Wanderlust: Yellowstone & the Tetons

Every Service Adventure unit takes an end-of-year trip at some point during the year's wrap-up. Our group decided on a 5-day trip to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons, so last Sunday after church, we hit the road for a 10-hour drive through northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.

We stopped in Farson, Wyoming (population 313) on the drive up to get ice cream.

First Baptist Church in Jackson, Wyoming, graciously allowed us to sleep on their floor for free. Jackson is a small town, but an extremely popular tourist destination. Staying there meant we had to commute farther to and from Yellowstone, but the drives were beautiful.

Monday, the second day of the trip (but first full day), was the day we had designated to spend in Grand Teton National Park. We spent about three hours hiking around Bradley Lake and Taggert Lake, soaking in this incredible landscape.

Pictures really can't capture the majesty of these mountains. The Teton range is sharp and striking, even more so than the Rockies, due to being a younger mountain range. 

Photo by Franzi Klause

The pictures are gorgeous, but nothing compares to being there.

Photo by Franzi Klause

Wading in the lake at our lunch spot.

Photo by Franzi Klause

We saw a moose! It's that dark blob to the right of the big rock. Exciting times.

Day 3, Tuesday, was our first foray into Yellowstone.

Here we are waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.

 

After that we walked around the boardwalk to check out all the other geysers and hot springs around Old Faithful. Smaller and less famous, but way more beautiful.

These vibrant pools reminded me so vividly of C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew. You know, when Digory and Polly discover the magical wood full of mesmerizing pools, each one of which will transport you into another world.

The Wood Between the Worlds, it was called.

MINERALS.

This place is called Grand Prismatic Spring.

If the cliffs were taller and the water not steaming, this would look a lot like a scene from Cape Town.

We stopped at Lewis Lake on the way out of the park.

Day 4, Wednesday: Back to Yellowstone, this time to take the east fork toward Yellowstone Lake.

So much love.

Also goofiness.

We hiked to see both the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, which created this incredible canyon.

Later we went to see the mud pots. This was one of those rare experiences that was simultaneously fascinating and repulsive.

While the previous day's geysers had smelled faintly of sulfur, these mud pools positively reeked. We gazed upon them in fascination (what a weird and cool phenomenon, this boiling mud!) while at the same time trying not to suffocate from the overpowering stench.

The sludgy waves lapping on sand, steaming and toxic, with a searingly acidic pH of 1, were exactly what I imagine our beaches will look like post-apocalypse.

 Anyway, this was also the day when we saw the most animals. No bears, but several elk, a mountain lion, and about a zillion bison.

Hanging out at Jackson Lake on the way back like the cool kids we are.

Day 5, Thursday: We ate breakfast at Persephone Bakery in Jackson before loading up for the trip home.

So delicious.

And so we said goodbye for now to Wyoming and trekked back to the Springs.

By the time we made it back, we were sick of being in the car, but full to the brim with the unique joy that comes from exploring an exciting new place with great friends!

Inclinations

On Saturday, the group crossed another item off our must-do list: the Manitou Springs Incline.

The Incline is a one-mile trail that ascends over 2,000 vertical feet.

It is steep.

At the trailhead:

WARNING: THIS IS AN EXTREME TRAIL.

Because of the very steep grade, the trail is essentially just stairs.

After living in the Springs for ten months, surrounded by extremely adventurous and fit people, it felt great to finally check off another rite of passage.

I know people who have done the hike in 20-30 minutes, but that's unfathomable to me. I did it in an hour and thirty-four minutes and felt awesome. Like it was a challenge, but a good one. Not so hard that I couldn't enjoy the gorgeous views.

On this particular day, we were joined on the trail by a lot of out-of-towners. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as a tourist attraction (it usually takes a few days for our lungs to acclimate to just being at the 6,000-ft elevation of the city, let alone taking on a strenuous hike before you've adjusted), but it was fun to see the sense of camaraderie that permeated the whole place. We were all sweating and gasping our way through this together.

I'd actually like to try it again sometime soon and improve my time. Now that I've done it, I know I could have pushed myself to go a little faster.

We made it!

The gang, minus Anna, who was spending the day visiting Royal Gorge with her host family.

So glad to have spent this year with such adventurous and determined people!

A week in photos

New water bottle out on its first adventure.

Lots of biking again this week! This time was on the Pikes Peak Greenway north of our house.

Mountain biking in Red Rock Open Space. I'd never been there before, but I will surely be going back soon.

It looks a lot like Garden of the Gods, but it's way better. Mostly because I didn't have to wade through swarms of tourists to get to the trail I wanted.

Our learning component this week was the final step in Franzi's several-months-long idea: a recipe book made up of our favorite meals and baked goods that we've enjoyed over the course of the year. She's been collecting recipes for quite a while, and on Tuesday night, we compiled them all and decorated the covers. (Clockwise from the top left: Daniel & me, Sarah, Franzi, Anna, Anali.)

Signatures on the back.

Yesterday, I went with a friend from church to visit Glen Eyrie. It's a castle that was built by General Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs, in 1903.

Now it's a conference/retreat center and historical site, with beautiful grounds and interesting architecture.

Our dining table bit the dust.

My little garden is doing great! I've been harvesting baby kale, spinach, and mesclun mix almost every day. I also have basil, bell pepper, and cilantro seedlings, and my chives, dill, and wildflowers are just beginning to peek their little heads up.