.  His sister Denice looks on in horror while witnessing the death of her beloved brother.  Bruce continues to walk on, ignoring the screams of his children, probably thinking of consuming a delicious beverage upon returning to his rented RV.

DO NOT LEAVE THE PATH.

Ranger Betty describes the wonders of Old Faithful.

The crowd taking in all the information.  Dude in the middle is sleeping.

Still sleeping.

Old Faithful starts cookin'.

Starting to blow!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

All done.

Some great Silica formations around a geyser.

 Another geyser erupting while onlookers stand close to offer perspective on its size for this blog's friendly viewers.

"Beehive Geyser"

Would make a perfect hot tub!

 The smell of sulfur was QUITE strong...but wasn't really too bad, considering the sulfur factory in full operation inside the Envoy......

Another beautiful hot spring.

Overlooking the "Great Geyser."  It is quite unpredictable, so we didn't stay around too long to wait for it to blow.  However, it is one of the largest in world, blasting its water over 200 feet in the air.

All of the hot springs drained into this river.  It was pretty warm!

More desolation.

"Castle Geyser"

Buffalo!

This herd of buffalo was responsible for a 4 mile backup of cars, and delaying us on our way to our campsite.

 Ranger Rick directing traffic and making sure the tourists do not approach the buffalo.

The herd.

Further down the road, these two little fellas were tramping right down the road.  Much easier than through the wild untamed woods!

 A giant Mule Deer right in our campground.  We had an offer from our camping neighbor; We kill it, he'd cook it.  Very tempting.....

 Yellowstone Lake in the morning.

A huge bull elk peacefully eating while about 20 people stood just beside me snapping photos.  Ahhhhhhh, nature!

 Looking East down the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone."

Looking West up the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" towards the Lower Falls.  At over 300', they were extremely powerful to view, even from our location about 3/4 of a mile away.

Well, that's all for now.  Hope you enjoyed it.  We're now venturing into the wilderness of Glacier National Park in search of great camping, beautiful scenery, and tasty trout.