Seconds With Steff

With no alarms to wake us, we made it to 6:30 and 7:00-ish for a chill day, which I think both of us desperately needed.

We kicked off the rainy morning with coffee from The Snake River Roasting Company. Hunter thought he ascended to breakfast heaven with a vanilla donut and apple juice, and I finally had a cup of morning coffee. That’s right, folks… if we haven’t been in a hotel that has breakfast, there has been no coffee for me! It’s been rough, since I normally mainline it.

Then we were off to the National Elk Refuge and Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center. It’s gorgeous and interactive, but with it being summer, all the elk are in the mountains — so unlike our California adventure last summer, we were elk-less.

Next, we headed to the National Museum of Wildlife, which had a gorgeous sculpture trail and really lovely exhibits (PS – The Elk Refuge is in the backgound of most outdoor pics). Definitely worth the $18 admission price. But the real surprise was, once again, Hunter insisted that we have lunch in their restaurant, Palate. Hunter got the most delicious mac and cheese (I was allotted a singular noodle). I ordered a cup of their game stew — elk, bison, lentils, and quinoa — which was incredible.

Then it was back to the park to finish off what we didn’t do yesterday and make our way to our lodgings south of Yellowstone.

First was Menor’s Historic District. I really do love the historic districts within these parks. Capitol Reef has one, and so does Green River. Tetons has quite a few. And this one’s really cool because everything is where it was, and you can really get a feel for this person’s world as it was.

A few steps away from Mr. Menor’s little world is Maud Noble’s cabin. Built in 1917, she hosted the first meeting to plan the creation of the Grand Teton National Park. There is much dedicated to John D. Rockefeller. Who knew that Rockefeller was the main reason Grand Teton National Park even exists? I took pics of the panels because they are really just so interesting!!!!

In the same area as the Menor District, is the Church of Transfiguration, built in 1925.

I am weirdly proud of the following picture and the window picture from inside the cabin from yesterday.

We continued to north, when we finally ventured into territory we had not seen yesterday. In a turnout just north of Jackson Lake Junction, there was a hiker in the distance. I took the opportunity to show Hunter how to use his binoculars. I set up my camera and got the hiker in the square. I’m like, “OK, Hunter, this is where the hiker is.” I’m zooming in and out saying, “OK, do you see ’em? See where to look? See where the mound is? See where the square is now? Get your binoculars and try to line it up.” And it’s just Hunter and me, and we’re doing this for, like, I don’t know, a good three to five minutes. And at one point, I stand up and turn around to about 15 people gathered around me. I exclaimed, “Oh my God, I am so, so sorry! It’s a hiker, not an animal… I’m trying to show him how to use the binoculars!!!” I apologized so profusely, and everybody was hysterically laughing. One man said, “You really had me going!” I felt so bad, but we were all laughing so hard.

And now… looking at the picture, I fear the hiker was a Christmas Tree, but I swear it was moving, and I’m not the person who started it!

We then took our travels farther north pulling off to take pictures and wander in and out of lodges and gift shops along the way and even had an osprey sighting.

After about two hours of stopping and starting, we finally ended up at Headwaters Flagg Ranch where Hunter proceeded to walk into the empty reception area and without warning, grab a huge pillar and hug it like a stripper on a pole! I looked at the two women behind the desk and said, “Autism, he’ll be fine.” They immediately responded, “it’s fine,” and I said, “it’s really not” … and then we all descended into giggle fits. They were awesome.

After checking into our cabin, we had dinner at the ranch, which was absolutely delicious — if not incredibly expensive — and since we walked, mama had a drink. I don’t know if it’s a combination of the elevation, the medication I’m on that dehydrates me, or the fact that I normally don’t drink a whole hell of a lot, but half a drink in, and I was feeling it…not absolutely obliterated, but not sober … I didn’t even finish the drink! They even gave me a to-go cup with a straw. I mean, nothing says classy like a to-go cup with a straw.

Unreliable Summary – Historic Stuff, Not Animal Sightings, and Booze

PS- Unless everyone is lying about the WiFi at Yellowstone, this is probably the last you will hear from me until I get home. I will still get the posts ready each night, but they won’t go up until Labor Day-ish 🙂 THANK YOU EVERYONE! Please keep all comment coming… love reading everything when I have five seconds to breathe!