First, a little bit about plans. We got across the country in plenty of time for the wedding. Heck, if we had been invited to the Friday night festivities, we could have made those. Instead, we will take a free day in Portland on Saturday. Maybe do some laundry, maybe catch a movie (probably Madagascar 3 - move is liking those movies) maybe drink some beer, maybe get the car's oil changed. Chillax a bit.
More on plans - it looks like we might have to take two days driving from Portland to Sonoma. Google Maps says the trip is 11+ hours. I haven't checked on the GPS yet. But that is a little too long to keep mom in the car, I think. We shall see - it is still a few days off...
Mom came with me to the office to warn Brenda, one of the owners of the Budget Host in Cody, about the potential hazards of the television (can't think of the word - the thing that the TV is on that allows it to swivel and such) - anyway, mom almost bonked her head on it a couple of times and thought it was scary. She bought more postcards and was surprised when Brenda told her that there were actually stamps just for postcards! The stamps were almost as expensive as the cards! When did that happen?
We hit the road and started West once again. Our main goal was Old Faithful in Yellowstone, with the hopes of seeing some wildlife as well. Yellowstone is huge! I just never really remember that. When I think of a park, I think of something like Central Park in NY or Washington Street Park in Geneva. Something fairly manageable. It took us more than an hour to get from the East Entrance of the park (which we entered free, thanks to mom being old and us having gotten a lifetime pass back at the Badlands) to Old Faithful. We got there at the perfect time. About an hour's wait until the next eruption. Time to use the facilities, eat something and find the perfect viewing location.
Old Faithful did not disappoint! We had a great vantage point and saw the whole eruption. From its little false starts through its large leaps into the air! Great stuff! We shared our vantage point with a very nice couple, Jill and Victor, from Indiana. She had a much nicer camera than I had. And Victor's hotdog looked great, even though mom and I had already eaten!
After Old Faithful, we spent a few minutes in the visitor's center. I asked a lovely young Ranger about all of the fire damage we had seen. She told me that the park has a lot of wildfires (mostly caused by lightning) every year. And that the last large fire (where 36% of the park burned) was in 1988. Did I mention that the park is huge? We did see a little wildlife - a raven, a mom and baby elk and a mule deer. Yay!
Off again, on the road, our next planned stop was Idaho Falls. I was surprised when we entered Montana for a bit. I hadn't't realized that it overlapped with Wyoming that way. So far we have touched 11 states! Goodness gracious. And many more to go. I wonder what the final tally will be.
It didn't take long to get to Idaho Falls. When we arrived, I asked the GPS to tell me where lodgings were - it found a Comfort Inn, so I drove there and parked, gave Choice Hotels a call and booked a room. I get points that way - eventually a free night or two even! I hope...
When I went in the lobby to check-in, I asked the woman for a room on the first floor since my mom was 82 and didn't like stairs. But they didn't have one. A man waiting his turn said that if his reserved room was downstairs that he would swap with us! How awesome was that?! I told him that if I were rich, I would pay for his room. Sadly, I am not, so the thought would have to suffice. Mom later thanked him as well. She felt a little guilty for thinking bad thoughts about the two people on the motorcycle, since he had been one of them!
The room is nice enough, not too exciting. But Comfort Inns are just generally more comfortable than other Choice Hotels. And right near everything. We had to go to Walmart for a bath mat. Mom is afraid, rightly, of slipping in a shower without one. While we were there we also got her some much needed new socks and a pair of shoes to go with the dress that she is wearing for the wedding on Sunday. Has anyone else noticed that all Walmarts basically look the same? :)
After Walmart, we headed to the Brownstone Restaurant and Brewery that I had found on the internet. It wasn't there - well, the building was, but the ownership had changed. It was now Snow Eagle. Inside they had no hostess. We were told to sit anywhere so we did. Desiree was our server and was pretty good. I decided to just go ahead and order for both of us, stuff to share. The beer battered mushrooms and onion rings were both very good. The chicken sandwich wasn't awesome. The beer, all four styles, was actually quite tasty! Much better than the "beer" I had back at the Firehouse in Rapid City. I really liked the brown - it was a lot more complex than most browns - way better than Newcastle!
Back at the hotel, I fell into bed. I found Back to the Future on TV and watched a bit of that - (I had mostly forgotten the movie's contents) before passing out. Mom watched the whole thing and was underwhelmed.
For some reason, the song "Plant a Cabbage" from The Fantastiks is running through my head. What is that about?
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| Old Faithful doing its thing! |
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| Mom chilling outside the Visitor Center |
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| One of many awesome views! |
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| Nummy beers at Snow Eagle in Idaho Falls |
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