Day 2 (8/20/07)

Our first night camping saw rain and ill-prepared tents. While everyone had some leakage, Nate got the worst of it, for his borrowed tent had virtually no water proofing abilities and allowed for the rain to pool up inside. Not only did his tent get wet, but his sleeping bag did as well. To say the least, he did not wake (if he slept at all) a happy camper.

With the rain still lingering in the morning, we had no chance to let our tents dry out before packing up for our day's drive (after being back in Portland for a few weeks now, I'm still working on getting the mold out). After throwing our belongings in the car and tying down the big stuff to the top, we drove the Going to the Sun Road on our way out of the park and toward our next destination.

The Going to the Sun Road could easily be one the most scenic 50-miles I've ever driven. As it turns out, the night's rain was a blessing, as it washed out most of the smoke that was in the air from surrounding wild fires, thus revealing stunning views of the northern Rockies. So scenic was the drive, Maggie felt compelled to stop every 20 yards to take a picture (thus contributing to the 450 pictures she ended up with at the end of the trip).


Before finally exiting the park, on our way to Yellowstone, we stopped at a lodge to buy coffee and look at some souvenirs. While in the gift shop, Nate was lamenting the disappointing absence of a bear sighting in Glacier (there is an abundance in the park). Still seeking to restrain a bear, Nate, while in the gift shop, seized his last opportunity before leaving the park. We found a Grizzly guarding the souvenirs and went straight into an emergency floor hold (one of the many skills we picked up at our job) with the furry thing. Amazingly, it didn't put up much of a fight and we felt all the more tough after the fact.

Before long, we were again in the car headed for Wyoming. The drive to Yellowstone was long and pretty uneventful. The only point of interest along the way was the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, where we stopped in the town of Browning. With its rows of dilapidated mobile homes and liquor stores with people begging for change, the town was pretty depressing. We did not let this keep us out, though, as we got some lunch there and went to a Native crafts museum.

We finally arrived in Yellowstone at 10PM. As we would soon find out, our late arrival times would become a theme for the trip (we had planned to get to the park in time to see some sights...instead we had to set up camp in the dark). We found a campground that Maggie said had campgrounds. The thought of showering in the morning made me giddy, so the campground was an easy choice. After a long day of driving, it did not take us long to set up our tents and call it a night. We again went to bed with the sound of rain pattering our tents.