Day 28, August 15: Drive Time

Day 28, August 15: Drive Time

Most of today was spent on the road. I opted to drive through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, even though it added a little time to my drive. I wanted to be in Cody, WY, by tonight, which is about where I am.

Much of the west is open range

It was a nice drive as I came up the west side of Wyoming. When I got to the Grand Tetons, there was a haze over the mountains, so they were barely visible. I tried a few photos, but I don’t believe they’ll come out.

Wyomingians love their antlers

Yellowstone was busy as usual, so I gritted my teeth and drove through the southeast corner of the park. The cars were heavy, but the landscape is still breathtaking in parts, and I enjoyed much of what I saw. I didn’t take as many pictures – I think I’m getting burned out with that. I’ve taken almost 1200 pictures over these past 30 days, and my shutter button finger is getting sore.

I was shooting for a campground I saw on the map: Buffalo Bill State Park just outside Cody. I knew I wouldn’t arrive till after 5, but instead of my usual anxiety when I arrive late in the afternoon to find a campsite, I figured either they would have space or not, and kept my eyes open  as I got closer for another option. There were plenty of National Forest campgrounds leading up to the park, so I knew I could go back to one of those. I’m finding myself much less anxious as I enter an uncertain situation. I’m hoping this is something that will continue after I’m home.

When I arrived at the campground, it did have room. But it is cold and windy here – it is in a very unprotected site on a lake – and it should get down to around 45 tonight. But I was able to set up and anchor my tent, build a fire, and grill myself a burger in spite of the wind. I’m getting better at this camping thing as I go along, I have to say. I wish my mother and father were alive to see this new part of me develop and grow. When they died, I was still of the “I’ll only camp if I have a microwave and a bathroom” mindset. My, oh, my, how I have changed.

There are so many ways I’ve grown on this trip. I noticed last night, as I was at my campsite and as I walked to the bathroom and back, that when I hear sounds now in the underbrush, I don’t even jump; if anything, I just wonder what it is and look to see. I seem to have learned to take things as they come instead of creating scenarios around them. I also noticed that the few times I’ve been afraid, which were very few, it was my imagination creating ideas that frightened me, not any actual situation. Another valuable lesson if I can hold on to that in everything I do.

So I’m going to sit for a while tonight in front of my fire, look out at the lake in front of me, keep my hoodie up, hunker down in my chair, and read a little. If I get too cold, I’ll move inside my tent where it’s nice and cozy.

Tomorrow I make the six hour drive from Cody to Spearfish, and there I’ll set up camp for the last time on the trip. I like the symmetry of this – that was where I camped the first night of the trip. I still can’t believe I’ve been on the road a month and that it’s almost over.