Cody, wy; sept: 68°F. Couldn't be nicer. Donated to the stockman's fund. Chowed on a NY strip and tater loaded. Clean and prosperous town just through the tunnel from the dammed up Shoshone river. They must have really wanted that lake because the stretches of that river still running free are beautiful at the bounds of description, right up there with the most beautiful places I've ever seen. And that's after driving through Yellowstone park earlier the same day.
Grand canyon of the Yellowstone is a beautiful fairy tale - set off for its safe keeping just beyond barricades. It didn't sneak up on me like the first time I saw it. We visited the north rim sites, including a hike down to the verge of the lower falls. It is more spectacular than any of the falls we saw up close in canada, with the Athabasca falls a different, but close second. The canyon gets it the first place vote.
We also visited along the river in the expansive Hayden valley. It is seductively large, and brings home the value of the national parks, as no subdivisions clutter the view. My biggest surprise was Yellowstone lake as it floated, a dreamlike emerald expanse, at 7000 feet. I heard tales of the fishing bridge from someone who was there before the spawning run was protected in 1973.
I'm not really sure when I first visited west Yellowstone, but I remember it as little more than a single street of motels and services. Development marches on there. A travesty in the making.
Next - prelude to the home stretch. Can we find our way down the drain - to home?
PS. Due apologies to the Madison river and the western approach to the park, which are also spectacular.
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