Day 103: Nero in Canyon Village

Mileage: 4 miles (1860.7-1864.7)

I had breakfast with Pat and his family and said goodbye rather abruptly as they had a plane to catch in Bozeman. I was glad I'd pushed to see Pat as it had been awhile and it's always fun to see an old friend in a new place. I was going to take a zero that day and went to do my laundry and used the internet to update my blog. I sat around the lounge and ate salvaged Bison burgers from the night previous, and generally hung out.

The lounge was in classic 80's style and like Mark, Patrick's dad, had observed the night before, it felt right out of a Bond movie like Goldfinger, with its huge fireplaces and tacky ceilings, furniture, and other decor. After being a lazy pile, I walked down to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, figuring I should take advantage of being in the park. 

Minus all the people it was pretty incredible. Unfortunately, not really accessible to get down in there and it appears forbidden to go down and explore. I walked to a couple lookouts and then down to the brink of Lower falls, which has a paved trail all the way down to a spectacular waterfall that drops 400 ft right out from under you. Again, besides the hundred or so other people there it was pretty cool. The canyon itself is of grand proportion: at least 1,000' cliffs, with steaming springs at its edges adding to the grandeur.

I could also see Upper Falls from there, the smaller, but equally interesting sister of the Lower Falls. Each was formed by thermal activity which weakened the rock below the falls, allowing the water to erode it away over the years. I then hitched back to the lounge with a guy in an old Mercedes. He worked construction and had to be in Vegas the next day, but was killing time. He dropped me back at Canyon when I got two Huckleberry ice cream sandwiches at the gas station and then headed back to the lounge.

I talked to Laura for a bit and then my friend Will, who I also knew from high school, picked me up. He works in the park as a fish biologist and had been hiking with his brother that afternoon. 

We endured what he called an "elk jam", followed by a "bison jam" on our way back to his place in Lake Village. These animal "jams" are just traffic jams caused by crazy tourists who pull over anywhere on the road they see a wild animal and then take selfies, pictures, and god knows what else. What caused the jams are that when one car stops, others follow suit, very similar to the dynamic of when people see lines somehow they are drawn to join them even if they don't know what they're waiting for. I don't blame the Bison which have already gored five people in the park this year. That's way more than bears by the way. If you're dumber than a bison (e.g. think taking a selfie four feet from a 700 lb wild animal with horns is a good idea) than maybe you deserved it.

Anyways, we eventually made it back to his place, a beautiful and historic log cabin on the North shore of Lake Yellowstone and had a dinner of homemade pepperoni pizza and some beers. We talked for awhile and then headed to bed around 10pm after his girlfriend got home.