Yellowstone

Today we spent touring Yellowstone.  We visited the Yellowstone Falls and the canyon formed by the Yellowstone River.

The old Lodge in the park is the biggest log built structure in the world and is absolutely astounding in it's immensity.  It is impossible to capture in a photo but the atrium is about 8 stories high.

In the the Park we saw geysers, (Old Faithful - of course) fumeroles, hotsprings and mudpots that abound in this (geologically) highly active area.

They do National Parks really well over here.

The Grand Tetons

We woke to rain today so instead of the planned raft trip down the Snake River we toured the valley of the Grand Teton National Park seeing Elk, Bison, Prong Horned Sheep and Moose that live in the Park.

This was all with the magnificent backdrop of the Grand Teton Mountains which still have a fair covering of snow.

The wet day forced changes in arrangements so we had breakfast and lunch in the bus. But we are in the USA so the salad we ordered for lunch was more than sufficient for lunch and dinner and the Chocolate Brownies were kept for morning tea the next day.

We headed up to the Yellowstone National Park where there was still snow on the ground and some of the smaller lakes were still partially frozen over. Our accommodation was in a huge hotel built in the 1800s and recently renovated.  Even so, Claire expected to see Agatha Christie walk through the foyer at any minute.

Jackson Hole

It was a long travel day today.  We left Salt Lake City and headed north toward our evening destination of Jackson Hole. The name comes from the first trapper in the region (Jackson) who staked out the area as his for fur collection (his "Hole").

 There are many tiny honeyeaters feeding on the stunted vegetation. On very scenic trip up we climbed up through the Snake River Canyon to the high country and had lunch at a real little back country town of Afton.  It's claim to fame is the largest antler arch in the world.

The place had a number of eateries and small pubs and the locals could not have been more hospitable and friendly.  The fact that we were one of the first groups coming through this season may have been a contributing factor but they were great.

Then we moved on to Jackson Hole.  This is the stamping ground of the rich and famous, much to the consternation of the locals who are being priced out of the market.  We have never seen so many high end galleries, antique dealers and boutique outfitters in such a small area.  However all the people we have met are friendly and amazingly accommodating so we have had a fantastic day.

Claire picked up some courage at a local bar so she could go and have a chat with Abe Lincoln about the state of the American economy.

Bryce Canyon & Salt Lake City

Another look at Bryce Canyon this morning. It was just as good the second time around.

Then another long drive to Salt Lake City.  Their state legislature is housed in a building based on the Capital Building in Washington.

The Mormon influence is very evident in the city with so much of it's history bound up with the church.

We saw their Tabernacle and heard a choir practicing.  Being skeptics, we were not allowed inside the Temple but it is an imposing building.  Following a Mormon dinner we had a little wander around the town.  It is a place of very little apparent activity.  At 5.00pm on a weekday there was hardly any traffic and there were very few people on the streets.

Tomorrow we head for Jackson.

Zion and Bryce Canyon

We had a stunning introduction to the National Parks at Zion.  The park contains a series of massive canyons cut into red rock by the river.

After Zion we went on to Bryce Canyon.  A long trip but worth the wait

The scenery certainly sets high standards for the rest of the tour.
In the evening we attended a "Cowboy Spectacular".   Hmmmmmm....  you can imagine how that went down.

Las Vegas By Night

In the cool of the evening we wandered the street (singular) of Las Vegas and noted that it all looked better than during the day.  We saw the Luxor where Justin and Lisa stayed -

and looked at our hotel - the Tropicana in the evening light.

Then we retired to our room noting the tasteful carpet that graces the floors of these hallowed halls.

We are undecided as to the reasons but have narrowed it to two options.  The carpet either makes you feel so ill you cannot linger in the corridors or it covers the fact that someone has already been ill in the corridors.

Las Vegas

We finally woke up enough to go for a wander around Las Vegas. It was fantastic!!  Where else could you see pint size models of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower that do not look much like the real thing.  I am sure it all looks much better at night when many of the excesses are hidden.

Then we had a look at the shops and realised that the real purpose of Las Vegas was to keep Americans fat.

 

 It is working soooo well!

Equilibration Time

After a 12 hour sleep things are starting to look better. The breakfast of Eggs Benedict nearly defeated both of us!

Finally Made It

We have made it to Las Vegas. After being awake for about 40 hrs with only brief naps, we we both feeling very odd. We had to wait another couple of hours in the hotel lobby for the room to be ready and the result is that the CEO was immediately off to the races!  So I had time for a quick note to the Blog.

We Just Love Airports

The best thing about airports is the waiting around getting ready to board.